Luke La Rocca, left, and Merhnaz Jalali, right, with Cozen O’Connor. Courtesy photos Once considered an afterthought, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have steadily gained momentum in recent years becoming a key component in many of the world’s largest companies’ strategies and a popular metric by which potential investors evaluate investment opportunities.It is no coincidence that the ESG phenomenon has also garnered the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). While the SEC has faced criticism for its failure to compel ESG specific disclosures as no new rule-making has been issued just yet, the agency has sent clear signals over the last few months to public companies and investors about its commitment to disclosures of ESG matters.