Latham & Watkins’ Nicola Higgs and Credit Suisse’s Simon Welch outline how finance firms can best respond to fast-changing ESG rules and what bosses should do now to prep for greenwashing allegations

Following the Rules

Today’s guests set out how financial services firms should best respond to the now myriad and rapidly-changing environmental, social and governance requirements in existence worldwide and the steps they should take now to prepare for formal or informal challenges to their ESG credentials. They outline the role of legal and compliance staff as well as front office executives in such responses and the common mistakes such individuals should avoid. They also discuss the ESG-related challenges that they believe not enough people are paying attention to.

Nicola Higgs advises banks, fund managers and insurers on UK and European financial services regulatory matters as a partner in law firm Latham & Watkins’ London office and global co-chair of the firm's financial institutions industry group.

Simon Welch oversees banking group Credit Suisse’s legal response to sustainability-related matters as its head of legal for sustainability.

***EPISODE NOTES***

During the episode, we discuss five ESG-related questions that boards governing financial institutions should ask themselves. These are listed below.

1. Which aspects of the sustainable finance agenda are relevant to your firm and how do you track, monitor and adapt your corporate strategy in response to this?
2. Do you have the right collective expertise within your executive team to understand the risks and opportunities the ESG transition poses for the business?
3. Who are the key stakeholders involved in the delivery of the ESG transition strategy? Is there a clear understanding as to where responsibility sits within the 3 lines of defence? What are the necessary information flows between these stakeholders?
4. What steps have you taken to ensure that your clients and external stakeholders have a clear understanding of your ESG strategy?
5. What action have you taken to ensure that staff have a consistent understanding of your ESG strategy in the context of your wider corporate purpose?