The Securities Compliance Podcast Season 2 Episode 5 – Lessons From The Front Lines: The Many Shades of ESG

Podcast

Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context

On Episode 5 of Season 2 of the Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context, host Patrick D. Hayes shines a light on a very difficult topic – Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG).

To do this, Patrick continues with the third installment of the Lessons From the Front Lines series. The show focuses on providing practical advice and takeaways that focus on real-life, tough lessons other industry professionals and regulators have learned on the front lines of the industry.

To help guide listeners through the conversation, Patrick welcomes David Curran, the Chief Sustainability and ESG Officer at Paul Weiss.

Please tune in and subscribe for future episodes at ComplianceInContextPodcast.com.

Interview

• Reviewing the frameworks of ESG

• How can we demysitify ESG?

• Why do firms struggle with ESG so much?

• Having a technology process to address ESG controls

• Biggest challenges in moving the ESG conversation forward

• How best to respond when you identify a deficiency

• Detailing the attitude shift on ESG in the investment management space

Quotes

“[I]f you are taking a position on something that you believe in, that is essential to your corporation terms of its commitment, how are you governing it is really the essential issue. So, to demystify it, for example, with compliance and legal executives, is to think of it like a compliance and legal regime. Governance is governance – and governance means, how do you have a policy and procedure? How do you track, measure, monitor, and report on progress against these obligations? It's not any more complicated than that.”

“[Governance] is at the core of virtually every major corporation’s business agenda today. It is not esoteric. It is not out in left field. It is existential.”

“And so the demystification is to take it into its component parts. And part of that is to disassemble ESG, look at the governance part, flip the acronym and say, ‘Whatever you’re doing in the S category, whatever you’re doing in the E category, how are you governing them?' Because if you're not governing it, it doesn't get done.”

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About the Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context

Introducing the Securities Compliance Podcast: Compliance in Context presented by Calfee, Halter & Griswold and the National Society of Compliance Professionals and hosted by Patrick D. Hayes, Senior Counsel and leader of Calfee's Investment Management practice.

Designed as a personal master class for the securities legal and compliance professional, this podcast embodies Patrick’s passion to help you put Compliance In Context™ by combining the technical expertise of industry thought leaders and innovators with the practical experience of doers and key decision makers.

Listeners will find the podcast on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify and Stitcher.

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The opinions expressed by guest speakers and panelists during Securities Compliance Podcasts may not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the attorneys and professionals of Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Calfee’s educational content is intended to inform and educate readers about legal developments and is not intended as legal advice for any specific individual or specific situation. Please consult with your attorney regarding any legal questions you may have. With regard to all content including case studies or descriptions, past outcomes do not predict future results.