ESG Collaborative

Environmental

Illustrative examples of our environmental ESG counseling experience include:

• Advising on drafting and launching corporate sustainability programs, including ethical sourcing of raw materials, environmental impact investment, operational sustainability and carbon footprint reduction.
• Counseling on the financing, purchase and use of energy efficiency equipment and solar and wind power systems and fuel cells, including innovative arrangements to utilize tax credits and utility incentives.
• Advising on financing a portfolio of renewable energy and battery storage projects to reduce carbon emissions and improve the environment in developing nations.
• Counseling on negotiating power purchase agreements and offtake contracts for the use of energy generated by waste-to-energy, wind, solar, bioenergy and geothermal resources.
• Advising on meeting greenhouse gas emissions goals and achieving LEED and other sustainability certifications, reducing waste generation, and increasing the use of low-emissions vehicles and technologies.
• Counseling a utility scale electric generating station on transactional, regulatory and government affairs matters, including an agreement to repurpose the plant into the leading state-of-the-art commercial scale carbon capture utilization and sequestration facility and wholesale power generator.
• Advising a renewable energy projects developer on acquiring and preserving farmland throughout the U.S. for sustainable agriculture purposes.
• Advising on innovative projects to identify energy efficiency cost savings opportunities.
• Advising manufacturers on the potential use of solar and wind power and projects to help reduce energy costs and support sustainability initiatives.
• Counseling financial institutions on solar and wind power offtake contracts to help them achieve carbon credits/offsets goals.
• Managing comprehensive environmental energy audits at manufacturing facilities around the globe.
• Spearheading comprehensive EHS audits with a focus on implementing best practices in waste management and mitigation and identifying additional recycling opportunities.
• Providing guidance on compiling data to market and report on the manufacturing of more sustainable products to prevent claims of greenwashing and related regulatory prohibitions.
• Providing federal Clean Air Act and California Air Resources Board counseling to original equipment manufacturers on a variety of issues, such as emissions regulations (including tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions and hydrofluorocarbon phasedowns and prohibitions), electric vehicles and other alternative fuels, warranty and recall requirements and best practices, and attendant mobile state and federal mobile source matters.
• Formulating environmental management systems, including policies and procedures to manage environmental risk and increase compliance with health and safety laws and regulations.

Social

Our experience advising on the social aspects of ESG criteria includes:

• Advising on human capital management programs.
• Providing guidance on all matters affecting the employer-employee relationship, including regulatory compliance, traditional labor and union relations, immigration, OSHA and workers’ compensation.
• Assisting in developing employee handbooks and policies such as sexual harassment prevention, anti-discrimination and social media policies.
• Conducting employer training programs on employment issues such as workplace culture, remote work arrangements, anti-harassment, workplace investigations and ADA compliance.
• Representing employers in a broad range of litigation, including cases involving discrimination, harassment, FMLA, wage/hour and retaliation.
• Advising on structuring compensation to incentivize the achievement of ESG objectives.
• Assisting with OSHA-related investigations.
• Assisting with employee health and welfare plans and employee compensation, incentive and benefit programs, including equity compensation plans and stock purchase plans.
• Assisting with ESG-related contractual commitments (supplier, vendor and otherwise).
• Assessing supply chains for compliance with conflict minerals regulations, including conducting due diligence on supply chain partners and identifying risk areas, and drafting conflicts minerals reports.
• Assisting with executive succession plans and crisis management.
• Advising on internal and external communications addressing developing social issues.
• Helping companies identify and mitigate potential forced labor, modern slavery, trafficking and related risks in their supply chains and counseling them on building compliance and sustainability programs, preparing disclosures and preparing for supply chain audits.

Governance

Examples of the ESG-related governance counsel we’ve provided include:

• Assisting in developing and implementing ESG programs.
• Advising on SEC and other public disclosures in proxy statements, annual reports and investor messaging, including addressing the SEC’s new human capital disclosure requirements, and in response to the SEC’s evolving climate and other ESG guidance as well as addressing expectations of shareholders and other constituencies.
• Assisting in implementing board and committee policies related to ESG and ESG risk oversight, including board duties and processes, disclosures, committee charters, codes of conduct and ethics, and other corporate governance policies.
• Advising on shareholder proposals, activism campaigns and shareholder engagement.
• Assisting with director independence determinations, potential conflicts of interest and related party transactions.
• Assisting in developing ESG metrics for compensation programs.
• Advising on integrating ESG factors into ERISA plan investment decisions and other considerations for fiduciaries making ESG-related investment decisions and exercising their shareholder rights.
• Providing guidance on how using a behavioral interview process and well-designed board self-assessments can help companies recruit and retain successful and high-performing directors while renewing their commitment to racial and ethnic diversity.
• Advising on state diversity laws and Nasdaq’s proposed new listing requirements to address board diversity, which would require most Nasdaq-listed companies to have (or disclose reasons for not having) at least two diverse directors, including one who self-identifies as female and one who self-identifies as either an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+.
• Assisting with internal and regulatory investigations.
• Advising multinational corporations on compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-corruption laws, including developing governance documentation and representing companies and individuals in DOJ and SEC enforcement actions.
• Advising on ESG due diligence in M&A transactions.
• Providing guidance on collecting, transferring and processing personal and consumer data to ensure strong data privacy safeguards and reduce risks.
• Designing data compliance programs and advising on mitigating damage if a breach occurs.
• Advising investment companies, investment advisers and other financial industry participants on legal, regulatory, enforcement and other ESG trends.