Stephen Blake,left, and Sareen Armani,right, of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and . Courtesy photos
In recent years, companies and their boards have increasingly focused on environmental, social, and governance initiatives that measure non-financial corporate performance of corporate social impacts. In the past year, we have seen a swing in the pendulum, with heightened scrutiny of—and in some cases outright opposition to—ESG initiatives.
A wave of “conservative” political lawsuits and advocacy campaigns seeking to advance “anti-ESG” or “anti-woke” themes have resulted in certain companies de-emphasizing disclosure of their ESG initiatives. These efforts have been less successful to date in court. Similar to the decisions reached in lawsuits seeking to force adoption of ESG initiatives, the courts have viewed such “anti-ESG” legal challenges with reluctance, finding no basis to interfere with the business judgment of corporate directors and managers.
