Event information
Legal Business is thrilled to welcome delegates to its inaugural ESG Summit in June. The Summit will feature leading names in the ESG sphere addressing the most pressing ESG topics from diversity & inclusion to climate change and sustainability. ESG has emerged as a significant demand on corporate legal departments, law firms and beyond. Panels will address crucial questions around championing inclusivity and accessibility, navigating environmental compliance, driving sustainability strategies, and bringing about change across all aspects of ESG. With support from Normative, among other sponsors, attendees can look forward to a day of engaging and interactive discussions, followed by networking drinks to round off the evening.
Topics that will be covered:
Environmental Compliance and Sustainability Strategies: The General Counsel’s Role
Join us in exploring the pivotal role of the General Counsel in environmental compliance and sustainability strategies. This panel delves into the legal aspects of navigating environmental regulations, sustainable supply chain management, carbon emissions reduction, and transparent environmental impact reporting, all from the perspective of a General Counsel.
Diversity, Inclusion, and Legal Leadership: General Counsel’s Perspective
Discover how General Counsel can lead the charge in promoting diversity and inclusion within organizations. This panel addresses racial and ethnic disparities, inclusive recruiting practices, and the legal aspects of diversity initiatives, offering insights from General Counsel on fostering an inclusive legal environment.
Inclusivity and Legal Responsibilities: General Counsel’s Role in Promoting Diversity
Learn how General Counsel can champion inclusivity and accessibility in the legal profession. This panel covers topics like creating inclusive workplaces for individuals with disabilities, embracing neurodiversity, ensuring accessibility in legal technology, and supporting mental health among legal professionals.
LGBTQ+ Inclusivity and Legal Advocacy: Insights from General Counsel
Explore legal protections and strategies for advancing LGBTQ+ inclusivity in organizations, as advocated by General Counsel. This panel also discusses mentorship and support for LGBTQ+ legal professionals, global LGBTQ+ rights, and legal issues related to gender identity and expression.
Women in Legal Leadership: Advancing Equality and Inclusion
Join us in examining the legal aspects and strategies for advancing women in legal leadership roles, promoting work-life balance, achieving equal pay and compensation equity, and advocating for gender equality. This panel highlights the commitments and initiatives led by General Counsel.
Regulatory Compliance and Legal Risks
Get a comprehensive overview of ESG regulations and legal implications in this panel. Experts will discuss current and emerging requirements, risks, consequences of non-compliance, and best practices for proactive compliance, followed by a Q&A session.
Climate Change and Legal Obligations
Explore legal strategies to address climate change and achieve compliance. This panel covers emissions reduction, climate-related disclosures, and showcases legal approaches to sustainable practices. Join us for legal and environmental experts’ insights in the Q&A session.
Supply Chain Sustainability and Legal Responsibility
Dive into the legal implications of sustainable procurement and supply chain management. Learn about due diligence, compliance, and strategies for strong supplier relationships from experts in this interactive discussion. Don’t miss the Q&A session with legal and supply chain experts.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Legal Framework
Discover the legal frameworks for DEI initiatives, considerations in addressing discrimination, and DEI success stories. Engage in the Q&A session with legal and DEI experts for valuable insights into promoting diversity and inclusion.
Data Privacy, Security, and Legal Compliance
Explore the legal aspects of data privacy in ESG initiatives, ensuring compliance with data protection laws, data security, and legal response to data breaches. Join the Q&A session to gain insights from legal and data privacy experts.
Social Responsibility and Stakeholder Engagement: Legal Perspectives
Understand the legal dimensions of stakeholder engagement, balancing legal considerations with social responsibility objectives, and learn from case studies highlighting legal strategies for effective engagement. Engage in a Q&A session with legal and social responsibility experts.
Litigation, Reputation Management, and ESG Challenges
Delve into managing ESG-related legal disputes, protecting organizational reputation, and addressing ethical and legal considerations in ESG-related litigation. Get valuable insights from legal and reputation management experts during the Q&A session
If you believe that your team would be well-suited to take the lead on this panel, please get in touch with Kylie MacKenzie at Kylie.MacKenzie@legalease.co.uk to explore potential sponsorship opportunities
Agenda
8.15am – 9.00am Registration
9.00am – 9.10am Opening Remarks
9.10am – 10.00am Session 1 ‘Litigation, Reputation Management, and ESG Challenges’.Â
10.00am – 10.50am Session 2 – Supply chain and the rise of reporting and disclosure
Increasingly, ESG performance is enhancing, or eroding, a company’s value, reputation and relationship with its clients. Over the next few years, we’re likely to see new regulations requiring companies to observe ESG standards across their supply chain – ensuring business partners are meeting ESG standards requires a great deal of preparation as well as investment, resources, and constant monitoring.
- Michael Barlow, head of ESG, Burges Salmon
10.50am – 11.10am Coffee Break
11.10am – 12.00pm Session 3 GovernanceÂ
- Matthew Timmons, head of global sustainability, PwC
12.00pm – 12.50pm Managing the “E” in the ESG: The role of carbon accounting in an ESG strategy, its relevance for regulatory compliance, and for gaining a competitive edge.
ESG reporting concerns a business’s approach to the Environment, Social, and Governance – three distinct strategies that must be disclosed in most reporting frameworks. Greenhouse gas emissions are one crucial part of the E in ESG, and, unfortunately, businesses often underestimate the complexity of their calculation and disclosure. Learn from experts and practitioners in the field how to successfully navigate your corporate ESG strategy to ensure regulatory compliance and seize the business opportunities of accurate carbon accounting.
- Dr. Alexander Schmidt, head of science, sustainability & climate research, Normative
12.50pm – 1.50pm Lunch
1.50pm 2.40pm Session 5
2.40pm – 3.30pm Session 6
3.30pm – 3.50pm Coffee Break
3.50pm – 4.40pm Session 7
4.40pm – 4.45pm Closing Remarks
4.45pm 6.00pm Drinks and canapes
Speakers
Dr. Alexander Schmidt, head of science, sustainability & climate research, NormativeÂ
In association with...
Burges Salmon is an ambitious, sustainable and inclusive firm that ensures its clients, people and communities flourish. The firm’s vision is to be the market-leading independent UK law firm that provides the best proposition for its people and clients. Leveraging its extensive ESG expertise, the firm provides strategic and operational advice to clients, working with them to unlock the opportunities there to be seized. The firm has developed a number of practical tools to consolidate all ESG guidance, legislation and other useful resources into interactive and intuitive platforms including an ESG Risk Review, ESG Corporate Disclosure and ESG Pensions tools as well as a Modern Slavery Statement compliance check.
With offices in Bristol, Edinburgh, London and Dublin, Burges Salmon maintains a collaborative and cohesive culture which underpins the quality of its work and client service. Burges Salmon has lawyers who are qualified to work in all three legal jurisdictions in the UK — England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Co-ordinating advice for clients across multiple jurisdictions, much of the firm’s work has an international element, helping overseas clients expand into the UK and supporting UK-based businesses grow globally.
The firm competes at the top of the legal market, working for large corporates, entrepreneurial businesses, institutions and public bodies and private individuals. Working collaboratively, in partnership with clients, Burges Salmon forms its thinking around their needs, delivering astute legal advice and commercial guidance.
Normative is an enterprise carbon platform providing a foundation of reliable emissions data for companies like Eurostar, Nordea, and The Restaurant Group to plan, implement, and verify the impact of sustainability initiatives. With a carbon accounting engine built on science, a carbon network of supplier data sources, and a team of climate experts, Normative empowers companies to take control of their emissions. Headquartered in Stockholm, Normative aims to accelerate the transition to net zero by partnering with leading climate change organizations including the UN.
Travers Smith is a leading full-service law firm, based in London. We regularly conduct cutting edge and industry-first work for clients across industry sectors and have carved a market-leading reputation for our expertise in global dispute resolution and investigations, international asset management, and cross border M&A. We have acted on high-profile and novel ESG-related litigation and offer preventative counselling to client in relation to ESG risk. Travers Smith’s ESG & Impact Group offers the full spectrum of ESG services to our clients, including on transactions, sustainable finance, regulatory advice and compliance, ESG risk, investigations and disputes.