Climate change, sustainability, and ESG are no longer niche areas of interest – they have become fundamental to the way businesses operate and impact the way we live our lives. Companies face an important and imminent challenge to understand their environmental obligations and take action, particularly as the climate change emergency has now seeped into both public and regulatory consciousness and is at the forefront of the business agenda.
With COP26 around the corner, companies can expect to see stricter obligations placed upon them to deal with the climate change emergency – and to be held accountable not only by regulators, but by the general public, investors, and others in the industry.
Companies will need to stay on top of rapidly changing law and technology to mitigate their risks and achieve the necessary changes. In this webinar, we look at rising trends in corporate responsibility for climate change and the implications for companies:
The Long Now: Sustainability, ESG, Net Zero and Greenwashing
Issues once considered marginal are now becoming mainstream. Regulators and other stakeholders must take them seriously and consequently engagement will become critical. Sustainability, ESG, Net Zero and Greenwashing are now familiar phrases and slogans. It is difficult to see them disappearing, but what do they actually mean and where will they lead us?
Corporate governance looks set to evolve and expand to accommodate concepts previously regarded as soft law / best practice investment guidance. These changes will influence both how markets operate and how the insurance sector measures risk. Businesses looking to make investment decisions now that will commit capital over the next ten to fifteen years should be aware that, in addition to regulatory changes / interventions, there are also likely to be significant and fundamental changes to the long established corporate legal principles that underpin the way we currently do business, including limited liability and directors’ duties.
In this session we will consider what the phrases Sustainability, ESG, Net Zero and Greenwashing are likely to mean for businesses and look at the possible ESG implications of Okpabi and others v Royal Dutch Shell Plc and another [2021] UKSC 3 and the concept of limited liability.
Shareholder Activism
Shareholder activism is thriving. Did you know activists are increasingly using their shareholder rights to challenge management and are becoming the voice of change, notably in respect of climate change and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues? What is shareholder activism? Who are the activists? What are the current trends? What should companies do to prepare for activist campaigns by shareholders? In this session, we will cover these topics and explore issues such as the importance of sustainable business, ESG integration and liability, carbon transition plans and climate disclosures. We will examine the risk climate change poses to companies and the potential for disputes and civil litigation.
Smart contracts: What on earth are they, and how do they impact Earth?
The profile of smart contracts is rapidly growing with the increasing popularity of cryptocurrencies and use of blockchain in everyday business. Terms of a smart contract are written into a computer code and can be stored on a blockchain, and are distinguished by their ‘automaticity’. Smart contracts have the potential to change the way we do business, whether that is in automating payments, reducing performance and enforcement costs or even generating new revenue streams, as demonstrated by the recent growth in NFTs (in which smart contracts are embedded) as profit generators in the entertainment industry.
As a relatively new and abstract concept, smart contracts can be difficult to understand and the legal implications of their use are not always clear. We will provide an overview of how the current legal framework applies to smart contracts and will discuss some of the new initiatives which have been proposed or are being considered to address the lack of legal clarity around smart contracts. In particular, we will look at whether smart contracts are legally binding, how they should be interpreted and what remedies are available when things go wrong. We will also address the important issue of sustainability and the environmental impact of smart contracts.
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