Law360 (August 10, 2021, 4:35 PM EDT) -- Environmental, social and corporate governance factors are becoming increasingly important to investors, legislators and regulators. In this Expert Analysis series, in-house counsel share how they are adapting to the evolving ESG landscape.

---

April 20
Uber Counsel Talks Safety Standards
Katie Waitzman at Uber discusses how in-house counsel can use environmental, social and corporate governance principles to bridge risk and innovation, as exemplified by the company's recent women's safety initiatives..



Dec. 20, 2021
Whirlpool CLO Talks Structural Improvement
As the global understanding of what it means to measurably make a positive societal and environmental impact evolves, creating a solid governance structure, backed up by bold action and increased transparency, will set up companies and their legal teams to remain resilient through economic and societal changes and manage risk, says Ava Harter at Whirlpool.

Dec. 13, 2021
Synchrony Counsel Talk Role Of Legal Teams
Jonathan Mothner and Danielle Do at Synchrony Financial discuss legal departments' essential role in their firms' environmental, social and governance programs, and how legal leaders can leverage their teams and internal relationships to advance ESG efforts.


Dec. 6, 2021
PayPal CLO Talks Gauging Impact And Intent
For legal teams, the corporate evolution toward more intentional post-COVID-19 environmental, social and governance strategies means deeper integration across business functions, seeking counsel on emerging issues affecting stakeholders, adapting initiatives around changing policies and regulations, and advancing ESG reports to better measure impact, says Louise Pentland at PayPal.

Nov. 15, 2021
CBRE GC Talks Effective Compliance Emails
Good corporate governance requires communicating expectations for ethical conduct, but compliance emails need not be overly technical — a relatable story told in simple language with humility and respect can create internal communications that drive home the message, says Laurence Midler at CBRE.


Nov. 1, 2021
Cognizant General Counsel And CSO Talk Collaboration
Leveraging the general counsel's nuanced view of a company's strengths and weaknesses, and aligning it with the chief sustainability officer's focus on long-term environmental and social macro trends, can help shape the values and direction of a company, say John Kim and Sophia Mendelsohn at Cognizant.

Oct. 12, 2021
Jabil GC Talks Compliance Preparation
Tried-and-true compliance lessons from recent decades can be applied to companies' environmental, social and governance efforts, especially with regard to employee training and consistent application of policies — two factors that can create a foundation for ESG criteria to flourish, says Robert Katz at Jabil.


Oct. 4, 2021
Baker Hughes CLO Talks Sustainability Team
For businesses focused on addressing environmental, social and governance considerations, a legal team that can coordinate sustainability efforts across the company can help to manage risk and compliance issues, anticipate and prepare for change, and identify new opportunities, says Regina Jones at Baker Hughes.


Sept. 27, 2021
United Natural Foods GC Talks Bottom Line
In prioritizing environmental, social and governance initiatives as strategic value drivers, corporate general counsel can leverage meaningful ESG progress to benefit both the business's bottom line and the wider world, says Jill Sutton at United Natural Foods Inc.


Sept. 20, 2021
HPE Counsel Talk Effective Board Oversight
Governance teams can more effectively shape board oversight of environmental, social and governance issues by ensuring organizationwide agreement on the most relevant issues, building a materiality framework that reflects stakeholder input, and monitoring the integration of ESG into operations, say Rishi Varma and Derek Windham at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Sept. 13, 2021
Leidos GC Talks Social Responsibility
Recent criticisms of corporate commitments to stakeholders such as employees and communities — implicitly opposing environmental, social and governance initiatives — are fundamentally flawed and display a serious misunderstanding of contemporary investor priorities and dynamics, says Jerald Howe at Leidos Inc.


Sept. 1, 2021
AIG Counsel Talks SEC Risk Alert 
As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission responds to the changing landscape on environmental, social and corporate governance investing, including with its recent risk alert, it is imperative that the regulator take a measured approach, says Kate Fuentes at American International Group Inc.


July 26, 2021
Exelon GC Talks Diversity Initiatives
Executing a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion programming, through recruitment, inclusive legal pipelines and community empowerment via pro bono efforts, can ensure a strong environmental, social and governance proposition, says Gayle Littleton at Exelon Corp.


July 19, 2021
Cigna Counsel Talks Employee Wellness
Building employee well-being into corporate environmental, social and governance priorities required our legal team to focus more closely on cross-functional collaboration within the company and increased communication with our board of directors and shareholders, says Julia Brncic at Cigna Corp.


July 12, 2021
Raytheon GC Talks Climate Change
Now that the climate crisis is seen as an existential threat, the stakes couldn't be higher — or the challenges more daunting — for the general counsel, who must enlist all parts of the company for support while providing both a legal and ethical road map on how to respond, says Frank Jimenez at Raytheon Technologies Corp.

---

The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations, or Portfolio Media Inc., or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.