Conference programme

The arc of the ESG movement and how we got here.

How is ESG impacting the financial industries, and being impacted by it? 

Shareholder activism; global regulatory developments and guidance. 

Why is ESG becoming a political issue in the financial industry and is that a problem?

Speakers will use their real-world experiences to illustrate the intersection of ESG and business, also highlighting key ESG drivers, such as climate and sustainability, supply chain, labor, disclosure and governance.

How should the oil, gas and mining industries manage their ESG objectives and diverse stakeholder interests while continuing to run their businesses and meet global demand?  How do we advise industries that are essential to national security and modern life, but are targeted as negative contributors to climate change and other ESG priorities?

As ESG committments have proliferated, so have related litigation and enforcement.  Overpromising and underdelivering has proven costly in a range of litigation, such as shareholder and citizen suits, as well as government investigations and enforcement.  ESG-related disputes transcend greenwashing claims and also involve challenges to various relevant standards and practices.  This panel will offer global perspectives on recent disputes- related developments and address strategies for mitigating ESG risks, including essential roles for legal, compliance, and other professionals.

The growth of ESG is a priority for many corporations as well as law firms.  What is less settled is the connection between the two.  Companies are certainly investing internally and externally to grow their sophistication and success in how they govern ESG - and law firms are rapidly growing practice areas in the ESG space.  But there are significant questions about the scope of the law and legal counseling in serving clients on ESG, which areas warrant outside counsel support versus being handled in-house or through non-legal consultants, and how in-house leaders perceive the rapidly exploding law firm marketing efforts in this space. 

This panel will bring together corporate leaders in ESG programmes to share their tips and pointers for providing their counsel to law firms in the ESG arena, which practice areas drive the biggest demand for outside counsel legal work, and what they see as working and not working on law firms increasingly aggressive efforts to market their counsel in this space.

We will conclude the IBA ESG conference with a panel of general counsels that bring a global perspective from organisations across a range of industries discussing the role of the GC in respect of ESG, how they deal with ESG from a governance perspective, what concerns them most, what trends they see and what they expect from their outside counsel.