As the report explores, the stand-out consideration within the awkward ESG troika is governance (G). ‘E’ and ‘S’ create both risks and opportunities for organisations and those that invest in, or work for, them, while ‘G’ issues get to the heart of how opportunities are identified and risks are managed.
With organisations continuing to grapple with a myriad of wide-ranging, complex, and intertwined ESG issues, this report is timed to help them identify the key issues at play and recognise the importance of preparing new governance structures required to deal with ever-changing environmental and social trends.
Claude Brown, partner at Reed Smith and contributing author to the report, said: “Strong governance is the linchpin of an coherent and coordinated ESG strategy. It ensures that organisations’ compliance efforts and reporting systems are robust, transparent and ethical while satisfying stakeholders’ expectations for accountability. It is no longer just about generating profit for shareholders at all costs.”
“We are pleased to have worked with Eurasia Group to produce this report that we hope will help organisations identify key ESG challenges and enable them to establish robust governance structures required to deal with the shifting sands of environmental and social trends.”
“Corporate environmental and social policies are no longer ‘nice-to-have’, but are necessary to address material impacts on business,” said Shari Friedman, managing director of climate and sustainability at Eurasia Group. “This requires internal structures that change what good governance looks like.”
Reed Smith and Eurasia Group’s ‘Governance - at the heart of ESG’ report can be downloaded for free on the firm’s website.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. With an inclusive culture and innovative mindset, we deliver smarter, more creative legal services that drive better outcomes for our clients. Our deep industry knowledge, long-standing relationships and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for complex disputes, transactions, and regulatory matters.
Reed Smith has a significant ESG practice group with nearly 60 transactional, environmental, corporate, regulatory and disputes lawyers from across the firm’s 30 offices, supporting clients across a range of industries in the face of intensifying compliance and stakeholder obligations.
The interdisciplinary team advises clients on all aspects of environmental, social and governance issues. The firm is particularly focused on governance, which is seen as the linchpin for ensuring that clients’ ESG plans, compliance efforts and reporting systems are robust, transparent and ethical while satisfying stakeholders’ expectations for accountability.
About Eurasia Group
Eurasia Group is the world's leading global political risk company. Its expertise includes developed and developing countries in every region of the world, specific economic sectors, and the business and investment playing fields of the future. With best-in-class advisory and consulting offerings, in addition to GZERO Media, the Eurasia Group umbrella provides the marketplace with a complete political risk solution. "Politics first” grounds the firm's work: It is the lens through which Eurasia Group views the world, shaping analysis that is free of political bias and the influence of private interests.
