Law360 Quotes Andrew Freedman on Activist Investors’ Heightened Focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Issues

Corporate Partner and Co-Head of Olshan’s Activist & Equity Investment Group Andrew Freedman was quoted in a recent Law360 article (subscription required) on the heightened focus of activist investors on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) concerns at public companies. As ESG matters like climate change and board and employee diversity increasingly affect public companies’ worth, investors are assessing these topics to determine a company’s long-term value. “People haven’t really made the connection between shareholder activism and companies’ ESG profiles and just assume shareholder activists are concerned with one thing and one thing only, and that’s performance and value creation. But actually, it all goes together” Mr. Freedman explains. “Our activist clients,” he continues, “they’re very focused on companies’ ESG profiles because they want to understand when approaching any investment what the risks are within any given company. ESG—the environmental, social and governance quotient—plays directly into that.”