Chris Treanor Discusses ESG Lobbying Efforts with Roll Call

Roll Call has quoted Akin Gump public law and policy counsel Christopher Treanor in the article “Reports show lobbyists get more active on ESG as SEC works on climate rule.” The article discusses the rise in advocacy efforts on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues since the start of the Biden-Harris administration.

According to the publication, the Securities and Exchange Commission is set to propose a new ruling on climate-related risk in the coming months, which Treanor noted is expected to be next term’s most important regulation with the broadest reach and likely the biggest impact on other agencies’ rule-making. He added that, once the ruling is determined, he anticipates seeing an increase in advocacy efforts with Congress to ensure it that the “various priorities of Congress are workable for the private sector.”

Speaking to the rise of ESG policies in the private sector, Treanor said that companies are increasingly turning to lobbyists for guidance on these issues and emphasized the importance of those efforts, saying “Companies that are lobbying in Washington need to be prepared to talk about the activities that they’re doing around ESG when they’re engaging with Democratic lawmakers and regulators. It lends itself to relying on expertise in Washington to guide boardroom decisions when it comes to ESG and making sure that what a company believes is good corporate ESG policy is consistent with what Washington thinks is good corporate ESG policy.”

Earlier this month, Akin Gump hosted its inaugural global virtual ESG Summit, where ESG leaders and Akin Gump lawyers and advisors shared their perspectives on a wide range of topics at the forefront of ESG, including the panel “Update from Washington: Regulatory and Legislative Developments Impacting the ESG Ecosystem.”