ESG: how can General Counsels and in-house lawyers guide their business to the starting line?

Author Sarah Ingwersen
March 12, 2021

On the 4th March 2021, Sarah Ingwersen and Eva Bishop facilitated the latest in our Taylor Root ESG webinar series titled ESG: How can General Counsels and in-house lawyers guide their business to the starting line?. 

There is so much information in the public domain about ESG and the importance of measuring impact for an organisation. But what role do General Counsels and in-house lawyers have to play in guiding their organisations to establishing an ESG proposition?

We wanted to explore the functionality of ESG within a business, how to make it measurable, meaningful and sustainable. More specifically, we examined the role in-house lawyers (at all levels) can play in shaping and developing an ESG proposition, without it feeling like a box-ticking exercise.

Facilitated by:

Topics discussed by our panellists included;

ESG Overview

  • What is ESG and how can it drive your business forward?
  • Can an ESG proposition have universal appeal across all sectors or is it only relevant for those with a tangible product or output?
  • What is a direct advantage of ESG in terms of retention / attraction of talent?
  • Why is ESG important from a CEO’s perspective?

The Impact of ESG in the current climate

  • Has the ESG agenda accelerated or taken a back seat as a result of Covid-19?
  • How do we avoid ESG greenwashing?
  • How do you meaningfully measure ESG impact (both internally and externally)?

ESG relevance to in-house lawyers

  • What should General Counsels / in-house lawyer know about ESG?
  • How easy is it for in-house lawyers to influence ESG change?
  • What role should the General Counsel play in educating the Board on ESG?
  • What questions should General Counsels ask their Board in relation to establishing an ESG proposition?

Panellists on the day were;

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