[author: Beth Castro]
ESG. CSR. CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) is how companies integrate social and sustainability issues into their business operations. ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) he refers to three key factors in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact of a business. Both relate to a company’s commitment to social responsibility, but CSR defines this aspect from a qualitative perspective, while ESG defines how it can be measured.
What Should Law Firms Do? How should I counsel clients on ESG-related issues?
Thinking Beyond Business’s Soledad Matteozzi recently spoke at the World Law Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility Forum to answer these questions. The forum, which she launched in 2020, will include regular meetings where law firm representatives share her CSR best practices, as well as attendees helping to organize her CSR initiatives across the initial network. Did. WLG | ImpactAt , 40 member companies have completed environmental projects in their communities, ranging from river cleanups to electronics recycling campaigns, carbon reduction contests and educational webinars. Soledad said that before starting her consulting business, she was a longtime partner at a member firm of the World Law Group, so she was the perfect person to bring up this topic on the forum.
Soledad lives all over the world and, based on his past experience in nonprofits, is interested in learning more about what corporations, law firms, and service providers are doing to address social and environmental issues. now have After completing her additional education through her ESG program published by the Competent Boards, she met with her Silvana Skverer to help companies incorporate sustainability practices into their businesses. Established Beyond Business. Given Soledad’s background, working with law firms to incorporate her ESG into strategic planning has become a key area for her.
Through membership and collaboration with groups such as the Law Firm Sustainability Network, Conscious Capitalism, and IBA/ABA, Soledad understands that clients are becoming more sophisticated on ESG and need trusted advisors to help them transition and prepare their businesses. I’ve seen law firms report. She addresses future government regulations and client expectations. She also notes that the law firm itself is considered part of its clients’ supply chain, and many of these clients select suppliers based on their commitment to ESG and report on her ESG activities. and may be requested to report. Supply chain. In a recent survey conducted by the Law Firm Sustainability Network, 87% of her responding law firms reported that a potential or existing client had requested to report on her ESG activities. Sustainable practices also help law firms optimize resources and attract and retain talent.
One thing she sees among her clients is that many clients either have a strong mission statement but don’t have matching actions, how to measure and/or how to report it, or Implementing many practices but not having a common goal or strategy. Make those efforts a cohesive part of the company’s mission. Simply put, “If you have a qualitative goal, give it a quantitative goal, do it, measure it, and report it,” she said.
She explained that law firms should start by:
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Plan and evaluate the work they are already doing socially, environmentally and through their own governance.
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Define priorities.
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Develop policies that meet those priorities.
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Create an action plan/sustainability strategy based on that mission.
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Find ways to measure impact (key performance indicators (KPIs)).When
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Identify ways to communicate ESG impact internally and externally.
Part of the process undoubtedly involves discussing the company’s ESG program with the company’s clients. This helps the company identify key initiatives to champion and helps the company as a whole think about how to have the greatest impact based on its skills, community, culture, etc.
When it comes to metrics and KPIs, a sustainability strategy needs to be able to measure its impact in a qualitative way in order to be successful and effective over the long term. First, it is important to determine the information that provides valuable insight into the firm’s performance and the data needed to provide that information.
You can start by looking at the metrics and rating systems your clients and competitors use to benchmark their programs. Existing voluntary sustainability reporting frameworks and standards used by leading law firms include Evadis, Isometrix, Integrity Next, and The World Economic Stakeholder Capitalism Standard.
Examples of the types of ESG initiatives that law firms have adopted include:
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Environment: the impact of companies on the environment
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Setting standards for environmental performance and responsible sourcing for all offices.
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It reduces your water, energy and paper consumption as well as your carbon footprint.
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Social: a company’s business relationships with its employees, suppliers, clients and communities
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Improve the resilience and well-being of your company’s workforce.
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Improve gender balance in corporate partnerships/leadership.
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Promote diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside the workplace.
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Partner with NGOs and other community organizations.
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Pro bono community work: support non-profits with distribution and more
Renewable energy to low-income communities.
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Governance: Corporate Leadership, Compensation and Compliance
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Define your company’s ESG scope and definition.
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Strengthen board/management oversight of ESG-related policies, guidelines and progress.
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Standardize business conduct policies across the company.
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If a company has its own comprehensive plan and is “talking the lip”, it is well positioned to give legal advice to clients on ESG issues. Companies should ask how ESG is impacting existing business areas and industry sectors, how clients can improve sustainability while complying with upcoming regulatory requirements, We need to understand what ESG practices can be developed to leverage our expertise.
Soledad emphasized that companies that tie ESG to their core strategy are not doing so at the risk of profitability, but rather tend to outperform the market. She concluded by saying, “We have a business case for doing business sustainably.”
What steps should you take to achieve your ESG goals internally and further develop your own ESG practices?
