Why are in-house lawyers well-placed to drive change in their organisations?

A lawyer can be a board whisperer and evangelist for sustainability.

The communication and relationship-building abilities of lawyers are probably among the key attributes for success in the sustainability role. This involves the capability to educate the board and risk committees about the strategic opportunities presented by the sustainability agenda, debunking the belief that it is another risk management or compliance exercise.

Lawyers also inspire the executive team to set bold ambitions and not merely articulate future climate or environmental goals that have minimal accountability, on the premise that many of those in management would have retired or moved on from the organization by the due delivery dates.

In many ways, lawyers need to behave like evangelists — adapting the sustainability message to different audiences, ranging from front office workers and customers to clients, and the organisation as a whole. They must be able to persuade and nudge individuals in the organisation forward, while empathizing with the additional ESG work that needs to be done by colleagues.

These requirements are only internal facing. There is a similar set of externally focused responsibilities with shareholders, regulators, stock exchanges and the wider stakeholders in general.

Lawyers need to leverage all their management abilities to succeed. This involves being an agitator for change, a facilitator who brokers conversations and mediates and an executor of initiatives. It also involves assuming the role of a steward in the broadest sense — for the corporation, colleagues, and community.

Navigating the ‘Sustainability River’

The attributes needed for success in the sustainability industry are quickly evolving. Lawyers have to make sense of multiple standards, understand reporting and disclosure requirements in sustainability reports for stock exchanges and interpret the fast-changing principles, policies, and practices in the sustainability space. Corporations will be well served by having experts accustomed to the ever-changing regulatory, reporting and compliance landscape.

The lawyer who is navigating this fast-changing landscape is like one crossing a fast-moving river. As the wise Chinese phrase says, one needs to “Mo zhe shi tou guo he” — cross the river by feeling the stones under one’s feet.