The Prince of Wales has asked general counsel to assess and reduce their companies' impact on climate change.

In a video message delivered at the Association of Corporate Counsel Global General Counsel Summit in London on Thursday, Prince Charles said in-house counsel are “uniquely placed” to inform and enable their businesses' response to the financial and humanitarian risks of climate change.

“In your capacity as in-house counsel you have a vital role to play in assessing and reducing the impact of climate change through measuring and reporting objectively on risks as well as highlighting any potential opportunities,” he said.

Charles added in-house counsel should keep their businesses informed on the “material financial risk” of climate change that are increasingly a concern to investors and securities regulators. General counsel should ensure their companies are sharing accurate environment-related information with both groups, he said.

Company lawyers should also be aware of potential heightened legal risks, Charles said, with environmental protection laws now passed in several countries signed on to the Paris Climate Agreement. He added climate change litigation is becoming an “increasingly common form of activism” to hold companies and governments to account for their role in global warming.

“General counsel's role in helping companies demonstrate that they are seriously working towards mitigating climate impact could play an important part in helping to manage the risks from current and future litigation,” he said.

The ACC's collaboration with Charles on climate change will extend beyond Thursday's video message. The Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project and the ACC have announced they'll be pairing up to advance general counsel's role in corporate sustainability initiatives.

More than half of legal department leaders reported their company has or is developing a sustainability plan, according to the 2019 ACC CLO Survey, with 93% of those respondents leading or contributing to those efforts. The chief executive officer is the most common company lead on sustainability, though the ACC found 11% report to the CLO.

“Businesses today recognize that being profitable is no longer enough. They need to ensure that environmental, social and governance principles are at the heart of their decisions,” said Veta Richardson, ACC president and CEO, in a statement. “The chief legal officer is uniquely positioned to influence the company's progress in these areas, and we look forward to working with A4S to advance the CLO's role in this space and underscore the value that's contributed.”