Financing in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies: Impact Disclosure Taskforce Releases Draft Guidance Supporting UN Sustainable Development Goals

1 minute read | April.18.2024

A taskforce with members from financial institutions, capital market participants and industry stakeholders has released draft guidance to facilitate sustainable financing, primarily in emerging markets and developing economies, as well as in advanced economies.

Orrick’s Jared Joyce-Schleimer and Perry Teicher joined colleagues on the Impact Disclosure Taskforce in drafting voluntary guidance on entity-level disclosure. The guidance also addresses impact reporting, analysis and financing.

Companies and governments may consult the guidance as they disclose information about their efforts to support UN Sustainable Development Goals. Those goals include spurring economic growth and employment while tackling climate change, alleviating inequality and expanding access to health and education.

By applying principles of impact measurement and monitoring, the draft guidance envisions that participating companies and governments will more clearly communicate their contributions towards the UN SDGs and thereby more readily access sustainable pools of capital.

J.P. Morgan and Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking co-chaired the Impact Disclosure Taskforce, with representatives from organizations including CDPQ Global, Amundi and Pictet Asset Management, among others.

Orrick’s market leading innovation team has also provided technical solutions to the taskforce, hosting the public comment application for the draft guidance. The feedback period is now open until September 1, 2024.

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Jared Joyce-Schleimer Partner, Energy, Power

New York

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D:+1 212 506 5045
E: [email protected]

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Energy & Infrastructure Sector
Energy
Power
Infrastructure
Renewable Energy
Banking & Finance
Restructuring
Responsible Business

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Jared Joyce-Schleimer Partner

New York

Jared’s practice focuses on debt financing of a broad range of domestic and cross-border renewable and conventional power, energy and infrastructure, satellite and telecommunications and transportation projects. He supports scaling into large projects and portfolios and commercializing new technology in clean energy, sustainable infrastructure and space.

Working with private equity sponsors, credit funds and portfolio companies, he has significant experience with a variety of finance structures, including development and construction financings and traditional project finance, subordinated and mezzanine financings, term loan B financings, direct lending, syndicated debt financings, private placements, climate and impact finance, acquisition financings, M&A and restructurings. He has also represented debtors and creditors in restructuring matters.

Jared also maintains an active pro bono practice and assists developing countries in bringing sustainable projects to market. He has worked with representatives of Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya and Vietnam on high-level sustainable project preparation and structuring matters.

Perry Teicher Impact Finance Counsel, Impact Finance and Investment, Funds

New York

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Practice:

Impact Finance and Investment
Funds
Technology Companies Group
Responsible Business
Mergers & Acquisitions

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Perry Teicher Impact Finance Counsel

New York

Perry represents and advises entrepreneurs, companies, fund sponsors, family offices, tax-exempt organizations, and other asset owners across a wide range of transactions, including corporate legal matters, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, private fund formation matters and portfolio transactions, and private placements. Perry advises clients on impact-oriented and ESG matters, integrating social, environmental, and financial outcomes into a comprehensive strategy. Orrick’s Impact Finance & Investment practices serves a global client base across a range of sectors, leveraging Orrick’s unique capabilities to provide innovative, effective, and thoughtful legal services to those clients aiming to create positive social and environmental change alongside targeted financial returns.

Perry serves as co-chair of the NYU Law Grunin Center/Impact Investing Legal Working Group’s annual conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing and is involved in other sector building initiatives.

Perry served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kazakhstan, where he supported the development of businesses aiming to create mobility and opportunity for people with disabilities in the region. Perry is an Ariane de Rothschild Fellow and member of the ROI Community and Nexus. A native of the Detroit area and University of Michigan graduate, Perry remains committed to the Detroit area, supporting Detroit expat initiatives.

Ashley Walter Partner & Chief Sustainability Officer, Responsible Business, Capital Markets

Seattle

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Practice:

Technology & Innovation Sector
Responsible Business
Capital Markets
Renewable Energy
Wind Energy
Solar Energy
Energy Storage
International Trade and Investment
Mergers & Acquisitions
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Ashley Walter Partner & Chief Sustainability Officer

Seattle

As Orrick’s Chief Sustainability Officer, he also oversees Orrick's strategic sustainability initiatives. Ashley focuses on developing innovative methods of supporting clients in achieving ESG objectives, including designing novel systems to manage supply chain risk; forming and guiding management-level ESG Steering Committees; and helping clients address the ESG requirements of major customers by engaging with those customers on our clients’ behalf.

Ashley is a co-founder and past chair of the Corporate Social Responsibility Law Committee of the ABA Business Law Section, has co-chaired the Practising Law Institute's annual ESG program for the last four years, and is heavily involved in ESG initiatives at Stanford Law School, where has served as a moderator at the Stanford Directors' College, has lectured on ESG at business law courses, has taught the course “Corporate Social Responsibility,” and will be teaching the course “Law and Governance in ESG Strategy” in the spring of 2025. Prior to Orrick, Ashley founded the corporate social responsibility practice at a Silicon Valley-based law firm.

How I help clients:

Customer ESG Engagement: Engaging with clients’ major customers in response to ESG inquiries or requirements
Supply Chain Risk: Developing responsible sourcing systems for high-risk supply chains
ESG Goal Management: Advice regarding retaining, modifying or withdrawing ESG goals
ESG Steering Committees: Forming and guiding management-level ESG Steering Committees
ESG Due Diligence: Conducting ESG due diligence with a focus on post-closing program building
Quarterbacking Compliance: Creating and advancing a project plan for regulatory compliance, including working with third-party consultants

J. T. Ho Partner, Head of Orrick’s Public Company Advisory practice, Corporate Governance, Capital Markets

San Francisco

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Practice:

Corporate Governance
Capital Markets
Compensation & Benefits
Environmental, Social & Corporate Governance (ESG)
Responsible Business

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J. T. Ho Partner, Head of Orrick’s Public Company Advisory practice

San Francisco

Corporate Governance. J.T. counsels companies on Board and committee oversight, assessment, independence and composition issues. He also helps companies to develop effective shareholder engagement programs and governance-related disclosures, and understand and consider the views of proxy advisors, shareholders, and other stakeholders in their decision making.

Securities Reporting. On the securities front, he focuses on advising clients in connection with securities offerings, proxy statements, periodic SEC reports, stock exchange listing obligations, stock repurchases and the sale and reporting of securities by insiders. He regularly counsels companies on difficult and emerging disclosure issues and provides training on disclosure best practices.

Shareholder Activism. J.T. has helped many companies successfully navigate shareholder proposals and activism campaigns through leveraging his knowledge of shareholder perspectives and securities laws. He also helped many companies identify and address potential activist threats through adopting reasonable defenses, collaborating on effective shareholding engagement and communication strategies and addressing risk oversight issues.

Executive Compensation and Succession Planning. J.T. advises on compensation committee matters and related disclosures, executive transitions, and succession planning. He also advises on the design of cash and equity incentive plans, and has helped over a dozen companies remediate failed or low "say on pay" votes.

Sustainability. J.T. helps companies identify and understand the risks and opportunities associated with sustainability initiatives and disclosures and incorporate sustainability into their overall business strategy and executive incentive plans. More recently, he has helped companies navigate ESG-focused proposals and activism issues and the growing anti-ESG movement.

J.T. serves on the advisory board of The Corporate Counsel and hosts “J.T. Ho's Fast Five,” a monthly podcast on The Corporate Counsel where J.T. covers the five new things public companies ought to know each month. J. T. also hosts "Understanding Activism," a podcast on Deal Lawyers and Corporate Counsel that focuses on different perspectives on shareholder activism.

He has presented at notable conferences sponsored by The Corporate Counsel, the Securities Regulation Institute, The Rock Center for Corporate Governance, the Society for Corporate Governance, the ABA, the Practical Law Institute, Compensation Standards, Practical ESG, National Investor Relations Institute and NASPP. He is recognized as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500, as one of the Ones to Watch® Best Lawyers in America, and was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Ladan Mohaddes Associate, Energy & Infrastructure, Renewable Energy

New York

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D:+1 212 506 5028
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Energy & Infrastructure Sector
Energy & Infrastructure
Renewable Energy

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Ladan Mohaddes Associate

New York

Her practice focuses on project finance and development for renewable energy projects.

Prior to law school, Ladan worked as a patent examiner at the USPTO. Her concentration area was in renewable energy technology including battery storage and hydrogen and fuel cells. She received a Bronze Medal from the Department of Commerce for Superior Federal Service.

Prior to USPTO, Ladan was a senior packaging engineer in a leading semiconductor company where she led supplier selection and qualification effort and helped with suppliers' development activities and capacity expansion.