Increasingly, CEOs—Rather Than Legal Chiefs—Are Leading ESG Efforts
A survey by the law firm Thompson Hine found that even as more CEOs take the ESG reins, general counsel will continue to play a key role in the discussions.
December 29, 2022 at 11:33 AM
4 minute read
As many companies have ramped up their environmental, social and governance efforts to meet the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's proposed rules on climate disclosures, the percentage of legal chiefs overseeing ESG and corporate social responsibility actually has gone down, according to a new survey.
The survey of 128 in-house counsel and other senior business executives by the business law firm Thompson Hine found that, for both public and private companies, the CEO continues to have primary oversight of ESG initiatives, although legal departments still play an important role.
The percentage of respondents who say the CEO has primary responsibility increased from 31% last year to 35% this year. Meanwhile, the percentage of GCs who oversee ESG initiatives dropped from 24% overall last year to 18% for public companies and 10% for private companies this year.
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