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ARTICLE · 09 DECEMBER 2020

Boards And Management In Canada Take Note: Demand For Better ESG Oversight And Disclosure

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Many Canadian public companies have been accused of being slow to disclose environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors that are material for their companies' long term sustainability.

CanadaCorporate/Commercial Law
Stephen Erlichman
Stephen Erlichman
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Two Notable ESG Developments in Canada

Many Canadian public companies have been accused of being slow to disclose environmental, social and governance ("ESG") factors that are material for their companies' long term sustainability. In November, two notable developments occurred that should focus Canadian boards of directors and management on how directors oversee material ESG factors at their company and how their company discloses those material ESG factors to its shareholders.

ISS

On November 12, Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS"), the world's largest proxy advisory firm, announced its proxy voting guidelines updates for Canada for shareholder meetings taking place on or after February 1, 2021 (the "2021 ISS Guidelines"). In the 2021 ISS Guidelines, ISS has added "demonstrably poor risk oversight of environmental and social issues, including climate change" to its list of examples of failure of risk oversight. ISS generally recommends voting

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