Managing Partners Forum 2021 - The Rise of ESG in Law Firms by Al Tamimi & Company

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) agenda continues to be a global priority across all industries. With the ongoing ESG concerns, there is an increasing need for accountability within our corporations, communities, and on an individual level. When we look at the legal profession, there continues to be a growing spotlight on the role the legal industry plays in helping to tackle ESG concerns and the level of consideration taken with the representation of clients who operate in sectors deemed to be negatively impacting the ESG agenda. For example, there is an increase in climate-related lawsuits, mainly with greenhouse-gas-emitting companies. Law firms are being asked to help make the fight against climate change their business and consider the real-world impact of their actions. As the ESG movement gains momentum, forward-thinking law firms have positioned themselves to provide advice to their clients while also getting their own houses in order. More than ever before, clients seek opportunities that are socially responsible investment decisions. Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance factors are high on the radar, and clients want ESG integrated into the due diligence we carry out on their behalf. Clients want sustainable partnerships, and they look to their legal advisors, and generally the professional services sector, to take meaningful steps regarding our environmental footprint and how we support them. The legal industry can play a significant role in positively moving forward the ESG agenda to support our clients, employees, and communities. Our recent Managing Partner’s Forum (MPF) allowed us to come together and identify ways in which the MPF group is making a difference and further steps that are needed. We have compiled a summary of the key outputs from the discussion and collated a snapshot of the ESG activities happening across the network. Samer Qudah Managing Partner Al Tamimi & Company 2

Introduction

Executive Summary

ESG Snapshots A&L Goodbody

Al Tamimi & Company

Anjarwalla & Khanna

Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Cuatrecasas

Gleiss Lutz

Jeantet

Khaitan & Co

Kim & Chang

Kinstellar

Loyens & Loeff

NCTM

Rajah & Tann

Executive Summary

Social

During the break-out session, the group was split into three to discuss the various aspects of ESG and how this has been implemented in their firms as well as how these are being dealt with in a client context.

On the social aspect of ESG, the group reported that the focus is mainly on:

Pro bono work with some firms indicating they have dedicated pro bono partners.

Environment The group concluded that all firms focus on:

Improved waste management

Reduced paper consumption

Recycling of electrical products

Full-time or parttime support to assist with the execution of the CSR strategy.

Pro bono targets and quantifying pro bono hours. Pro bono hours for most firms are treated the same way as billable hours and will count towards appraisals.

CSR / Responsible business. A more coordinated approach to charity, with some firms even having a foundation to support with funding of special CSR projects.

Implementation of a CSR strategy and/or policy, some will report on these on an annual basis. Diversity and inclusion (including gender and disability diversity).

Governance Hybrid working / reduce energy consumption related to commuting

Temperature control in offices

Transportation subsidies to stimulate use of public transport and promotion of ride sharing

The group agreed that governance is driven by policies and procedures that are being put in place in relation to ESG specifically and it was agreed that:

Cultural dynamics play a part in governance.

Approach to governance across firms is similar but not universal because of cultural differences.

Decisions regarding governance are being dealt with centrally.

It is important to ensure that the people in our firms are being dealt with appropriately.

A general comment was made that it was agreed that encouraging young people to lead on these environmental initiatives is beneficial for the firm and could help with future recruitment as the next/young generation of lawyers will be looking more and more at ESG. It was also agreed that one of the things the group could actively do to positively contribute to the environment would be to find and share genuine business opportunities with a sustainable impact, and help clients who initiate these types of projects with sourcing investments, by making introductions and leveraging from each other’s networks.

In some jurisdictions there is heavy regulation regarding ESG and in other jurisdictions it is light touch or there is no regulation at all.

Focus is on how we deal with inclusion and diversity.

Generally there is a high degree of awareness and high level of emotional intelligence around ESG.

ESG at ALG ALG has a coordinated and strategic plan for ESG. We strive to work ethically and sustainably, to have minimal impact on our environment, and to make meaningful contribution and impact in our community. Some of our initiatives are as follows:

Environmental

Clients are increasingly wanting to understand and manage the legislative, regulatory and voluntary developments in the climate action and wider ESG space. It is on every board room agenda. Social injustice and taxation are also coming into focus and in particular how it correlates with Ireland’s low corporation tax.

ALG is one of the founding and sustaining members of the Pro Bono Pledge in Ireland. The pledge which is being signed up by over 100 law firms asks the legal profession to commit to promoting access to justice by providing free legal advice to those in need. It provides a common definition of pro bono legal work, a commitment to a minimum aspirational target of 20 pro bono hours per lawyer per year and a mechanism to benchmark through annual reporting of anonymous pro bono data.

1. In 2018 ALG signed the Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI) Low Carbon Pledge making a commitment to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions intensity by 50% by 2030. ALG has shown a 57.83% intensity reduction since signing this pledge.

ESG in our jurisdiction

There is an increase in government, private sector and investor focus on sustainable business. The Irish Government have just announced their framework for a sustainable Ireland including industry specific goals for reducing carbon footprint. The Government is a coalition including the Green Party which is at the centre of driving change. Business representative groups (including Business in the Community) are actively engaging with industry and establishing sustainable business certification.

2. In 2021, ALG signed up to the new elements of the pledge. This renewed pledge requires us to commit to setting science-based carbon emissions reduction targets by 2024, which must include the entire carbon footprint (Scope 1, 2 & 3). 3. Our active Green Committee are currently in the process of creating these targets and are aiming to have them submitted and approved by Q1 2022.

Social impact The areas we believe our leadership and skills can have the most impact in our society is through our pro bono practice, our focus in the community and through our diversity and inclusion strategies:

Pro Bono Practice

Our lawyers commit to delivering at least 20 pro bono hours per year. In 2020, 8,420 hours were delivered and it is looking like that we will achieve over 10,000 this year. We give pro bono corporate legal advice to all our community partners but we also specialise in the following areas: • Housing law in partnership with Mercy Law Resource Centre and Focus Ireland • Asylum and refugee law including family reunification with Irish Refugee Centre • Legal review of medical reports with Spirasi – supporting survivors of torture • Advising refugee children on their applications to be reunited with their families who remained behind. We work in partnership with Kids in need of defence (KIND) on this project.

Community Projects Our main objective in our local community is to increase access to opportunities for young people in our local community through education and employment. Now more than ever social inclusion is an extremely prevalent issue as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are showing that inequalities are growing in our society. We have a number of educational and work experience programmes in place that are aimed at increasing the chances of students from less privileged backgrounds progressing to college, completing third level education and entering into employment – either in our law firm or elsewhere.

Diversity and Inclusion Being an inclusive organisation means being inclusive to all. ALG’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy comprises of five pillars; gender (DARE); LGBT+ (OneALG); social mobility; disability; cultural diversity. Some examples of our initiatives: • The objective of DARE is to provide an environment where, regardless of gender, our people are given the opportunities and experiences they require to progress in their chosen career path. • In 2020/2021, ALG paid particular attention to implementing initiatives in the disability and cultural diversity pillars. Its first step to building a programme of initiatives was to set up committees made up of people who were passionate about progressing and promoting inclusion in these areas. Over the last year ALG has run a number of events that have helped raise awareness of the different disabilities and cultures in the firm and in society. It has also highlighted the challenges the firm needs to do to become more inclusive.

Governance We are continuously striving to improve our policies and practices and to demonstrate best practice from a governance perspective. • In 2019 ALG was recertified for the Business Working Responsibly Mark for responsible and sustainable business practices. Developed by Business in the Community, the Mark is independently audited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland and is based on ISO 26000. • ALG was first certified for the Mark in 2016 and remains the only commercial law firm to achieve the standard. The Mark assess business practices relating to the environment, diversity and inclusion, community, stakeholder and supply chain management, ethical practices, learning and development, and client and employee engagement.

Recent example - Afghan project There was an outpour of support from across the firm in response to us providing assistance to the Afghan community through our pro bono practice. Our solicitors, paralegals, trainees and partners are supporting applications for discretionary visas for naturalised Afghan Irish citizens. We are working with 30 naturalised Afghan Irish citizens/refugees on a number of visa application, which in some cases apply to their parents, children, spouses and siblings and wider family members in fear of persecution from the Taliban. 11

Waste Management and Recycling

At Al Tamimi & Company, it’s not just about being part of the conversation; we want to ensure our teams throughout all 16 of our offices across the region are doing their bit. As a business, we have identified specific areas where we can make an impact, such as recycling, energy consumption, reduction of business travel, and disposal of waste. Law firms historically tended to look at ESG through the medium of CSR. Our thinking is different. We are in a process of mainstreaming the issues across our practice groups, sectors, jurisdictions and offices. Our goal is to ensure that we fully engage with the issues to ensure ESG considerations become pervasive across all of our activities.

Saving paper and ink by encouraging staff to print when necessary with the goal of reducing paper waste. A 76% reduction in the number of printers in our Dubai office due to less printing.

Recycling e-waste i.e. mobiles and computer input devices.

Carbon footprint reduction

A reduction in business travel between our 16 offices.

Click to read our Law Update Climate Change issue

Hybrid working-model has saved energy, reduced carbon emissions and enabled staff to enjoy a better work-life balance.

Our areas of impact •

Recycling

Energy Consumption

Reduction of Business Travel

Disposal of Waste

Implementation of ISO 1400 - an environmental management system to help improve our environmental performance through efficient use of resources, reduction of waste, and gaining the trust of stakeholders.

•

Climate Change Campaign to bring awareness around the latest regulations and climate developments taking place in our region.

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Project Tatweer – a firm-wide working group to share knowledge, best practice and insights from across the region on Climate/ESG.

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Comprehensive ESG Policy and Framework to help us measure, report and track progress. 13

Saudi Arabia has ambitious goals to generate 50% of the nation’s power needs using renewable energy by 2030.

Oman Vision 2040 aims to build a green and circular economy that addresses national needs.

Saudi Arabia

UAE Qatar

The UAE signed the Global Methane Pledge promising to reduce methane output by at least 30% this decade. UAE has also established the Abu Dhabi Hydrogren Alliance.

Bahrain’s Vision 2030 acknowledged the value of lowering pollution and creating a healthy and sustainable future for citizens and residents.

Clear Air

Renewable Energy Substantial waste management initiatives have been implemented in Egypt, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.

Continuous investment and improvements are being made to the legal framework across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in order to support sustainable development and ESG compliance. Governments within our region are focused on growing sustainably (particularly UAE and KSA economies). The region has a proliferation of long-term “visions” and environment considerations are at the heart of these initiatives. The outcome of COP26 has also accelerated commitment and sustainable development plans. 14

A pledge of 7% emissions reduction from business as usual by 2030.

Oman

The COP27 will take place in Egypt

Waste Management

Conference of the Parties in MENA

Qatar National Vision (QNV) 2030 identifies the need for sustainable development with an emphasises on preventive measures to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Contribution of renewable energy to Jordan’s electricity mix rose from 0.7% to 13% as of 2020. Egypt intends to increase electricity supplied from renewable sources to 20% by 2022 and 42% by 2035.

The UAE will host COP28

We continue to support our employees’ well-being through mental and physical health. We have introduced employee engagement initiatives including: a mental health campaign focused on promoting a mentally healthy workplace; the ‘SheMatters’ and ‘He-Matters’ programmes, a series of talks aimed at supporting our staff in the workplace.

As a Firm, we are committed to playing a leadership role in driving the development of the African Continent from helping with capacity building to supporting sustainable development in our countries. As a leading law firm operating in emerging markets, we feel that we can use the law and our position to help build a better and more sustainable world for all by working with our partners and business communities. Given that our markets are all emerging economies, a focus on ESG issues is both imperative but also challenging.

Employee’s sentiment surveys segmented by diverse employee groups

To continue to build an inclusive organization we listen and learn from employee feedback by formal and mechanism and processes which include:

We have created the People matter campaign which focuses on the development of different initiatives to target internal and external stakeholders which includes:

Focus groups for specific employees’ segments

Listening tours aimed at better understanding the lived experiences of specific employee groups

We have continued to reach out to the most vulnerable through our CSR initiatives, including offering sponsorships for highly talented School of Law students from needy backgrounds affected by the pandemic, feeding programmes for schools and needy families and supporting various care centres. Our PRO BONO Committee continues to coordinate and maximise the impact of our pro bono engagements, which are an element of our lawyers’ professional and ethical responsibility through assisting on appropriate causes, individuals and organizations.

Wellbeing

Pro-Bono, CSR and Impact

Rule of Law and Integrity

Diversity and inclusion

Talent nurturing

The Firm has taken up 16 new pro bono matters in the past 12 months. These were taken up on the Firm’s own initiative after being approached by the clients requiring pro bono services. Overall, the Firm has a total of about 30 active pro bono matters that the lawyers have been working on over the past year. We work with a number of reputable organisations in our pro bono work including The Vance Centre and Thomson Reuters.

Our focus on the Rule of Law in Africa continues to take shape as we seek to change the narrative towards a better and more prosperous tomorrow; with adherence to well written laws that secure rights and clearly outline responsibilities, the Continent over.

We are also committed and making a significant IMPACT by partnering with organisations which are changing the narrative in Kenya and beyond including:

Safari Doctors

We are supporting the development of community-driven healthcare solutions that can reach the doorsteps of those who need it the most. In particular, we are supporting Safari Doctors and Bomu Hospital with the development of the Shungwaya hospital in Lamu. Through this initiative the firm intends to push for development and implementation of regulatory and legislative reforms in the healthcare sector with a focus on the population that doesn’t have access to health care.

Flip-Flopi

We have partnered with Flipflopi to champion the legislative agenda at an East African Community (EAC) level through the drafting and introduction of a legislative framework to ban the use of single-use plastics in the EAC have drafted a single-use plastics bill to be presented before the EAC Legislative Assembly for consideration. We assisted Flip-Flopi with the preparation of a report that summarises all environmental laws within the EAC to showcase the progress that has been made over the years. The Flipflopi team has received advice from our tax and real estate teams in running their operations as well as our Business Development team, in facilitating awareness through engaging other partners and creating sensitisation and educative campaigns on the dangers of single-use plastic to our environment. In March, the Flipflopi took their message in the fight against single-use plastic pollution to the shores of Lake Victoria. They organised various activities between three East African countries (Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) to raise awareness and inspire communities to adopt circularwaste solutions to beat plastic pollution on Lake Victoria and other environmental challenges. A&K brought together its ALN member firms from Uganda and Tanzania to support the expedition in their respective countries and contribute towards the proposed single-use plastics bill.

The ALN Academy is a reflection of ALN’s commitment to drive and increase the flow of legal knowledge circulating within the continent and in doing so, enhance the rule of law and the establishment of best practice across the continent of Africa as well as capacity building.

As documented in our various policies, our resolve to uphold the highest ethical standards remains central to our operations and engagements. We are therefore proud to have been recognized by the British Chamber of Commerce Kenya (BCCK) in the recently released 2021 Integrity Index, which further affirms our unwavering commitment to observe the highest standards of ethical conduct and integrity in everything that we do while upholding the rule of law https://lnkd.in/dP_Hr5F.

56% Female staff

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion remains unmatched with 56% of our staff being female.

We strive to ensure that our talented lawyers and business services continue to thrive professionally and personally.

ESG at Corrs Internal

Corporate ‘greenwashing’ the latest target for climate change litigation

Shareholder activism (economic and social)

Evolving role of the General Counsel on regulatory, reputational and cultural ESG issues, strategy and framework

ESG

in our jurisdiction

Appointment of a Head of Business and Human Rights Establishment of Responsible Business Leadership Team guiding the work of the firm and the Climate Change and Sustainability Working Group.

Strong gender equality policy and practice and Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Employer of Choice for 14 consecutive years.

Membership of the UN Global Compact and annual reporting against the 10 principles of the UNGC and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Carbon neutral – both the firm and our services.

External

Development of the ESG Guide for General Counsel

Advising clients in relation to: •

Bespoke governance practices

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The development of programs of work for modern slavery due diligence and risk compliance

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The use and implementation of artificial intelligence and potential human rights impacts

•

Investigations on allegations of negative human rights impacts and violations in supply chains

•

Climate change preparedness, risk management, reporting and litigation risks

•

Anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) compliance frameworks and ABC investigations, anti-money laundering (AML) and countering terrorism financing (CTF)

ESG at Cuatrecasas Strategic Plan 2021 - 2023

ESG in our jurisdiction

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Improve management of the impact of our activity on the environment, human rights and governance, and our accountability.

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Explore and create knowledge applicable to our legal services, anticipating regulatory and market trends.

Responsible business (firm’s ESG)

ESG corporate disclosure and accountability: double materiality principle The 2018 European Commission Action Plan established the EU strategy to enhance the role of sustainable finance in the transition to a sustainable economy. Strategy renewed on 6 July 2021.

Committed to the Environment •

Sustainable offices - LEED Platinum certified (Mexico), LEED Gold certified (Barcelona, Madrid, Santiago Chile), LEED Silver certified (Lima)

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Reduced carbon footprint - NetZero Carbon commitment 2030

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Sustainable use of resources (energy, paper, water)

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Waste management

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Sustainable mobility

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Information and awareness campaigns

From soft law to hard law: the corporate duty of care to prevent dangers of climate change and protect human rights

Social Responsibility •

Gender equality plan and measures to develop female talent.

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are about to become hard law in the EU - A new standard of care and responsibility will become applicable to all companies operating in Europe with a special focus on access to judicial remedy for victims throughout a new EU Directive announces by the end of this year.

•

Flexible work plan, and health and wellbeing program.

•

Member of REDI (Corporate Network for Diversity and LGBTI Inclusion).

Our Team:

Our Social contribution: •

Pro Bono Program: 2,900 hours and 190 lawyers (2020).

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Cuatrecasas Foundation: promoting corporate governance through Manuel Olivencia award and scholarship.

•

Over 60 partnerships and collaborations with local NGOs and social projects.

Governance & Compliance

Increasing role of domestic judiciary: tort litigation around climate and human rights

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Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

•

Regulatory compliance policies (duties; training processes; and prevention, control and sanctioning policies).

Countries that have introduced in advance climate human rights corporate due diligence laws have witnessed an increase in litigation.

ESG Unit (firm’s legal services) •

Cross-functional approach

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No new or ad hoc practice area created

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Researches and identifies new needs of clients/sectors

Lawyer training Click here to read more. 22

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General training sessions for all groups

•

ESG Guides for our lawyers 23

The Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz), which passed into law in Germany in June2021, has also raised general awareness of another aspect of ESG. From 2023 onwards, the act will present companies with a whole host of challenges. Current developments and important issues concerning the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains are regularly discussed in our specially created LinkedIn group. A legal tech-tool developed by Gleiss Lutz Supply to check the relevance of the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains Supply Chain Awareness Check.

Claims brought by Environmental Action Germany (DUH) in respect of the planning of air quality control, driving bans for diesel vehicles and other clean air measures as well as information claims.

Since 1 January 2020, listed companies have been obliged to gear their remuneration structure towards the company’s “sustainable and long-term” development. The legal basis for this is the restated section 87(1), sentence 2 German Stock Corporation Act based on the Act Implementing the Second Shareholders’ Rights Directive (“ARUG II”). We provide comprehensive advice to supervisory boards on the design of remuneration systems, including in particular on the implementation of the concept of sustainability.

ESG in our jurisdiction

ESG at Gleiss Lutz

Awareness building (external): Gleiss Lutz lawyers have been comprehensively handling a wide range of legal issues now subsumed under “ESG” since even before the term became established. Today, Gleiss Lutz is one of the most active legal advisors in the market, as evidenced by a large number of academic publications, specialist lectures, training courses, webinars, podcasts, client updates, social media activities, events, etc.

ESG Practice (external): The firm has its own ESG practice available to help clients in a wide range of ESG measures and activities: supply chain compliance, drafting of contracts and the establishment of appropriate compliance systems, defending against liability claims, dealing with authorities and contentious proceedings, data protection and whistleblowing issues, environmental protection and energy issues, sustainability targets in executive board remuneration and the development of sustainability strategies, as well as sustainability requirements in procurement processes or tax and state aid law options for promoting environmental friendliness.

Social commitments (external and internal): Pro bono | e.g. Singa Business Lab in Berlin and Stuttgart (assists refugees in starting their own business) | generally broad commitment of partners, lawyers and employees as private individuals.

Sustainability (internal): Green (working) infrastructure | Electricity from renewable energy sources | sustainable procurement planning | eco-labelled IT hardware | energy saving by daily powering down of electronic devices | climateneutral buildings | energy-saving and effi-ciency measures in CO2 consumption for e.g. heating and air conditioning.

Diversity & inclusion (external and internal): Commitment | Signatory to Germany’s largest diversity network | binding diversity and antidiscrimination principles.

ESG at Jeantet Environmental commitment

Company with a mission: the PACTE law (law no. 2019-486 of 22 May 2019 on the growth and transformation of businesses) introduced the notion of “company with a mission”. Indeed, the PACTE law added a disposition to Article 1835 of the Civil code which now allows any company, whether civil or commercial, to specify in its articles of association a “purpose”, this being “the principles with which the company endows itself and for the respect of which it intends to allocate means in the performance of its activity”. The adoption of a “purpose” is not an obligation, but a simple option offered to companies; if this option is exercised, it must be recorded in the articles. To summarize, this new disposition allows companies that wish to do so to develop a “purpose” that considers the social, societal and environmental impacts of their activities. The aim is to reconcile the search for economic performance with a contribution to the general interest.

The EU non-financial reporting directive (NFRD): the NFRD, which came into effect in 2018, requires public interest entities with 500 or more employees to disclose in their annual report their impact on, and policies relating to, matters including environmental, social, employee and human rights issues. This directive was transposed in France by the ordinance no. 2017-1180 of 19 July 2017. More specifically, this decree notably introduced Articles L.225-102-1 and R.225-104 and subsequent of the French Commercial code, which set forth the conditions under which French companies must include a non-financial performance statement in their annual management report. The statement must notably provide information regarding the impact the company’s activity has on climate change and the company’s commitments to sustainable development and diversity.

The “socially responsible investment” (SRI) label: the SRI label, created by Decree no. 2016-10 dated 8 January 2016, certifies that an investment complies with a set of standards. The objective is to qualify the investment as reconciling economic performance with social and environmental impact by financing companies and public entities that contribute to sustainable development, regardless of their sector of activity. This national legislation, which has been improved several times since its creation, aims to regulate whether an investment can be classified as sustainable or environmentally friendly. The SRI guidelines came into effect on 23 October 2020.

The use of gobies and carafes of tap water every day to eliminate single-use cups and plastic bottles

Tap Water

Waste Management The control of our printing volume through individual badges and the systematization of black and white R/V printing

Print Volume

The deposit of all our waste in our selective sorting areas, as we no longer use individual bins. To guarantee our waste management policy, we hired a company to accompany us throughout the collection and treatment chain.

Moreover, to meet our environmental commitment, we have taken further initiatives, such as: • Following the #Noplastic Challenge during Sustainable Development Week in October 2020 by implementing a series of actions throughout the week. 1 day > 1 action to limit plastic consumption. •

Societal commitment

Cigarette butts from Jeantet smokers and visitors are recycled by our partner (Cyclope), which turns them into fuel.

Some of the initiatives we took regarding societal commitment notably include: Diversity: To promote diversity and combat any form of discrimination in hiring and career development, we notably implemented the “Jeantet Wome” program dedicated to female lawyers and aimed to guide them in their professional careers and encourage their access to positions of responsibility. In this respect, our governance bodies respect a strict parity. Moreover, “Jeantet Women” co-organizes the inter-network conference which mobilizes 11 business networks to promote diversity.

Pro bono

1 2

To reduce our collective ecological footprint, we implemented several daily eco-actions, which notably include:

To encourage this commitment, our lawyers all dispose of 40 hours per year to devote to pro bono initiatives. Today, our pro bono activity is based on 2 main axes: skills sponsorship for young entrepreneurs on the one hand and the defense of human rights on the other hand (partnerships with the AADH1 and Caméléon2).

Alliance des avocats pour les droits de l’Homme An international solidarity association working on the causes and effects of sexual violence against children and adolescents

ESG at Khaitan & Co. ESG Dedicated Team BRSR Reporting: With a view to enhance the existing ESG disclosure and reporting framework for listed entities in India, the Indian financial regulator - Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in May 2021, prescribed Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) as the new reporting framework, replacing the existing Business Responsibility Reporting. Broadly, the BRSR framework provide for ‘detailed and comprehensive’ disclosures of: (i) their ESG risks, opportunities and targets; (ii) their plan of action to mitigate and capitalise on them; (iii) financial implications of such ESG risks and opportunities; and (iv) their performance against the set sustainability targets. The BRSR framework will help bring increase transparency, enable market participants to identify and assess sustainability risks and opportunities. It seeks to align disclosure frameworks with international standards like GRI / SASB.

Green Bonds: Over the last decade, we have seen development of projects focused on sustainable development (Green Projects) and there was an urgent need for a financial instrument to encourage investors to invest in such Green Projects. This led to an introduction of green bonds or green debt securities (Green Bonds). The first series of Green Bonds issued in India was in 2015 by Yes Bank for financing renewable and clean energy projects. Since then, corporates like Greenko Group, ReNew Group, JSW Hydro Energy, India Green Power Holdings, Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited and UltraTech Cement Limited have recently issuedGreen Bonds. SEBI has also issued a recent circular consolidating and fleshing out rules on disclosure requirements for issue and listing of such Green Bonds. Strengthening the regulatory framework in India on such bonds is a welcome step towards sustainable finance.

Surge in ESG Focused Funds: We also have seen a surge of ESG focused funds in India including the Aditya Birla Sun Life ESG Fund, the Axis ESG Fund, the ICICI Prudential ESG Fund and the SBI Magnum Equity ESG Fund in the last few years. Inflows in ESG funds have increased 76% to ₹3,686 crore in FY21 against ₹2,094 crore in FY20. Some of the leading ESG focused funds together had an asset base of nearly ₹9,900 crore as of March 2021. SBI Magnum Equity ESG Fund with an asset base of ₹3,518 crore is the oldest ESG Fund in India. It was initially a diversified equity fund that re-oriented itself into an ESG-compliant fund in 2018.1 SEBI (to keep up with this surge) is also issuing consultation papers to govern various ESG structures and initiatives.

Our Firm’s ESG team has lawyers from different practice areas including environment, sustainability, governance, investments, financing and M&A, to ensure that ESG benefits and concerns are addressed holistically across the Firm. For instance, we advise on the BRSR reporting framework and any other reporting / disclosure requirements. We help investors diligence companies from an ESG perspective, deep dive into complex environmental issues and handhold litigation of companies that are embroiled in ESG non-compliance issues. We also help ESG focused funds in India and assist institutional investors in incorporating the ESG philosophy at every level of negotiation. Aside from our advisory role, we have also taken steps within the organisation to contribute to our ESG goals – for instance, on environment, we are actively reducing the use of plastic packaged drinking water in our offices. We are consciously reducing the use of paper. From a social standpoint, we have our ARISE initiative (detailed below), we conduct frequent training sessions on important aspects such as sexual harassment (including a stringent internal policy) and emphasise and support mental health of our members. On governance, we have in place a robust and comprehensive insider trading code, along with frequent monitoring and training sessions, and an established conflict clearance process.

Diversity and Inclusion Team Our Firm (through a dedicated D&I team) has started a diversity and inclusion initiative called ‘ARISE’, which completed one-year in September 2021. Through this initiative, we aim to: 1. nurture a community of like-minded people who believe that diversity and inclusion is a part of our Firm’s vision and strategy; 2. foster a positive and inclusive environment in which all can flourish regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, culture or any other dimension of diversity; and 3. develop a diverse set of professionals with the right set of skills to provide innovative and commercially oriented solutions to our clients.

See ‘ESG funds gain traction amid Covid disruption’, The Hindu BusinessLine (link); and ‘Inflows of sustainable funds surge 76% to Rs 3,686 cr in FY21’ Economic Times (link).

ESG Advocacy on Boards Our Partners, who also serve as directors on the Boards of several listed and reputed unlisted companies, bring to bear from their experience and discussions with regulators, trade bodies and industry associations. They emphasise the importance of developing strong ESG compliance framework and create Board level awareness on these issues.

Pursuing Partnerships With Consultants and Accounts | Corporate Assistance for Effective ESG Disclosures: In order to ensure effective ESG disclosures by our clients, we are considering tie ups with consultants who offer technological support and solutions, which helps in ease of preparation, consolidation of information for making ESG disclosures and filing of ESG reports. We also engage with accountants who consolidate accounting and financial related information on ESG disclosures.

ESG Webinars We partnered with IVCA (an Indian Private Equity, Venture Capital and Alternate Capital Association) on an ESG webinar titled “How can Businesses Expand, Sustain and Grow with ESG” in April 2021. This was a panel discussion between our ESG team and leaders in the ESG fund space and institutional investors.

Legal Advice on ESG Matters We advise clients including GlaxoSmithKline, Mahindra and General Electric on business sustainability, corporate governance, environmental protection, employee welfare, financing advisory, ESG disclosures and compliance and dispute resolution, on ESG issues. Our ESG lawyers work with businesses, regulators, trade bodies and industry associations on ESG advocacy and policy formulation engagements. 31

ESG at Kim & Chang

All Korean listed companies are evaluated in terms of ESG establishment by global ESG standards by KCGS (Korean Corporate Governance Service Provider).

ESG in our jurisdiction

Reporting Requirements – all listed companies will be required to report their governance structure from 2026 and ESG information shall be reported from 2025 starting from major listed companies.

Pre-emptive system shall be established to prevent major industrial and civil incidents (implementing from 2022).

All Korean listed companies are evaluated in terms of ESG establishment by global ESG standards by KCGS (Korean Corporate Governance Service Provider).

K&C established environmental committee in 2018 and has invested on environmental friendly services since then. K&C established D&I committee since 2018 and contributed to improve diversity of legal professions since then.

K&C was nominated as a sustainable brand by UN SDGBI since 2020, solely among Korean law firms.

ESG at Kinstellar ESG in our jurisdiction

Increased client expectations of law firms: • internal ESG compliance and policies • experience in ESG projects

• Domestic legislation in nonEU countries still lagging behind the EU regulations

ESG taskforce senior lawyers from offices and marketing/ business development staff to coordinate efforts and align approaches.

Developing external profile market-facing knowhow, resources, thought-leadership initiatives.

• environmental policies, diversity & inclusion

• Main drivers are market forces

ESG-focused mandates increasing, driven by: financial institutions: • ESG linked financing • green bonds • sustainability linked financing • esp. in the energy and real estate sectors big corporates • supply chain due diligence • Corporate social responsibility

Know-how, increasing awareness of fee earners of ESG aspects and issues arising in all practices – bottom up and top down approach to ensure this is an integrated consideration for all service lines.

Integrating ESG into our business ESG-strategy and goal setting, top-down firm wide + bottom up local initiatives; joining local and international initiatives (UN Global Compact); systematic revision of all internal policies and business practices.

ESG at Loyens & Loeff Trusted as partner Both within our jurisdictions as within our firm operating responsibly becomes increasingly important. To have a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy, including ESG, is essential for our business and is also an important ambition of our firm, included in our Values & Mission. In our jurisdictions the need for such a policy is to some extent imposed by internal legislation but also by our clients and not least our own employees. Clients and employees certainly take ESG and CSR elements into account when choosing the firm with which they want to work or for whom they want to work for. A CSR/ESG policy should articulate the Firm’s responsibility towards colleagues, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders, also considering the broader community in which we operate as a firm. Within Loyens & Loeff, this is one of the priority areas we are working on and certainly want to continue to work on. Unfortunately, this is a very difficult exercise, finding a balance between running a business with all the pressing ratio’s that have to be met and, on the other hand, the social role that a firm has to play. In particular with regard to ESG, we are at the beginning of the road but within our firm a team has been set up to lay down ourpolicy here. We have, however, already laid down a few important principles in our Mission & Values and CSR policy. As you know in 2015, the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global call for action to promote climate protection, sustainability and social justice by 2030. The UN SDGs serve for us as a guide for developing responsible policymaking and reporting practices in the public and private sector. By embracing the UN SDGs, we have gained a clear view of our company’s responsibilities towards society and the environment. Loyens & Loeff has chosen focus areas and themes to support the targets laid out in SDG4 (our Youth & Education initiatives), SDG5 (Diversity & Inclusion measures) and SDG12 (sustainability projects and membership in organisations like the Green Business Club).

For our business to function in harmony with society and the environment, a specific focus is made on the importance of a holistic understanding of our core identity and our impact as a firm. We bear an ethical responsibility this includes a commitment to ethics and compliance.

Diversity & Inclusion People at the heart of our business. Our people are our greatest asset. This year has strengthened our resolve to putting our people first by ensuring a safe, healthy working environment and using the latest technologies to keep our teams connected whilst working from home. Even during the pandemic, Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) continues to be high on our firm’s agenda. At Loyens & Loeff, we want everyone to feel at home.

Cleaner Future As a professional services firm, our ecological impact is mainly related to business travel, commuting, waste generation and energy and paper consumption. To reduce our environmental footprint, we have joined various sustainability initiatives. • • • • •

Green Business Club Zero Waste 2030 KLM Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel Programme The SuperDrecksKëscht® Sustainable new office

Supporting our Community Our firm only thrives when the community around us thrives. We aspire to be the best neighbour we can be by offering pro bono work and supporting initiatives that help keep our communities healthy and prosperous. We are also committed to protecting and serving the youngest members of our communities, which is why one of our firm’s central CSR themes is Youth & Education.

ESG at NTCM Environmental

ESG in our jurisdiction •

ADVANT Nctm chooses 100% renewable energy ADVANT Nctm chose PLT puregreen S.p.A. as its partner for the supply of electricity and gas, an Italian operator selling 100% renewable energy produced by wind farms, entirely located on the national territory.

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Recently, the Firm has pursued new policies that look to the global commitment against waste, offering its employees and professionals a working space aimed at respecting the environment. In this direction, we became plastic-free: each professional and employee has been given a personal aluminum water bottle, and all plastic glasses have been withdrawn from the offices. In addition, plastic dishes were gradually replaced with recycled and recyclable wood cutlery.

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As Christmas gifts, the Firm gave professionals and employees subscriptions to bike-sharing services to encourage sustainable mobility rather than private transport vehicles with a higher polluting impact. Same subscriptions were also given to its clients, while Top Clients received folding bicycles.

The new Corporate Governance Code of 2020 Applicable to all Italian companies whose shares are listed in regulated markets managed by Borsa Italiana on a comply or explain basis - recommends that: “The board of directors leads the company by pursuing its sustainable success”. To this aim, “The board of directors (…) reviews and approves the business plan of the company and the group it heads, also on the basis of matters that are relevant for the long-term value generation…”. This has led to the creation of sustainability committees in most large corporates.

Governance: Increasing Adoption of the Benefit Corporation Model Italy has been a first mover in continental Europe to introduce a Benefit Corporation legislation (Law No. 208/2015, para 376-384) following on the US example. Benefit corporations are for profit companies that also have to include in their corporate object one or more common benefit goals and must operate in a responsible, sustainable, and transparent way vis-à-vis people, communities, territories, and the environment, cultural assets and activities, institutions, associations and other interest bearers. Several Italian companies have chosen to transform into benefit corporations, including Alessi and IllyCaffè.

Social Responsibility •

ADVANT Nctm chose Doctors without Borders replacing traditional Christmas gift to Clients, supporting their medical-humanitarian commitment in over 80 countries around the world, to bring life-saving treatments, vaccines and basic goods wherever needed.

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Pro Bono: we provide pro bono assistance in legal and tax profiles to support non-profit projects as FAI-Fondo Ambiente Italiano, to protect and enhance Italy’s historical, artistic and landscape heritage; Casa degli Artisti, centre for the promotion of research, training and artistic production; AWI–Art Workers Italia, created with the aim of giving voice to contemporary art workers; AitArt, national association of artists’ archives.

Green & Sustainable Finance SMEs are slowly getting interested in issuing green bonds guaranteed by SACE, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Economy, whose proceeds support projects aimed at facilitating the transition to a clean and circular economy and to sustainable and intelligent mobility. Bonds guaranteed by SACE must be aligned with the EU taxonomy. A draft Sustainable Finance Action Plan for Italy, supported by the DG Reform, was recently presented to the Government and it expected to be discussed and formally adopted in the following months.

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ESG at Rajah & Tann A six-part campaign series to highlight dayto-day sustainability practices to raise awareness across our network.

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Environmental issues remain an area of key focus

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With heightened global recognition of climate issues and enhanced enforcement of cross-border environmental and waste management concerns, the Singapore authorities have enhanced regulation and enforcement in the area. There are serious consequences on businesses that fail to comply.

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Workplace health and safety compliance remains an important aspect for all businesses.

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Employers must ensure a safe workplace for workers.

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ESG in our jurisdiction

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Ongoing/upcoming initiatives

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The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched the Green Finance Action Plan focusing on green finance and consulting on proposed Guidelines on Environmental Risk Management. Sustainable finance is a new and evolving growth area in Singapore and in the region, and there will be new laws, regulations and best practices guide to set the parameters.

Click the brochurs links below to read more about our ESG activities: • https://sg.rajahtannasia.com/our-work/practices/sustainability • https://sg.rajahtannasia.com/our-work/practices/environmental-law • https://sg.rajahtannasia.com/our-work/practices/green-sustainable-finance 40

The Singapore office has procured environmentally friendly paper packaging for its water from TetraPak (in place of plastic bottles).

A new column on sustainability best practices within our quarterly newsletter ‘RTA Pulse’ issued by Rajah & Tann’s Chair.

A webinar on ‘The Importance of Individual & Collective Action’

An “elevator pitch” and credential statement insert on our sustainability framework and journey has been developed by Business Development.

Other initiatives in the pipeline

Applying for a Singapore government grant for our sustainability projects.

Improving our procurement by adopting greener solutions and/or working with third party suppliers who do so.

Considering eco-friendly practical gifts for our clients and our people.

Exploring ways to support various movements (e.g. Greener Arbitrations, e-waste).

Elevating sustainability on our future / new website to attract more like-minded clients.

Managing Partners Forum 2021