Urgent Appeal: Protect Shareholder Rights and Safeguard Sustainability Standards

It’s a critical moment for responsible investment and corporate accountability. Recent developments in both the United States and Europe threaten the progress we have made in advancing sustainability standards and shareholder rights, posing serious risks to both financial stability and long-term value creation.

In the United States shareholder rights might be significantly restricted by recent initiatives from some legislative bodies.

In Europe, newly proposed significant revisions to key sustainability regulations under the ‘Omnibus package’ could significantly scale back critical elements of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the EU Taxonomy.

As SfC we urge investors, asset managers, and financial institutions committed to sustainability to take immediate action in order to:

 

Sustainability is not just a moral imperative — it is a financial necessity. Weakening ESG standards and shareholder rights increases investor risk, undermines long-term value, and erodes trust in financial markets. Now is the time to stand together in defence of responsible investment!