{"id":274812,"date":"2026-07-06T08:55:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/events\/?page_id=274812"},"modified":"2026-07-06T08:58:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T08:58:36","slug":"event-report-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/my.legal500.com\/events\/esg-summit-2026\/event-report-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Event Report 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Legal\u00a0500\u00a0ESG summit returned to London on 2 July\u00a0to reflect and look ahead to another critical year in the sustainability space.\u00a0Opening the day, Legal 500\u2019s Harry Hyde\u00a0welcomed the sponsors, speakers, and delegates\u00a0and spoke of the continued importance of everyone in the room continuing to be green ambassadors in their own spheres.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Philippa Hann, CEO of Paradigm Norton Financial Planning, kicked off the day with a keynote speech\u00a0focusing on speaking up when it matters most.\u00a0Hann reflected on\u00a0the importance of ethics, sustainability, and purpose within organisations and how general counsel\u00a0can beat out naysaying dynamics\u00a0in order to\u00a0ensure ESG gains its rightful place at the\u00a0corporate table.\u00a0Drawing on Hann\u2019s insights and experience, the session saw delegates discuss\u00a0among\u00a0themselves\u00a0the meaning of ethics and sustainability and how they can become\u00a0part of a positive organisational culture.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the first panel of the day, Sarah Walker, partner at Travers Smith,\u00a0led a session on the intersection between AI and sustainability.\u00a0The discussion\u00a0focused on how sustainability and AI could become complementary, reflecting on the importance of the just transition, meaningful digital upskilling, and responsible innovation.\u00a0Walker\u00a0was joined by\u00a0Oliver Light, principal director and sustainability lead for private equity and real estate,\u00a0at\u00a0Accenture UK&I;\u00a0Chantal Beaudoin, head of ESG\u00a0at\u00a0Knight Frank Investment Management; and\u00a0Georgina Becker, human-centric responsible AI consultant\u00a0at\u00a0Kainos.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The delegates then broke out into three roundtable sessions\u00a0which took a closer look\u00a0at some key practical ESG considerations.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dentons partners Helen Bowdren and Alexander McGregor led a session focused on ESG and crisis management. Reflecting on\u00a0regulator\u00a0scrutiny, stakeholder activism, and business disruption, the session saw delegates\u00a0strategise\u00a0with the hosts on how in-house legal teams can\u00a0identify,\u00a0manage, and effectively respond to\u00a0ESG crises, placing an emphasis on brand protection, litigation avoidance, and supply chain risk management.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Travers Smith partners Sarah-Jane Denton and Richard Brown\u00a0reflected on the dual pressures of geopolitical uncertainty and the green transition and\u00a0looked at the drivers\u00a0of,\u00a0and solutions\u00a0to,\u00a0the energy transition and security dilemma.\u00a0The hosts and delegates worked to untangle the regulatory framework,\u00a0identified\u00a0the impactful\u00a0low-carbon solutions open to businesses, and\u00a0posed strategies to overcome\u00a0the challenges within implementing transition plans.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben Stansfield, sustainability partner at Gowling WLG sat down with George Pawley, general counsel at Oxygen Conservation,\u00a0to lead a discussion on how\u00a0in-house\u00a0counsel can build a sustainability-aligned legal function from the ground-up. The session focused on\u00a0growing\u00a0businesses, particularly\u00a0within the emerging carbon and nature markets, and discussed best practice\u00a0in scaling-up teams,\u00a0navigating disclosure requirements, and managing supply chain and green claims risk.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the breakout sessions,\u00a0delegates\u00a0convened again\u00a0for the second panel of the day, where in-house experts\u00a0Lisa Lischak, general counsel at\u00a0Nexora; Punam Mehta, group general counsel at Longevity Partners; and James Thorne, associate general counsel at Associated British Foods discussed\u00a0how their engagement with sustainability is changing and how legal leaders can move from ESG ambition to authenticity.\u00a0Moderated by Legal 500\u2019s Harry Hyde,\u00a0the\u00a0panel\u00a0explored\u00a0how in-house counsel can\u00a0maintain\u00a0sustainability gains\u00a0while mitigating\u00a0the increasing reputational and supply chain risks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the last panel of the day, Dentons\u2019\u00a0Felicity Ewing\u00a0took to the stage to\u00a0lead a discussion into\u00a0the ever-changing ESG risk landscape, its impact on liability and litigation, and what this means for corporates and their in-house teams.\u00a0Joining Ewing for a\u00a0vital\u00a0horizon-scan\u00a0of key\u00a0regulatory\u00a0and litigation\u00a0developments\u00a0as well as\u00a0the\u00a0sustainability and climate\u00a0risk landscape\u00a0were\u00a0Penny\u00a0Cygan-Jones, ESG and sustainability lead for group legal at DNV;\u00a0Adam Heppinstall KC, barrister at Henderson Chambers; and Dentons partners Helen Bowdren and Alexander McGregor.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To close out the day, Legal 500\u2019s Harry Hyde returned to the stage for his closing remarks, which reflected on how the ESG space continues to bring together diverse\u00a0expertise, with legal leaders making the most of the risk landscape and green opportunities to help build resilient, purposeful, and future-ready businesses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The day ended as delegates joined for a\u00a0drinks\u00a0reception, sharing their successes and expectations for the next year of ESG action.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Legal\u00a0500\u00a0ESG summit returned to London on 2 July\u00a0to reflect and look ahead to another critical year in the sustainability space.\u00a0Opening the day, Legal 500\u2019s Harry Hyde\u00a0welcomed the sponsors, speakers, and delegates\u00a0and spoke of the continued importance of everyone in the room continuing to be green ambassadors in their own spheres.\u00a0 Philippa Hann, CEO of … <\/p>\n

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