GCMR co-founder Mike Munro joins us as he discusses his predictions for ESG standardization and regulations down the road, his written work, the significance of compliance, and staying open to the possibilities of all components of ESG.
▶️ The Future of ESG in 2022 with Mike Munro:
Key points discussed in the episode:
✔️ Mike Munro lists down his firm’s services and core focus: helping people understand what ESG is all about.
✔️ Mike Munro believes 2022 will be a pivotal year for ESG and his articles aim to put ESG at the forefront.
✔️ Through their directives, the SEC and the EU will bring specificity on what needs to be tracked and reported. The FCC is also expected to issue climate-related standards.
✔️ The EU has become the frontrunner in implementing human rights regulations. Switzerland and Germany have passed a law requiring reporting. The US still needs to improve in addressing modern slavery issues.
✔️The SEC shows growing interest in human capital.
✔️Once the IFRS Sustainability Board puts out standards, verification and auditing will follow.
✔️ With ESG, companies can be part of the solution. Bigger names shouldn’t receive the brunt of the blame as businesses of all sizes should be accountable.
✔️ ESG can be simplified with its focus: getting data accurately and reporting it in an appropriate way.
✔️ The role of compliance is to assist and advise. It helps companies understand the regulations and risks associated with doing business in certain countries. It also promotes educating teams in organizing and collecting accurate and useful information.
✔️ The environmental component is a pain point among compliance professionals. Mike Munro gives advice on how to be more open to the E in ESG: basic knowledge of issues and strong ties with environmental groups.
✔️ Embrace the true value of ESG to your organization. With the understanding of ESG, do your own research and stay curious.
✔️ ESG will continue to gain more attention in the coming years. With more mandates and the recognition of compliance professionals, the future seems optimistic.
Mike Munro is the principal and co-founder of GCMR, an ESG and compliance advisory firm. His previous experience includes being the CCO of Odebrecht Engineering & Construction, a partner at Norton Rose Fullbright, deputy general counsel and CCO of Transocean, and global director of ethics and compliance at Baker Hughes. He is a member of the OECD’s Trust in Business Network (TriBuNet) and a member of the Executive Consultation Group for the OECD’s work on a multi-stakeholder ESG initiative, the Blue Dot Network.
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Do you have a podcast (or do you want to)? Join the only network dedicated to compliance, risk management, and business ethics, the Compliance Podcast Network. For more information, contact Tom Fox at tfox@tfoxlaw.com.
Tag: ESG
In today’s ESG Report, Tom Fox is pleased to be joined by supply chain risk management professional extraordinaire, Jared Connors. They’re discussing the work done at Assent Compliance Inc., one of the leading organizations in supply chain sustainability management.
Becoming a Leader in the World of ESG
Assent has worked on a variety of regulations to support its clients’ compliance journeys, including substance and modern slavery regulations. Within that context, there are often reputational impacts of compliance. At Assent, the natural extension is to encourage customers to assess their suppliers’ abilities to support and adhere to these regulations.
The Impact of the Conflict Minerals Regulation
The Conflict Minerals Regulation was one of the first regulations to promote greater transparency of the upstream supply chain and is a pioneering regulation that’s driven companies to look beyond their Tier 1 suppliers. According to Jared, the Conflict Minerals Regulation isn’t just about source of origin verification, but also about chain of custody.
Reputational Damage
Jared tells a story that highlights the significance of reputational damage, and how it can facilitate an organization’s downfall, “This started out with reputational impacts and led to a lot of other tangible risks from a monetary perspective.”
Direct and Indirect Engagement
Directly engaging suppliers involves asking them about internal controls, management procedures, and their ability to provide metrics on certain topics. This, however, is insufficient, and therefore, indirect evaluation is required. “You can’t just look at the first level,” says Jared, “You have to get deeper.” These further evaluations are necessary to understand if suppliers can “walk that talk”, because that should have huge implications in doing business with them.
RESOURCES
Tom Fox’s email
Jared Connors | LinkedIn | Assent
On this April Fool’s Day for 2022, Tom and Jay are back to look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories in the Slap Seen ‘Round the World edition.
Stories
- The Slap Seen ‘Round the World and Compliance. Tom in FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog.
- Will CCOs have to certify compliance? Text of Kenneth Polite speech. Tom and Matt in Compliance into the Weeds. Matt in Radical Compliance.
- Coal exec indicted under the FCPA. Harry Cassin in the FCPA Blog.
- Good bribes. Dick Cassin in the FCPA Blog.
- Why controls are key to compliance. Chris Audet in CCI.
- MarshMac UK sub garners Declination with Disgorgement. Dylan Tokar in WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal.
- ZTE whistleblower feared for his life. Ashley Yablon in CCI.
- Whistleblowing keys. Jan Stampers In Risk and Compliance Matters.
- Fine line between compliance and evasion of OFAC sanctions. Mike Volkov in Corruption Crime and Compliance.
- ISSB delivers sustainability guidelines. IFRS Press Release.
Podcasts and More
- What is the intersection of Sports and Ethics? Each year, Jason Meyer holds Ethics Madness, a discussion of this intersection done during March Madness. This year, Jason engaged Tom for Ethics Madness in the podcast format. It was cross-posted on Jason’s site Eight Mindsets, which he co-hosts with Nicole Rose and on Tom’s site, Greetings and Felicitations.
- Tom has a two part series with Aly McDevitt on her recent Ransomware case study, on Greetings and Felicitations, Part 1 and Part 2.
- Why should you attend Compliance Week 2022? Find out on this episode of From the Editor’s Desk. Listeners get a $200 discount to CW 2022 with the code Fox200. More here.
- Tom visits with longtime MS 150 rider Alan Peterson on The Hill Country Podcast. Donate to the fight against MS here.
- Why should compliance lead corporate ESG? Kristy Grant-Hart explains on the ESG Compliance Podcast.
Compliance and ethics expert Kristy Grant-Hart joins us as she discusses the importance of the compliance function, how it plays into each aspect of ESG, and how CCOs are the most well-suited to take the first step in corporate ESG efforts.
Watch ▶️ Leading Compliance Efforts as CCOs with Kristy Grant-Hart:
Key points discussed in the episode:
✔️ Kristy Grant-Hart talks about the current situation at Spark Consulting, a book she co-authored, The Compliance Entrepreneurs Handbook, and its impact.
✔️ Compliance is a driver for reputation enhancement. People not only vote with their dollars but also their employee time.
✔️ Kristy Grant-Hart says the ability to gather people and put programs into a framework is what CCOs must have to lead ESG efforts. The 7 Elements of Effective Compliance Program can guide CCOs in creating an ESG program and its monitoring and implementation.
✔️ California becomes the first state to pass a gender-diversity-centered initiative. The social element of diversity goes deeper into the working conditions in the supply chain, sustainably-sourced products, and low carbon emissions.
✔️ With ESG, companies can be part of the solution. Bigger names shouldn’t receive the brunt of the blame as businesses of all sizes should be accountable.
✔️ With the UK Modern Slavery Act, ESG has been placed at the forefront, pressuring companies to disclose the truth in what transpires in their supply chains.
✔️ Having a strong law background, Kristy Grant-Hart and Thomas Fox exchange ideas on the significance of lawyers in ESG endeavors. Learning the new jargon and talking to experts can help ease the hesitation to delve into this playing field.
✔️ CCOs are encouraged to be the frontrunners in compliance as they hold the authority to create a significant impact on a corporate scale. The ability to be relevant is a great opportunity in compliance.
Kristy Grant-Hart is a compliance and data privacy thought leader specializing in transforming compliance departments into in-demand business assets. She’s been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Compliance Week, Compliance and Ethics Professional Magazine, and many others. She was named a Trust Across America 2019 Top Thought Leader in Trust.
She is the CEO of Spark Compliance Consulting, a London, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago-based consultancy providing pragmatic, pro-business, proportionate compliance ethics solutions. She is the creator of Compliance Competitor, an facilitated online training game built on business simulation software.
She’s the author of the best-selling book, “How to Be a Wildly Effective Compliance Officer.”
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristygranthart/
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Do you have a podcast (or do you want to)? Join the only network dedicated to compliance, risk management, and business ethics, the Compliance Podcast Network. For more information, contact Tom Fox at tfox@tfoxlaw.com.
Tom Fox is joined by Jed Yueh, founder and CEO of Delphix. They discuss his newest passion project with SustainableIT.org and their mission to advance global sustainability through technology and leadership.
The Work of SustainableIT.org
Many people believe that sustainability is somebody else’s problem to solve, but Jed makes it clear that we cannot keep thinking that way if we want to make a difference. At SustainableIT.org, they collaborate with esteemed technology leaders to drive sustainability forward across the world’s largest organizations.
The Link Between Technology and ESG
Jed tells Tom that companies must “take a hard look at how you govern technology programs so that they don’t have adverse impacts on society and the environment.” Most companies view ESG as something in-demand, and so they independently chart the course they will take on ESG initiatives. At SustainableIT.org, they create and identify the best programs that can actually digitize the way a business functions while decreasing its carbon footprint.
Making an Impact
Facilitating change is not about one technology company being pro-environment. Jed names a number of SustainableIT.org’s board members, explaining how many of these great technologists work for some of the world’s biggest companies. “That’s how we can have the biggest impact,” he says.
RESOURCES
Tom Fox’s email
Jedidiah Yueh | LinkedIn | Twitter | SustainableIT.org
Welcome to From the Editor’s Desk, a podcast where co-hosts Tom Fox and Dave Lefort, Managing Director at Compliance Week unpack some of the top stories which have appeared in Compliance Week over the past month, look at top compliance stories upcoming for the next month, talk some sports and generally try to solve the world’s problems.
In this month’s episode, we look back at top stories in CW from March around the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic sanctions imposed by the West, including simply keeping up with the ever changing sanctions, the public pressures on companies to model their values and the ever-growing importance of due diligence. Dave previews the a case study on how FedEx is executing an ESG program. We discuss the Compliance Week 2022 Conference scheduled for May in DC. We conclude with a look at some of the top sports stories including Dave’ tribute to Jackie McMullan, who has finally started a podcast, a preview of the Celtics in the NBA playoffs and the labor settlement in baseball.
If you are a CW subscriber, you can check out Aly McDevitt’s series, starting here. If you are not a subscriber, you can preview her series, by clicking here.
Listeners to this podcast can receive a $200 discount to Compliance Week 2022 by going here and using the Code FOX200.
Jackie McMullan’s podcast Icons Club.
The SEC releases regulations around climate change as Tom take a solo turn to look at some of the week’s top compliance and ethics stories in the Seeing Green edition.
Stories
1. SEC comes out with climate change regs. Andrew Ross Sorkin in NYTimes Dealbook. Matt Kelly in Radical Compliance. Tom and Matt in Compliance into the Weeds.
2. SFO spanked again. Andrew Crowley in MLex.
3. Getting rid of old data critical. Debevoise lawyers in Compliance and Enforcement.
4. The ‘S’ in ESG. Mike Volkov in Corruption Crime and Compliance.
5. FINRA and CCO liability. Matt Kelly in Radical Compliance.
6. IDB debars construction company. Harry Cassin in the FCPA Blog.
7. First ZTE monitorship ends. Jaclyn Jaeger in Compliance Week (sub req’d)
8. DOJ raises stakes. Todd Fishman, Noah Brumfield, Eun Woo Jhang and Elaine Johnston in CCI.
9. Top 6 ESG issues for 2022. Giles Newman in Risk and Compliance Matters.
10. A Privacy Shield replacement on the horizon? Neil Hodge in Compliance Week. (sub req’d)
Podcasts and More
11. In March on The Compliance Life, I visit with Audrey Harris, Managing Director at AMI, formerly CCO at BHP. In Part 1, she discussed her academic background and early professional career. In Episode 2, Audrey moved to the CCO chair at BHP. In Episode 3, she moved back to private practice. In Episode 4, she moves to AMI.
12. Tom has a two part series with Aly McDevitt on her recent Ransomware case study, on Greetings and Felicitations, Part 1 and Part 2.
13. Why should you attend Compliance Week 2022? Find out on this episode of From the Editor’s Desk. Listeners get a $200 discount to CW 2022 with the code Fox200. More here.
14. Tom visits with Pop Hair Art Salon founder, Michele Van Fossen on The Hill Country Podcast.
15. An undergrad degree focusing on ESG? Jules Oringel explains on the ESG Compliance Podcast.
Tom Fox is the Voice of Compliance and can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com. Jay Rosen is Mr. Monitor and can be reached at jrosen@affiliatedmonitors.com.
This is perhaps one of the most unique stories in this podcast series.
Business sophomore Jules Oringel’s goal is to work in ESG and sustainability at a global, impactful organization.
Double-majoring in business administration with a concentration in ESG and human organizational leadership and development, Jules Oringel strives to make her passion into a professional career by immersing herself in environmentally-inclined projects to gain experience.
She also encourages people her age to do the same.
▶️ Pursuing ESG as an Academic Path for the New Generation with Jules Oringel:
Key points discussed in the episode:
✔️ Jules Oringel talks about her current studies and hobbies.
✔️ Jules Oringel gives a background on her childhood experiences that have greatly influenced her pursuit in ESG: entrepreneurial parents, losing a friend in a school shooting, and battling with anxiety.
✔️ Jules Oringel’s new purpose has opened her eyes to how policy and business work hand-in-hand and be part of the solution in protecting the planet.
✔️ Jules Oringel is heavily involved in designing an ESG program in her school. She cites her writings on Ben & Jerry’s sustainability strategy and Patagonia’s “Don’t Buy That Jacket Campaign” and the business classes she takes.
✔️Businesses can benefit financially from working towards ESG. Jules Oringel explains her preference for Patagonia coats and the responsibility of consumers to be more mindful of their purchases.
✔️ Companies should create products that are both sustainable and cost-effective. With the growing awareness of ethical consumption, companies are facing a new challenge: reducing prices by cutting production without risking employee welfare.
✔️ Jules Oringel points out the environmental implications of traveling and how organizations like TripDoodler are spreading the word on “sustainable traveling,” making it accessible, and creating employment and training for the youth.
✔️ The Kenan Scholars Program supports business students who aim to create social good in the private sector.
✔️ Only 100 companies have been responsible for 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 1988. The new generation of consumers vote with their dollars on brands that not only strive to reduce their environmental impact but also protect their employees.
✔️ Jobs that involve social and environmental impact require 5-10 years of experience.
✔️ The UN Sustainability Goals and how they can help companies align with this strategy.
Jules Oringel is a full-time student at UNC Chapel Hill pursuing a major in Business Administration (double concentration in Sustainability/ESG and Marketing) with a minor in Public Policy. Her goal is to positively influence social justice efforts at the intersection of the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, hopefully in the Corporate Social Responsibility world.
She enjoys exploring current opportunities for sustainability in business through inquisition, research, and ideation – taking these skills across the world in her work at TripDoodler, a startup based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is also interested in nonprofit advocacy, as demonstrated by her leadership in gun violence prevention 501(c)3 Return Home Supplies. Her hobbies include international travel, fitness, watching college gymnastics, acoustic guitar, public speaking, and videography
LinkedIn: Jules Oringel
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Do you have a podcast (or do you want to)? Join the only network dedicated to compliance, risk management, and business ethics, the Compliance Podcast Network. For more information, contact Tom Fox at tfox@tfoxlaw.com.
Dan Zitting, previously Chief Product Officer, now holds the title of CEO at Galvanize, a software company that helps its clients achieve their goals and objectives. He is also now the Chief Product Officer of Diligence. Tom Fox welcomes him back to this week’s show to take a look back at the GRC professional’s role in corporate ESG and risk management.
GRC On The Frontline
A company’s defenses have to be in the remit of their GRC professional, not left up to the CSO. Dan remarks that while there is engagement by GRC professionals in minimizing company cyber risk, more needs to be done. GRC professionals have to ask themselves if they are managing cyber risk in ways that are helpful to the company’s CSOs, by providing tools and resources to support them. “There’s still work to be done in making sure that everything we’re doing from a policy, controls, and compliance standpoint is actually adding value for the CSO and helping them deploy their programs, as opposed to just feeling like they’re being checked on by the police to see if they’re doing it right,” Dan tells Tom.
ESG and Investment
Investor dollars are fueling the growth and expansion of ESG and aren’t only coming from investment funds anymore. Private equity firms and banks are getting involved. If someone wants to borrow money, insurance companies assess ESG risk as part of their overall risk management strategy. “If companies want to access capital, they need to have an ESG program in place,” Tom remarks.
A Role To Play
The best way, Dan suggests, to get GRC professionals to understand the ownership roles they have to play in ESG, is by creating a center of excellence for ESG. By creating this center, and making ESG a business objective, you can then split the responsibilities across the organization. “Splitting the responsibilities across those different lines of defense for those different functions in a way where somebody…can get a combined view of how effective we think we are from an ESG standpoint, should be the goal,” Dan adds.
The Importance of Real-Time Reporting
Real-time reporting is the G in ESG. Being able to give an accurate picture of risk to a company’s board is intrinsic to ESG, and is vital to acting on those risks efficiently. “Risk professionals too often are asking ‘Why don’t I have real-time information,’ instead of actually being the one out creating it and bringing in the technical skill necessary to be able to analyze data fast enough to get real-time insight,” Dan expresses. Governance in the present and future needs to move at a pace faster than it has in the past, in order to report on risks. Being able to point out to the board when governance is failing, so that measures can be implemented, is also extremely important.
Resources
Dan Zitting | LinkedIn | Twitter
Galvanize
Diligence
