How the law department can unlock your ESG strategy

Podcast host Susannah Streeter welcomes Paula Hogéus, EY Global Labor and Employment Law Leader and Nordics Law Leader and Kasia Klaczynska Lewis, Partner, Law, Ernst & Young Law Tałasiewicz, Zakrzewska i Wspólnicy spółka. Together they discuss how companies can further their sustainability efforts and how the law department is often the key to unlocking solutions.

EY research shows that two-thirds of the public believe CEOs should lead on ESG change, rather than governments. In addition, 42% of consumers say they will stop buying from companies that act in a socially or environmentally inappropriate manner.

And more than three-quarters of investors are conducting structured ESG evaluations of target companies. Business leaders have made multi-billion dollar promises about environmental targets and progress on social and governance issues. Successive COP summits have made similar green commitments, not least pledging to invest up to US$6 trillion annually in renewable energy until 2030.

Delivering on these promises can’t come a moment too soon, given that the landscape already is shifting fast. New laws necessitating regulatory compliance and going far beyond current voluntary commitments are arriving.

In this episode of Tax and Law in Focus, our panel of law leaders discuss the full impact of these challenges across environmental and social issues and how law departments should adjust and deal with this increasingly complex environment.

Key takeaways

• Anticipating and addressing rapidly evolving regulatory requirements, social issues and business practices while maintaining a focus on core business goals needs more input from general counsel and their teams.
• Companies do not yet fully understand the potential impact of the EU Green Deal. 
  
• Prepare for compliance with legislation on areas such as equal pay, discrimination and health and safety.
  

For your convenience, full text transcript of this podcast is also available. Read the transcript.