For many companies, ESG communications really get going when the general counsel is taking the lead, according to Stephen James, head of EMEA business at ISS Corporate Solutions.
Speaking at the ESG Integration Forum – Europe 2019, hosted by IR Magazine and online sister publication Corporate Secretary, James said investor relations, along with other departments, tend to play a supporting role as ‘influences’ on the process.
‘As a service provider to many corporates, I bring more of a broad view than a single-company view,’ he said. ‘My own experience is that when the rubber hits the road, [that] tends to be when the corporate secretary or the general counsel has ownership of the ESG fundamentals.
‘IR is clearly a hugely influential driver to the overall management of ESG risk. But my sense is that IR is this valve that interfaces between the board and the outside world. The general counsel is somebody who seems to have ownership of ESG risks, certainly governance risk.
‘So when we plug into companies, and we’re helping companies solve ESG problems and understand what they look like, we tend to find it’s the CFO [and] the general counsel who really catapult that process forward with the likes of HR, compensation, sustainability and IR as influences.’
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