Environmental, social and governance (ESG)

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are of importance for businesses globally as the legal and regulatory landscape changes and ESG expectations of investors, customers, employees and other stakeholders grow. Now more than ever, investors are incorporating ESG criteria into their investment assessments and valuation decisions, and perceive companies with strong sustainability programs one of the indicators of sound and reliable performance going forward.

Climate change and sustainability rightly dominates the current ESG focus. In particular, the financial sector is taking proactive steps to engage financial institutions in preparing and implementing strategies for supporting low-carbon economy and providing sustainable finance. Financial institutions providing project finance are placing greater emphasis on substantive implementation of applicable sustainability frameworks including IFC Performance Standards and the Equator Principles. Greater attention is paid to the rights of indigenous peoples and human rights in general, and governance structures are gaining in prominence; sponsors are responding with more detailed identification and mitigation of environmental and social impacts throughout the lifetime of their projects.

Our lawyers advise clients across all sectors on ESG risks and compliance measures, helping businesses manage their risks more effectively while becoming more competitive in the market. We have extensive knowledge of sustainable performance-related laws and regulations, standards and initiatives and are able to advise clients on fulfilling their corporate ESG commitments.

Our areas of work include

• Business and human rights
• Climate change and sustainability
• Corporate governance
• Crisis management
• Emerging markets
• Employment and labor 
• Environmental law
• Information governance, privacy and cybersecurity
• Insurance
• Litigation and disputes, including class actions
• Projects
• Regulation and investigations, including disclosures
• Reputation and defamation protection
• Risk advisory
• Supply chain management