Can you talk about you or your company’s efforts relating to renewability, sustainability or other environmentally- friendly activities?

As my company is in the real estate business and owns a real estate investment trust (REIT), we recognise the importance of environmentalism, social stewardship, and good corporate governance. We remain steadfast in accelerating our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts to create sustainable and long-term financial value for our business, stakeholders, and communities. Our sustainability strategy is applied across all facets of our operations and is fundamental to the way we design our sustainability roadmap and initiatives to achieve our goals. Our company has also recently adopted the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework to provide clearer guidance on climate-related governance, strategy, risk management, metrics, and targets.

Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change in their organisations?

In-house lawyers have been focused on corporate governance for many years and with the increased emphasis on hard legal requirements, ESG issues have become fundamental considerations for the in-house legal team. ESG factors governing the company are underpinned by legal requirements and regulations related to anti-bribery and corruption, anti-money laundering, health and safety, and employment. There are also increasing obligations to disclosure and reporting requirements aimed at greater ESG practice transparency. This, in turn, paves the way for higher corporate scrutiny and higher risk of litigation and activism amongst stakeholders. In-house lawyers therefore play a critical role in helping their organisation meet the changing expectations of stakeholders who care about ESG efforts.

As general counsel, I am continually working to leverage my team in the most effective and practical way to support our internal clients in their corporate sustainability strategy. Our aim is to be invaluable partners and gatekeepers of their respective businesses as they navigate and implement their corporate sustainability objectives.