ESG

ESG Journey

Impact Business Law wants to be a part of your ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) journey. We will work with you to develop your ESG roadmap and implement it. This is part coaching (you are the expert), part legal consulting (we advise), and part legal services (we draft policies and other documents in specific areas).

ESG + ROADMAP

It’s a journey, not a destination.
Be visionary but make it attainable.
Keep learning.

Step 1: Pick Your Team

The right captain. Do you need a coach?
Handpick players who are passionate, can perform, willing to learn, diverse
Cover key positions – operations lead, specific HR/marketing personnel

Step 2: Game Plan

ESG+ materiality assessment – material to whom, time horizon
- Environmental scanning
- Decision making framework – what’s in, what’s out
- Stakeholder engagement?
Continuous learning – for the team and the broader firm

Step 3: Game Time

Key objectives → KPIs → targets
Key activities re targets, supporting activities – bring in the experts (and they might be
internal)
Policies, procedures, processes
Determine accountabilities and necessary resources
Internal firm education and communications

Step 4: Stats

What you will measure and how
Who you will internally report to and when

Step 5: Next Season & Beyond

Focused external messaging
Strategic alignment – brand, strategic direction
Annual materiality assessment and target setting → new game plans as needed
Continuous learning

There are lots of consultants in the ESG space and many different approaches. Why is a legal lens so important in the ESG journey?

ESG efforts may start with purpose and mission, but the success of your organization’s ESG
initiatives comes down to policies and procedures that are implemented. A legal mindset will
help you to create a framework for what must take place in your company and legal writing will
help you create policies and procedures that are clear and easy to follow.
Following through on ESG policies and procedures often comes down to governance. A legal
approach helps delineate the roles of boards of directors, executive, and front-line supervisors.
If you are serious about your ESG initiatives, the rules need to be enforced. Legal processes are
needed to set up complaint and investigative processes in areas such as respective workplace
and supply chain management.

ESG RESOURCES

ESG Frameworks

Global Reporting Initiative GRI
Sustainability Accounting Standards Board SASB
UN Sustainable Development Goals SDGs
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure TCFD
World Economic Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics newest
B Corp Certification - https://bcorpdirectory.ca/about-certified-b-corps/

Industry Associations

Global Compact Network Canada - https://unglobalcompact.ca/
Canadian Business for Social Responsibility - https://cbsr.ca/
Mining Association of Canada - https://mining.ca/our-focus/
Retail Council of Canada - https://www.retailcouncil.org/province/national/responsible-sourcing

Business & Human Rights Resources

Benchmarks

Know the Chain - https://knowthechain.org/
Corporate Human Rights Benchmark - https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/corporate-human-rights-benchmark/

Global BHR Frameworks

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises - https://www.oecd.org/corporate/mne/
United Nation’s Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights - https://www.ungpreporting.org/resources/the-ungps/
United Nation Global Compact Ten Principles - https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles
International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work - https://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.html