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Foreword from UU裸聊直播

Given the importance of all ESG matters, and particularly the urgency regarding the E of ESG, UU裸聊直播 was keen to be involved in this research and the important role played by GCs, with a particular focus on how GCs can help to move the dial on the environmental agenda.

Criteria around ESG is developing at pace. There is now a clear correlation between how companies score in these areas and their longer-term financial health, with high-performing companies seeing benefits to brand, reputation, and employee engagement.

We are delighted to have collaborated with and for this important conversation. GCs are in a unique position to both guide and drive their businesses forward, ensuring they remain agile and respond to ESG issues strategically, whilst also ensuring they stay ahead of dynamic legislative and regulatory developments, especially around reporting and disclosure.

The first step on the ESG journey is often the hardest and the reality is this journey can no longer be pushed down the to-do list. The good news is that many in-house legal teams are already doing a lot of great things in this area without realising it. Small steps and quick wins can quickly make a big difference.

This is the moment for GCs, and all in-house legal and compliance professionals, to step up to the sustainability imperative and be a force for good, ensuring that ESG factors become part of business as usual. UU裸聊直播 is proud to be a part of this movement.

Simone Davidson
Head of Lexis庐PSL Built Environment Group and Lexis庐PSL Environment
UU裸聊直播

I am delighted to introduce this report which offers a unique window into the world of influential in-house lawyers and how they are helping drive the E of ESG in their organisation.

It is clear that those interviewed for this report are leaning in and supporting their business by embedding climate and wider sustainability considerations into their day job and championing the changes all organisations need to make.

These lawyers have got ahead of the curve by choosing to act 鈥� by taking climate leadership. They recognised that in-house counsel can鈥檛 be experts, and therefore didn鈥檛 let the issue of not knowing where to start get in the way.

Their insights outline their journey so far and offer practical tips and advice to other GCs and in-house counsel. 

As this report showcases, we鈥檙e all in this together and we need to collaborate and work together to deliver the solutions we all need. 

In that spirit, it illuminates the path for all in-house lawyers and outlines the approach they can use along the way.

Jane Pittaway
Executive Vice-Chair

• Clear company-wide sustainability targets, robust plans and strategy

• Transparent tracking and reporting of 鈥淓鈥� KPIs

• Small sustainability team at centre of business, but pan-organisational effort

• Board level and c-suite leadership

• Environmental practices embedded into business as usual and performance goals

• Culture of learning

The in-house lawyers that we spoke to are at varying stages of maturity in their personal net zero and sustainability journeys, as are the companies they work for.

All of the in-house lawyers we spoke to are actively involved and engaged in making changes within their companies, including taking action on the supply chain and working with packaging and production teams. Their activities touch upon many areas of the business, including less obvious areas, such as sustainable finance considerations for the Finance and Treasury Departments and liaising with government relations and consultations on sustainability.  For detailed consideration of actions that can be taken, see the section on practical steps.

Typically, the in-house lawyers that are more advanced in their journey are clear on their company-wide sustainability targets. They work for companies with robust plans and a strategy in place, at least in the short- to mid-term (i.e. the next 3鈥�5 years). Their companies and their teams have made commitments and set targets, and this process has ensured a focus on delivery of these goals.

鈥淥nce you start publishing your journey in terms of where you are and where you want to be, you start holding yourself to account.鈥�

Neil Dodds, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Arco

These companies often have a small sustainability team at the centre of the business driving the climate change agenda, with responsibility for effecting change and delivering on different environmental aims.  However, achieving these sustainability goals is a pan-organisational effort rather than being the sole preserve of the central team. As a result, the in-house legal team has a pivotal role in helping to deliver the sustainability goals and targets across the business.

Company culture is important to driving the agenda forward. Board-level and c-suite leadership certainly makes a difference. If the highest level of the company is driving these ambitions and they are key to the organisational strategy, there is a common and pervasive emphasis on achieving these goals.

鈥淚t comes from the Board. When they have the desire to change, it impacts everyone.鈥�

Kene Onyeka Allison, Vice President, Global Financial Services plc

From a legal team perspective, this means that environmental practices are embedded into 鈥榖usiness as usual鈥� and into performance goals. Rather than it being an environmental 鈥榟at鈥� or 鈥榓n add on鈥�, sustainability is actually part of the job.

A 鈥榗ulture of learning鈥� is also deemed to be important, with supportive teams and a c-suite who are open and amenable to change.

However, it is clear that in addition to the organisational set up, a lawyer鈥檚 own sense of agency also plays a vital role. A belief in their ability to make a difference, the feeling that they have a mandate and the authority to engage across the organisation, along with a sense of personal responsibility; all serve to significantly advance the sustainability activities that the lawyers we heard from are undertaking.

鈥淚 feel more confident now, I've got more knowledge than I realised. I've got responsibility on an exec board perspective, I have the mandate. I'm getting trained. I have authority to engage across the organisation, people are willing.鈥�

Catie Sheret, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Cambridge University Press & Assessment

While the specific benefits to the legal team of taking successful action are largely felt to be intangible (or not yet measurable) by the in-house lawyers we spoke to, they agree that it demonstrates the value that in-house counsel can provide and moves them more into the position of business partner rather than technical resource. Several also mentioned the attraction and retention of talent as a benefit, as new entrants to the legal team seek an organisation that matches their passion on sustainability: 鈥榠ncreasingly there is an expectation from job seekers that organisations demonstrate the right approach to this鈥�.

Personal and professional challenges: How can I make a difference?

• Lack of confidence
• Lack of technical expertise
• Information overload
• Lack of agency

External and company challenges: What external barriers am I facing?

• Organisational structure
• Cultural challenges
• Lack of time
• Financial considerations
• Evolving legislation
• Lack of accurate data

While this paints a picture of success, taking those first steps into climate action is not without its challenges or obstacles for in-house lawyers. The in-house counsel we spoke to all alluded to the journey of discovery they are on and described the personal and organisational hurdles that need to be overcome.

Personal and professional challenges: How can I make a difference?

A common theme among our respondents was their initial lack of confidence with the subject. Lawyers have highly developed technical skills. They are accustomed to having detailed understanding and expertise, possessing all (or at least most) of the answers, and having a high degree of certainty around risks.

A lack of technical and scientific expertise on climate change and decarbonisation can place lawyers in the uncomfortable and somewhat unfamiliar position of feeling like a generalist, without any depth of knowledge or understanding. This can be a difficult hurdle to overcome. While some education is helpful, the desire to know and understand everything can preclude lawyers from taking action.

 鈥淚 did not know where to start, or how I could contribute. I did not feel like I had the knowledge鈥�. We are all a bit out of our comfort zone, we are used to being experts on our areas. We are so used to being fairly sure of probabilities, what we are advising on and the legal context.鈥�

Catie Sheret, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Hand-in-hand with a lack of knowledge is the potential for information overload. Most of the lawyers we heard from had difficulty getting to grips with the mountains of information available across such a vast topic area. There is a deluge of content on this topic, and a shortage of practical guidance, which makes it difficult to know where to start.

This uncertainty also overlaps with the feeling of a lack of authority or ability to make any changes. In-house lawyers can feel disengaged from the issues, that sustainability does not form part of their core roles and responsibilities, or that they are powerless to effect change. 

鈥淎 few months ago, I would have struggled to answer [how in-house lawyers, especially at GC level, can influence the long-term environmental goals of their organisation] 鈥�. I was unsure how lawyers could help, we're not front line, we don鈥檛 contact customers.鈥�

Nichola Westlake, Associate General Counsel, Commercial Legal Services for Centrica

External and company challenges: what external barriers am I facing?

In addition to these personal challenges, lawyers also face organisational and structural barriers.

Some members of the legal team may feel like they do not have the right level of influence within their company due to its organisational structure. They may not have a role on the Board and may not feel like they have the right level of seniority within the business to drive significant change.

There are also the cultural challenges within their businesses. This can range from a lack of organisational desire to drive effective change, the difficulties of implementing big change agendas within large organisations, and the challenges of getting a handle on the multiple and disparate activities taking place across large organisations.

鈥淲e are one big ship and trying to turn it can be slow.鈥�

Nichola Westlake, Associate General Counsel, Commercial Legal Services, Centrica

鈥淗alf the battle is understanding who does what and co-ordinating.鈥�

Jessica Dale, Senior Legal Counsel, General Secretary, Danone

Without c-suite buy-in, company-wide inertia can be compounded by a lack of time. Without support or empowerment from the leadership team, sustainability activities can be viewed as an add-on to the day job rather than embedded or integral to the role. This creates priority conflicts for in-house counsel in relation to where they spend their time.

Similarly, there are financial considerations. With a lack of budget and lack of investment in terms of headcount and other resources, it can be difficult to effect change. For example, is there funding for or movement on pricing from suppliers to encourage changes? Without this it can be difficult to prioritise the supplier selection model from being a price-based procurement exercise to consider other criteria such as sustainability, carbon output, net zero etc.

It鈥檚 a complex and evolving area. Respondents alluded to the challenges of legislation. For example, with different evolving pieces of legislation globally 鈥� and the inconsistent nature of 鈥榮crambled regulation鈥�, especially across different and multiple jurisdictions.

In spite of the vast array of available information, some of our research participants reported that a lack of accurate data can be a challenge 鈥� getting the right data from the business to feel confident and enable accurate reporting, assessment, measurement and decision-making. 

Category 1: First steps 鈥� getting started and exploring options

Characteristics:

• Disparate activities closely linked to legal role.
• Often added on top of the 鈥榙ay job鈥� or side of desk activities.

Actions:

• As part of the procurement process, encourage suppliers to submit details of their environmental commitments (use a template or questionnaire) with the intention of making this part of the decision-making process.
• Post-procurement, introduce climate clauses for supplier contracts 鈥� e.g. using some of the freely available clauses to put requirements around ESG into supplier contracts.
• Get close to marketing and investor relations early in the marketing and PR processes to ensure claims are robust and backed up scientifically. Consider providing formal guidance on terminology that can be used and support this with training and guidance for the business functions outside of legal.
• Get involved with how products are designed and packaged; are they being produced effectively? Using recycled materials? As a business could you do more around circular packaging or even commit to an ethical code of conduct regarding packaging?
• Ensure oversight of circular packaging initiatives 鈥� e.g. accurate declarations around single use packaging, understand and apply the compliance obligations under the new UK plastic packaging tax (PPT).
• Update and advise the business on policy perspectives and legislation, as the legal team you will be aware of pending legislation and how best the business can comply with, or even exceed, these requirements.
• Depending on your sector, it can be impactful to lobby with other companies or groups to influence upcoming legislation around environmental goals and commitments.
• More broadly, seek to understand the relevant goals and targets of your organisation, and ask if they are fit for purpose? How can they be made more relevant to each sector of the organisation?
• Seek out training sessions and knowledge development opportunities for yourself. Several of our participants recommended the .

鈥淵ou need to provide a window into your supply chain, that's what customers are demanding. There is a fine line between compliance and sustainability. Some of it will become mandatory, therefore by acting now you are getting ahead of the curve.鈥�

Neil Dodds, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Arco

Greenwashing:
Greenwashing is the practice of making people believe through marketing and PR that a company and/or its products is more environmentally friendly or sustainable than it really is.

While greenwashing is seen as a significant reputational risk, it is not seen to be as large as the risks of climate change itself. The senior counsel we spoke to are experienced in identifying and managing legal risk, and most are effectively mitigating greenwashing risk by working closely with marketing and investor relations early in the process and delivering guidance notes and training for the business where required.

"Having the right level of risk [around greenwashing] means getting the right people focused, it's not a niche area. It must be part of the operating rhythm of the business"

Neil Campbell, Managing Legal Counsel, Natwest

Category 2: Established Roles 鈥� with evolving climate responsibilities within the organisation

Characteristics:

• Company-wide targets increasingly understood by legal team.
• Legal has clearly defined role and sustainability goals.
• GC or equivalent has taken responsibility for legal team鈥檚 role in supporting their organisation鈥檚 climate transition.
• Priorities agreed with corporate; reporting activities and goals centrally.
• Bringing activities together and identifying gaps and synergies.
• Utilising external support effectively.
• May have environmental goals as part of personal objectives.

Actions:

• Ensure a rigorous carbon audit is delivered 鈥� and there is clear plan for net zero even though it may be hazier in the outlying dates.
• Collate existing activities across the business to understand overall picture and where gaps or synergies may exist 鈥� identify areas of focus.
• Work with procurement to embed sustainability criteria into Request for Information (RFI) decision making on suppliers 鈥� moving the focus away from just cost to other intrinsic benefits.
• Make climate goals part of client on-boarding and off-boarding criteria.
• Establish formal governance, provide training and guidance for the business e.g. running training for the wider business on including climate solutions in their contracts.
• Collate, understand and report on data needed to accurately measure the progress and success of sustainability initiatives.
• Provide an integrated view of what鈥檚 on the reporting and compliance horizon e.g. new plastic packaging tax in the UK.

Category 3: Mature Leaders - driving the climate agenda

Characteristics:

• Sustainability initiatives embedded as 鈥榖usiness as usual鈥�, part of organisational and legal team DNA.
• Moving into more transformative, rigorous and challenging activities.
• A 鈥榖usiness partner,鈥� not just a 鈥榯echnical resource鈥� on climate change.

Actions:

• Introduce concrete requirements, measurement and reporting on the success of sustainability initiatives 鈥� e.g. introduce KPIs, embedded into targets and personal objectives of team members.
• Change governance structures.
• Focus on engaging and empowering teams.
• Work with and lead cross-functional teams e.g. HR, Marketing, Finance, Facilities, Investor Relations, Executive and Non-Executive Directors.
• Publish internally and externally the progress made, the targets set and the next steps 鈥� ensure measurement and accuracy on progress to net zero goals.
• Drive thought leadership internally and externally.
• Ensure sustainability is built into change agendas.
• Liaise with government and external organisations e.g. legislation pre-implementation.
• Take a leadership position in the ecosystem of clients, investors, supply chains, customers and regulators. Don鈥檛 be afraid to explore innovative partnerships.
• Communicate a coherent case for change 鈥� take ownership of the sustainability agenda.

Sources of advice and practical tools

This is a non-profit global collaboration of legal professionals, and their free-to-use clauses are used by a majority of the lawyers who participated in the research. The Net Zero Toolkit offers climate- and net zero-aligned clauses that are ready to incorporate into legal precedents and commercial agreements free of charge. These services were valued and praised by our participants who had implemented the clauses and who described TCLP as a really practical place to start.

Almost all of our in-house lawyers mentioned joining Lawyers for Net Zero which has provided them with an understanding of the practical steps they can take and is supporting them to generate climate action.  The sense of community, collaboration and mentoring services are also highly valued.

UU裸聊直播

UU裸聊直播 offers a which helps legal professionals to navigate this vast area. The toolkit is a hub on different aspects of sustainable business and organised into sections, to help split the issues/topic up.  Examples of some of the sections include: information on 鈥榚nvironmental鈥� aspects (e.g. climate change, biodiversity, decarbonisation), or 鈥榬eporting and disclosure鈥� (e.g. mandatory reporting frameworks, or voluntary ESG schemes), or 鈥榮ocial鈥� (e.g. human rights).

There is also sector specific information, to draw out the sustainability issues key to certain sectors (e.g. TMT, financial services, construction).  Where relevant, the content in this toolkit refers to Chancery Lane Project clauses.

• UU裸聊直播 and commissioned , an independent legal research specialist, to conduct semi-structured interviews by Zoom with eleven influential in-house counsel and General Counsels in the Spring of 2022.
• We offer grateful thanks to our participants who were predominantly UK-based within publicly listed companies. They came from a range of sectors and included: Arco, Cambridge University Press & Assessment, Centrica, Danone, Fresenius Kabi & Calea UK, Nestl茅, Standard Chartered and Vodafone.
• Participants self-selected for participation in the research programme from the Lawyers for Net Zero network. They are highly-engaged and potentially further along their environmental change journey than the wider GC population.

About UU裸聊直播

UU裸聊直播 is a leading global provider of applied intelligence for legal, tax and business professionals. We combine unrivalled legal content with analytics and technology to help in-house legal teams achieve more and go further. Together with our deep understanding of the in-house legal profession, these help us give General Counsel the skills and knowledge they need to sit at top table in business. No matter the challenge, we help in-house teams to add value, manage risk and build a reputation for trusted and timely advice.

UU裸聊直播 helps in-house legal teams to access the technical expertise they need on ESG, so that they can guide their organisations to make the right decisions now. LexisPSL practical guidance cuts through the deluge of information in this pervasive area, pulling together major issues by practice area and sector and tracking the key developments. The and practice note make a great starting point.

If you鈥檙e not currently a subscriber to LexisPSL, you can request free 7-day access .

About Lawyers for Net Zero

Lawyers for Net Zero is a non-profit dedicated to supporting in-house counsel who are taking leadership on driving the E of ESG.  They are enabling counsel to leverage their unique position in organisations to become impact multipliers by taking climate and ESG leadership.

A finalist in The Lawyer Awards 2022 for best 鈥楽ustainability Initiative鈥�, the initiative already has over 100 in-house climate champions committed to take action by signing up to Lawyers for Net Zero鈥檚 鈥淚mpact Programme鈥�, including from organisations such as Standard Chartered, NatWest, GSK, E.ON, Nestl茅 and Rolls Royce.

This process, which they term 鈥楪roup-Coaching plus鈥�, is focused on Champions Groups, which are group coaching sessions with carefully curated groups of four in-house counsel run by highly experienced facilitators using the guidance of their Net Zero Action Principles.

The 鈥減lus鈥� is that they have numerous other support tools and processes to enable their champions to focus on taking meaningful action. This provides peer-to-peer accountability, learning, insight, ideation and networking.

About Spinnaker Research

Spinnaker is a specialist legal research consultancy. specialises in B2B qualitative market research with a commercial edge for regulators and legal information providers in the UK legal sector.

List of interviewees

Andrew Dixon Smith, Head of Legal, Client Coverage, Standard Chartered

Catie Sheret, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Jessica Dale, Senior Legal Counsel, General Secretary, Danone

Kene Onyeka Allison, Vice President, Global Financial Services plc

Kim Alcantara, Director of Legal, BetVictor

Mark Maurice-Jones, General Counsel and Compliance Officer, Nestl茅

Neil Campbell, Managing Legal Counsel, NatWest

Neil Dodds, General Counsel and Company Secretary, Arco

Nichola Robinson, Lead Legal Counsel UK & Ireland, Fresenius Kabi and Calea UK

Nichola Westlake, Associate General Counsel - Commercial Legal Services for Centrica

Stephanie Pasquill, Senior Counsel, Consumer Legal, Vodafone