Tag: ESG

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The ESG Report

Legal Contracts for ESG with Sarah Dadush and David Snyder

Tom Fox welcomes  to this episode of the ESG Report. They are both law professors with backgrounds in human rights. In this conversation, they join Tom Fox to talk about the role of contracting in ESG.

Robust Supplier Codes of Conduct

Tom asks what steps are being taken to build more robust contract clauses. David explains that the process is still fairly in its initial state. Business lawyers have only recently adopted policies against forced labor and child labor. Lawyers are advising their clients to sign on to these policies, which is only one of the first few steps. Getting them implemented, however, is the true challenge. “The policies sit there in the corporate minutes, and unless they’re in the contracts, they’re not going to be implemented,” David says. These policies need to be in operation.  “To get them implemented, to get them operationalized, they need to be in the contracts.”

 

Human Rights, Model Clauses & ESG

“Part of the history of ESG is focusing on equipping consumers to make choices that are more and more aligned with their values,” Sarah tells Tom. This has expanded to include not only consumers but investors, thus bringing in more money and leverage to influence corporate behavior. The S in ESG comes into play with model clauses because it looks at human rights and employee rights. “Our focus within the model contract laws is on worker protection,” Sarah remarks. “We tend to think often of things like child labor, trafficked labor, forced labor in various shades. What we are including or addressing specifically in the model contract laws is worker conditions.”

 

Model Clauses & Regulatory Obligations 

Tom asks if model clauses can help companies meet their regulatory requirements. With model contract clauses in place, human rights due diligence are going to be more effective, David and Sarah agree. “They show the regulators that you are serious about doing something about this,” David remarks. However, model contracts need to be put into place. If they are signed but not acted upon, all you have is paper. “Once you’ve agreed to this human rights due diligence or a due diligence regime, and then we also have clauses about sharing information and generating documentation, then you are going to be able to document what you have done,” David adds. 

Sharing information will result in communication and documentation of what’s going on at the company. 

 

Resources

Sarah Dadush | LinkedIn 

David Snyder | LinkedIn

 

Categories
Daily Compliance News

December 8, 2022 – The Support Pollution Edition

DECEMBER 8, 2022, BY TOM FOX

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you four compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the Compliance Podcast Network.

Stories we are following in today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Climate risk is about risk. (WSJ)
  • Argentinian VP found guilty of corruption. (NYT)
  • The ‘coal mafia’ is not in West Virginia. (The Diplomat)
  • Support pollution and do business with the state of Texas. (Reuters)
Categories
The ESG Report

The Role of Digital Solutions for ESG with Page Motes

Tom Fox welcomes Page Motes to this episode of the ESG Report. Page is the Head of Global Sustainability at Dell Technologies. In this conversation, Page and Tom talk about sustainability, how Dell oversees it, and where sustainability may go in the future.

The Role of Sustainability 

Tom asks Page to elaborate on what role sustainability plays at Dell. “The way we define the sustainability role and purview at our company is around all things environmental and then an aspect of social, really the human rights piece,” Page says. Human capital management, diversity, equity, and inclusion are also part of how Dell defines sustainability. 

 

Moving from Compliance to Sustainability and ESG 

There are skills that compliance professionals have that individuals in the field of sustainability can develop. Page specifically points to the ability to understand ambiguity, especially when dealing with the ethics side of ESG and sustainability. On the ethics side, there are more gray areas, so you have to have a set form of values and morals to help you navigate them. In sustainability, not everything is regulated, so you have to understand what works. “You’re working on a global scale. You’re having to understand all aspects of the company and the business. You have to understand the balance between what the business needs for business acceleration and growth,” Page stresses. 

 

Sustainability of The Future

Tom asks Page where she sees sustainability going in the corporate world. Page expresses that companies, as well as Dell, are thinking about how the solutions they offer their user and customer base can help them achieve their goals. “How can technology be used to create systems of change? How can we decarbonize our technology?” These are questions companies are thinking about intently. Currently, ESG and sustainability are more focused on structures and programs to meet regulatory requirements, but Page hopes that in the future, they will be more focused on innovation and collaboration.  

 

Resources

Page Motes | LinkedIn 

Dell Technologies

Categories
Daily Compliance News

November 30, 2022 the Unleash the Kraken Edition

Welcome to the Daily Compliance News. Each day, Tom Fox, the Voice of Compliance, brings you four compliance-related stories to start your day. Sit back, enjoy a cup of morning coffee and listen to the Daily Compliance News. All from the Compliance Podcast Network. Stories we are following in today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • More missed red flags by KPMG? (WSJ)
  • Law firms and ESG. (Reuters)
  • Kraken settles trade sanctions violations with DOT. (WSJ)
  • Juventus Board resigns. (CNN)

Categories
The ESG Report

Attributes of ESG Reporting with Doug Hileman

Tom Fox welcomes Doug Hileman to this episode of the ESG Report. Doug is the founder of Doug Hileman Consultancy and part of the Volkswagen Monitor Team. In this conversation, he and Tom talk about his experience in the environmental and compliance industries, highlighting the increasing complexity of the environment and legal landscape. He also discusses how corporate compliance officers can play an important role in ensuring that companies are compliant with their environmental and safety obligations.

The Evolution of Environmental Regulations 

Tom asks Doug how the environmental field has changed over the years. “I would say that it’s gotten a lot more complex,” Doug responds. Regulation in the past was about cleaning up and disposing of waste, whereas now regulation is borader, covering areas such as product design, biodiversity, and the circular economy. In addition, stakeholders are now imposing requirements: they no longer want to do business with companies that don’t comply with US and global regulations. 

 

The Compliance Professional in Corporate ESG

ESG is a great opportunity for compliance professionals. Compliance obligations are now widespread in the business world, so compliance professionals must learn what the requirements are of any organization that they’re working with. Once they learn the requirements, they can then take up a leadership role. “If they’re not at the table the way they think they should be at the table, then just pull up a chair and sit down,” Doug stresses. “Make your own case for why the compliance function has such an important role in ESG. It’s not about marketing; it’s compliance.”

 

The Board in Corporate ESG 

The board needs to be involved in the company ESG program. It needs to be an ‘all hands on deck’ initiative. This will make the entire company operations more competent. Doug remarks on the importance of internal auditing and how it impacts ESG. The board’s focus should be on how to be in line with ESG practices and requirements, Doug tells Tom. 

 

Resources

Doug Hileman | LinkedIn 

Doug Hileman Consultancy

Categories
The ESG Report

Using Data in Climate Accounting with Ted Dhillon

 

Tom Fox welcomes Ted Dhillon to this episode of the ESG Report. Ted is the co-founder of FigBytes, an ESG insight platform that tracks raw data for environmental, social, and governance management. In this conversation, he and Tom talk about the ways FigBytes helps other companies do data analytics around ESG, the financial impact of ESG, and water stewardship.  

 

 

FigBytes

FigBytes as a platform tracks data for social, environmental and governance management. That raw data is then converted into impacts and metrics. The analyzed data is then implemented into different technological frameworks. “What we also do is we take the next step yet towards engagement,” Ted tells Tom. FigBytes connects data with organizational strategy and changes the dynamic of how sustainability and ESG is looked at within a company.

 

ESG as a Business Approach 

“[ESG] is clearly a business process approach, and I also look at ESG as a reporting initiative as well,” Ted tells Tom. ESG has moved the organizational sector into a phase of new sustainability that’s more evolved. The metrics and numbers can be compared and contrasted across various different organizations. ESG is also driven by investment from the financial community. Investors will look at the things that are happening in the world, how it impacts companies, and make risk-based assessments on those factors. 

 

Water Stewardship 

Water is the next carbon, so Tom asks Ted how FigBytes is facilitating water stewardship. Water stewardship is about the responsible use of water, in a way that is equitable and beneficial to the communities you are drawing it from. Water is a resource with significant impact and a resource that overlaps with climate. You won’t achieve climate sustainability without taking water into account. “Water has got a very regional and localized focus and therefore stewardship is critical because companies have direct and indirect impacts of water as well,” Ted says. 

 

Resources

Ted Dhillon | LinkedIn 

FigBytes

 

Categories
The ESG Report

How Sustainability Impacts Culture with Fariyal Khanbabi

 

Fariyal Khanbabi is the CEO and chairman of Dialight Group, an LED industrial lighting technology company that services the maritime industry. Dialight’s LED products provide lighting solutions that deliver reduced energy consumption and create a safer working environment. Fariyal joins Tom Fox to talk about her company’s product and services, as well as her thoughts on ESG. 

 

 

What is Dialight?

Tom asks Fariyal to tell listeners more about Dialight. Dialight is the global leader in sustainable LED lighting solutions for the industrial market, she responds. Wherever there’s a harsh environment or a plant where some kind of heavy industrial work is going on, Dialight is there providing “the next generation of lighting solutions that deliver reduced energy consumption, and most importantly a safe working environment”. As a company in the 21st century, Dialight is focused on promoting and executing sustainable practices and solving the climate crisis, using technology.

 

Environmental Protection Declaration

Fariyal defines Environmental Protection Declaration (EPD) and how Dialight utilizes them. An EPD is a verified document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products. Approximately 2 years ago, Dialight began using an independent agency to issue EPDs on their products, which verifies the environmental impact of all their major product lines. They focus on the materials they use, and it helps them understand what they should use for the next generation of products. They have incorporated the use of EPDs into their sales program as it helps them get products made with recyclable and sustainable materials that are approved by a board of environmental experts.

 

Workforce Sustainability 

Tom asks how sustainability, environmental consciousness, and governance are incorporated into employee acquisition. Fariyal explains that statistically, the next generation of employees does not want to work for a company that does not have a social conscience or is not doing something to help the environment. Even though Dialight is the most sustainable lighting company on the market right now, they actively try to make their employees feel that way. They participate in various initiatives based on environmental and gender-based activities and actively try to encourage women to find their space in the industrial industry. 

 

Resources:

Fariyal Khanbabi | LinkedIn |  Dialight

 

Categories
The ESG Report

Supply Chain & ESG: Scope 3 Emissions Reporting Strategy with Devin O’Herron and Jared Connors

 

In this episode of the ESG Report,Tom Fox is joined by Devin O’Herron and Jared Connors of Assent to discuss Scope 3 emissions reporting as the key to disclosure success. They talk about the importance of accounting for Scope 3 in your emissions strategy.

 

 

There are three scope levels within the emissions reporting strategy: Scope 1 refers to things like your vehicle or things you’re doing around your facility; Scope 2 is the purchased heat or electricity powering your facility; and Scope 3 is all those variables outside your four walls. The most important aspect of Scope 3 is purchased goods. This has a large impact on organizations that may not necessarily take in raw materials and directly manufacture those raw materials into a finished good. “Even if your organization designs products and influences those products, you typically will obtain your raw materials components through your supply chain,” Jared says. The supply chain is a very significant factor to consider when coming up with the emissions strategy as a company.

 

A recent study found that Scope 3 emissions are typically 11 times larger than an organization’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions combined. As mandatory climate disclosure legislation progresses into the future, the overall emissions strategy needs to start accounting for Scope 3 as much as possible. “When it comes to Scope 3 emissions in particular, as we think about things like carbon taxes, risk in terms of risk, if you don’t understand what exactly that applies to your organization, you are missing a big opportunity,” Devin stresses. Organizations need to get a handle on their total emissions footprint. You cannot manage what you do not measure. 

 

Resources

Devin O’Herron on LinkedIn

Jared Connors | LinkedIn

Tom Fox’s email

Assent website

 

Categories
FCPA Compliance Report

Erica Salmon Byrne on Ethisphere Partnership with Alpine Investors

In this episode, I visit with Erica Salmon Byrne, now CEO at Ethisphere. We review the firm’s recent acquisition by Alpine Investors, a B-Corp. Key areas we discuss on this podcast are:

  • What does this new partnership mean for Ethisphere?
  • Who is Alpine Investors, and what is a B Corp.
  • What is People Focused Private Equity, and why was this a good fit for Ethisphere?
  • What will be Erica’s role going forward?
  • How this move will refocus Ethisphere’s efforts in ESG.

 Resources

Ethisphere Press Release

Ethisphere

Alpine Investors

Categories
The ESG Report

Supply Chain and ESG – ESG Drivers with James Calder and Jared Connors

 

James Calder and Jared Connors of Assent are today’s guests on this premier episode of the 5-part series, Supply Chain and ESG – What You Need to Know. In this brief conversation, they chat with Tom Fox about how ESG impacts a company’s performance presently and in the future.

 

 

Before the pandemic, many companies were very dependent on global supply chains. Post-pandemic, however, companies need to focus on environmental resilience. This means that they need to be careful about where they get their supplies from because there is a risk of disruption. It is risky now to source from regions that do not abide by the appropriate environmental controls or expectations on human rights, all of which can lead to a supply chain disruption. Additionally, companies that can’t demonstrate that their products don’t violate human rights are at a disadvantage. Without evidence that they are adhering to labor laws, they could lose business to their competitors, Jared tells Tom. 

 

ESG offers companies the opportunity to determine with data if there are operational inefficiencies. If there are inefficiencies, business solutions can be brought to help make companies actually run more efficiently from the data collation required for an ESG program. This in turn saves companies money. “When you think about that in the context of labor… if you’re helping the well-being of these organizations or these individuals out there working in these organizations, oftentimes you see a lot more efficiency and better quality in their work,” Jared says. 

 

Resources

James Calder | LinkedIn 

Jared Connors | LinkedIn

Assent