ESG - Environmental Social and Governance

What is ESG?

ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance. All three of these issues are becoming increasingly important, as corporates find themselves under greater scrutiny regarding how they conduct their business.

While there is no definitive list of ESG issues, examples include climate change, carbon emissions, pollution, deforestation, energy efficiency, biodiversity, waste management, human rights, working conditions, community relations, data protection and privacy, gender, diversity and inclusion, and governance structures and monitoring.

A number of countries have introduced or are looking to introduce legislation relating to the conditions and circumstances in which corporates do business. Such legislation can cover the corporate itself and those in its supply chain; including suppliers, customers and end-users.

Due diligence regarding ESG issues is becoming a major consideration for the business world. Businesses need to ensure they are meeting their ESG obligations.

Our ESG Expertise

There is now a greater investor focus on ESG law-related issues and more scrutiny of corporations’ accountability when doing business abroad. Rashid Imran Attorney has developed significant expertise in ESG-related advisory work and disputes regarding human rights-related issues around the globe.

Our ESG team is at the forefront of developments in business and human rights litigation in the UK, Europe and the US. We have a boots on the ground presence in key jurisdictions.

Rashid Imran Attorney is well-equipped to help clients both understand the ESG risks they face and proactively devise and manage appropriate strategies. Our expertise is truly international and cuts across business sectors.

Our team of senior ESG experts regularly provides advice to help organisations build long-term ESG strategies and performs proactive audits to issue targeted recommendations on specific ESG issues.

ESG advice, due diligence and reporting

Businesses must regularly conduct thorough due diligence into their impact on the environment, human rights and social governance.

There are various moments when corporations may need to conduct such due diligence: before a transaction, once a transaction has been performed, on a regular basis as part of a compliance programme or on an ad hoc basis following a whistleblower alert or negative media coverage.

Rashid Imran Attorney provides proactive and preventive ESG and human rights due diligence support to assess any potential legal or reputational risks and recommends remedial action designed to mitigate such exposure.

Crisis management and reputation risk

When a corporation is targeted by human rights or ESG risk-related claims, time is of the essence and a prompt, adequate response is needed. Decisions made in these initial stages may have a significant impact on both the company’s business and its legal exposure.

Our team provides the right combination of experts to help companies handle any potential crisis and make the right choice from the outset. We are adept at conducting large, efficient and to-the-point internal investigations, which may span various jurisdictions and involve complex corporate structures.

Business and human rights litigation support

Human rights litigation is gathering momentum throughout Europe, especially in France and Germany, where the first major corporations have been targeted by criminal proceedings for their alleged involvement in serious human rights violations.

Rashid Imran Attorney has a substantial presence in the key jurisdictions that are witnessing the first human rights litigation. It also has a unique insight into multijurisdictional litigation and provides clients with comprehensive analysis and representation on all ESG-related matters.