ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG)

Thompson Coburn’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practice provides customized and practical advice to companies, sponsors, investors, and other capital markets participants regarding ESG issues consistent with the latest market developments and the creation and implementation of government policies and requirements.

Traditionally, a business was regarded as having a single goal: to maximize value for the benefit of its owners. With the increasing focus in recent years on ESG concerns, however, companies must be mindful of ESG considerations or risk ignoring them at their peril. In July 2020, the Financial Times reported that exchange-traded funds and investment products with investment goals based on ESG principles had reached a value of $101 billion. The increasing awareness of ESG issues by market participants presents challenges that are relatively new, rapidly evolving, and expected to continue to grow dramatically. 

No one ESG strategy or approach fits all clients, and we understand that our counsel must be tailored to fit the clients’ specific needs. We regularly provide ESG advice to public companies, sponsors, individual and institutional investors and family offices. Our clients, and the scope and nature of our engagements by them, are varied.

With regard to environmental issues, we are experienced in analyzing and providing advice in all aspects of environmental law, regulation, government policy development and best practices. For energy issues, we are qualified to provide advice to our clients on energy law, regulation and government policy development. Where energy and the environment are inter-related, we provide advice and counsel of similar scope on ESG issues such as carbon containment, energy transition, efficiency and waste minimization. For social issues, we provide analysis and advice to our clients on human rights standards and guidelines, and related reporting and disclosure compliance, as well as on ethics and anti-corruption issues. For governance issues, we regularly assist our corporate clients with regard to directors’ and senior management’s duties and core ESG values, such as the social aspects of their corporate governance, including diversity and inclusion for boards and management, and provide guidance on disclosure.

Notable ESG engagements include: 

• Corporate Due Diligence: We have led due diligence efforts on ESG compliance and best practices, working with investors in evaluating the scope and depth of a company’s ESG plans and implementations, including in connection with merger and acquisition transactions.
• Asset Management: We have assisted asset managers and issuers in evaluating the ESG considerations required throughout the investment decision-making process. Investors sensitive to ESG considerations actively monitor corporate operations and business plans for how they address issues such as: diversity, gender gap, climate, and energy resources.  
• Public Company: We have assisted public companies with regard to disclosure of ESG content in their SEC filings and on their website and provided guidance with respect to the ESG requirements of shareholder advisory firms and other institutional investors.  We have also assisted public company clients in responding to shareholder proposals on ESG matters and investor outreach on ESG issues. 
• Climate Change: We have assisted companies in creating ESG policies and business practices that will meet the accelerating demand of governments, investors and customers to eliminate the use of energy and technologies that contribute to climate change. 

Our multi-disciplinary team consists of attorneys and advisors with experience in the areas of corporate law and securities, corporate governance, environmental and energy law, climate change, labor and employment, cybersecurity, government policy and development and implementation.