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Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’) issues may not seem like a natural fit within the realm of the in-house legal function – in fact, it’s often managed by a separate team entirely.

Yet, in-house General Counsel (GCs) are finding themselves increasingly involved in ESG policy matters. But rather than seeing it as yet another workstream that has managed to trickle its way down the legal funnel, many are embracing it as an opportunity to drive meaningful change across their organisations.

In the newly published “Implementing the E of ESG: why in-house lawyers are instrumental” report, created in collaboration with and Spinnaker Research, we look at the practical steps all in-house lawyers can take on the journey to net zero – and we spoke with some of these leading lawyers that have managed to champion a range of innovative ESG sustainability initiatives across their organisations.

Read the free report: “Implementing the E of ESG: why in-house laywers are instrumental”

1)

UK-based retail and commercial bank, NatWest, has made a number of high-profile ESG initiatives in recent years – most recently .

The bank’s Managing Legal Counsel, Neil Campbell, has been a powerful advocate for driving NatWest’s ESG initiatives forward. Campbell has been with NatWest for a decade and a half now, and during that time, has been a part of some of the organisation’s biggest environmental developments.

NatWest recently committed to becoming  and to half the impact of its climate change activity by 2030. The bank is also one of the signatories of the UN Principles for Responsible Banking and is committed to the ongoing process to align its strategies with the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Last year we saw NatWest reach £17.5bn in Climate Change Funding and Financing, and had a 42% reduction in the carbon footprint of its operations.

Campbell is highly experienced in 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.”

2) 

Publishing company Cambridge University Press & Assessment has recently committed to being carbon zero on all energy-related emissions by 2048, with an ambitious goal of reducing emissions by 72% by 2030.

Supporting the company's many sustainability and ESG agendas is Catie Sheret. After a highly successful career in private practice, Sheret moved in-house working for training provider, Pearson, and now as Cambridge University Press & Assessment's General Counsel.

And while Sheret has been highly successful at driving change, she would be the first to admit that getting started isn't always straight-forward.

“I did not know where to start, or how I could contribute. I did not feel like I had the knowledge…. 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.”

However, Sheret says General Counsel can and should rely on their internal and external relationships to get the job done.

“There are lots of helpful, knowledgeable people willing to share, and plenty of useful information out there. The key is thinking of this from the in-house lawyer angle alongside where we can make the strongest impact within the sector in which our organisation operates. It helps to connect with experts and build knowledge of net-zero approaches in that industry, and to find GCs and other lawyers focusing on similar issues to compare notes with.”

3)

To support the Paris Agreement, British banking and financial services company  is taking a three-pronged approach: accelerating sustainable finance, reducing their emissions and managing financial risk.

The bank's footprint across Asia, the Middle East and Africa puts it in a unique position to influence change by helping clients apply the same or a similar approach. For instance, the bank provides more funds to climate-positive companies and it is helping carbon intensive firms manage their emissions. An example of this is the bank's partnership with , and the UK-funded financial sector development agency - FSD Africa as founding members of the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA).

Behind many of the bank's global ESG initiatives is its head of legal, client coverage, Andrew Dixon Smith. Working from its Singapore office, Dixon Smith has been with the organisation for more than a decade and is incredibly passionate about driving sustainability initiatives across the organisation.

“It makes the job worthwhile. Sustainability leadership is about trying to create a better world for others, the ability for future generations to benefit from what we currently have. It's about change and it's about evolution and lawyers will find themselves in the middle of that at some point, so you might as well get on with those issues, get involved, get to the table and contribute.”

4)

Multinational food and beverage company, , has achieved a number of highly impressive sustainability initiatives in recent years, including: 

• 4 million tonnes greenhouse gas emissions CO2e reductions achieved through ������ٱ�é projects since 2018
• 63.7 % renewable electricity sourced in 2021
• 97.2% deforestation-free in our primary meat, palm oil, pulp and paper, soya and sugar supply chains in 2021
• 24.6 million trees secured for planting in 2021, which will remove 9.7 million tonnes CO2e.

The company has also set a number of ambitious goals to take these steps even further, many of which will be supported by General Counsel and Compliance office, Mark Maurice-Jones, who heads up a team of 15 legal professionals supporting the organisation in the UK & Ireland.

“Don’t wait to become an expert. Get stuck in and learn as you go along. Lawyers like to have everything lined up, prepared, ready, [and be able to] answer everyone’s questions. This is such a huge area, constantly developing, no-one has all the answers.”  Read more here.

5) Jessica Dale, Senior Legal Counsel, General Secretary, Danone

French-American food and beverage manufacturer, Danone, is known internationally for producing dozens of household brands, including bottled water Evian and Volvic, and dairy and plant-based products AlPro, Actimel and Activia.

Danone has recently committed to having . "This means that we are responsible for the carbon emissions from the farms we source our ingredients from, to the facilities that manage packaging after consumption."

Danone’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality is based on the following pillars:

• Reducing emissions
• Transforming agricultural practices to sequester more carbon in the ground
• Eliminating deforestation from its supply chain

• Offsetting the emissions that remain.

6)

Centrica, the parent company to British Gas and Scottish Gas, has been repositioning its business away from centralised power generation and oil and gas production since 2015 - with a focus on providing energy services and solutions that enable a lower carbon future.

• Help customers reduce their emissions by 25% through direct and indirect action
• Enable a decarbonised energy system with 7GW of flexible, distributed and low carbon technologies

• Be net zero by 2050 and develop a pathway to it by 2030.

Nichola Westlake, who has been working with the organisation for a decade now, says getting started is the hardest part of driving sustainability from a legal perspective.  

"The key is not to be deterred by the size and scale of it - there is a danger there. Just get going in the right direction...We can't let things derail us. We are in for an interesting time, there isn't an easy answer." Read more here.