The
call from Eric Pan, president of the Investment Company
Institute, came in response to a request for public comment from
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on how it might
direct companies to report more about the environmental and
social impact of their operations. The institute represents
mutual funds, their shareholders and investment advisers.
The comments marked a shift for the influential trade group
after Pan in May urged regulators to adopt only voluntary
climate disclosure rules.
Asked about the previous remarks, an ICI spokesperson said that
after discussions with members, "our views solidified around
mandating certain greenhouse gas emissions and human capital
data."
Investors have poured money into funds that base investment
decisions on sustainability criteria, in turn prodding big fund
firms to support shareholder proposals for corporate reforms.
In a letter to the SEC published by ICI on Monday, Pan said the
requirements would give fund managers consistent, comparable and
reliable data.
Pan said that some disclosures should be mandatory, but the
trade group hopes the SEC will be flexible about making changes
if needed over time.
He also called for the SEC to require that all companies
publicly disclose a form known as the EEO-1 they file to the
federal government showing the race and gender breakdowns of
their workforces. More companies have done https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-corporatediversity/the-heats-on-corporate-america-to-reveal-racial-diversity-data-idUSKBN2431JY
so after last year's Black Lives Matter protests put a new focus
on social equity issues.
In response to investor interest, the SEC plans to require
disclosure of detailed climate change information and a range of
workforce data, its chair Gary Gensler has said.
(Reporting by Katanga Johnson in Washington and Ross Kerber in
Boston; Editing by Michelle Price and Cynthia Osterman)
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