Way back in 2016, the SEC issued a Concept Release requesting
comment on an enormous variety of potential changes to Reg S-K,
including sustainability. (See
this PubCo post.) As reported by BNA, then-Director of Corp Fin, Keith Higgins,
advised that the highest proportion of comments received on the Reg
S-K Concept Release related to better environmental and social
responsibility disclosure. He observed that, of the 360
"unique" comment letters (i.e., non-form
letters) received, about 80% "were looking for improved
sustainability disclosure." The problem, he recognized, was
that those types of sustainability disclosures were not necessarily
amenable to one-size-fits-all rulemaking. According to Higgins,
"[c]limate change tops the list of issues...." However,
he acknowledged, the issues involved in sustainability "cut
across 79 different industries and aren't suited to a constant
set of rules....'Everyone recognizes that one-size-fits-all
disclosure is likely not to be
