What Is Esg & What Does It Mean For Law Firms?

OPINION

Social and key factors for assessing the

• “83 percent of C-suite leaders • “89 percent of investment managers…indicate their firms will devote more resources to this area in the next two years.” Deloitte It’s no surprise many mutual funds, brokerage firms and other financial service advisors are now looking for products that inform investments through ESG criteria. But what does each area of ESG encompass? It’s a complex subject, so this article just covers the main areas biodiversity

Considerations include:

• Are human rights respected? • Is the end consumer protected from unsafe products or practices? • How is the personal data of individuals protected?

Governance

Governance is to do with making sure there are systems in place to ensure accountability within a corporation. procedures • Clear anti-bribery and corruption policies • Ensuring boards are composed of independent members

How to simplify and structure your ESG process

Given the wide spectrum of areas that fall under ESG, putting a process into action can seem daunting. However, because Landmark recognise the importance that ESG reporting will have in the future, we are offering a platform and reports that allows anyone - regardless of ESG knowledge, experience or qualifications - to kick off their ESG due diligence.

The RiskHorizon ESG Screen report has been designed to simplify ESG risk management for law firms. By providing a framework for ESG due diligence it allows you to quickly focus on main ESG risks of a particular

WHAT IS ESG & WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR LAW FIRMS? ESG stands for and looks at some ways you can Environmental, address them within your firm.

Governance and Environmental

is a set of factors As you would imagine, this first pillar that assess how of ESG focusses on the effects on the an organisation physical, natural environment. Across impacts on the the globe, how we produce, consume environment and society. These and discard has a significant adverse three criteria are considered impact on the natural world.

sustainability and ethical impact Considerations include:

of an investment, as reported by • Potential climate risk both McKinsey and Deloitte writes • The extraction and use of raw Allie Parsons, Customer Success materials Consultant, Landmark Information • The effects of human activity on and investment professionals say Social they expect that ESG programs will It’s not only nature we need to contribute more shareholder value in consider. How employees and local five years than today.” - McKinsey’s communities are affected also must be Global Survey taken into account.

sector. Simply answer a number of questions, which become more specific as you drill down into the sector or location of the target firm, and get instant access to a clear, concise overview of ESG risk and recommended next steps for that company.

This report uses data from:

• 90 industries • Over 45 global risks, with coverage for 175 countries • Up to 30 data sources including The World Bank, Unicef and the Global Child Forum, Freedom House, and United Nations Development Programme • All of these are benchmarked against the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)

You will be provided with a list of due diligence questions which frame the whole ESG due diligence process and can inform any further legal advice including next steps around the potential investment. • Pre-screen target companies for risk • Easy question-and-answer format focuses due diligence from the outset • Conduct deeper investigations by a sector/geography specific list of questions • A clear, numerical ESG score is easy to digest and explain • Internal benchmarking means you can not only review potential investments, but improve existing ones

In addition, you will have access to an experienced consultant for to answer any questions on the report results.

You can find out more about RiskHorizon at www.go.landmark. co.uk/risk-horizon-esg-management

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