General counsel remain wary of ESG disclosure risk and related activism |
A survey of nearly 70 general counsel and senior legal officers by the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University has found that three-quarters of respondents have faced pressure, particularly from employees, to grow their companies’ commitments to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in the past three years, but are wary of disclosure risks and employee-driven activism that could come with such matters. Seventy-two per cent of general counsel either somewhat or significantly believed that ESG investment would improve their companies' long-term financial performance, according to the report, and although half of respondents believe CEO activism can precipitate reputational benefits for an organization, more than a third fear it would produce reputational, legal, or regulatory harm. "It is notable that over half of the people who are responsible for balancing the risk and reward of corporate actions advocate dialing back some of these efforts and recommitting to the central strategic and profit-making purpose," the report’s authors observed. |
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