Christopher L. Bell & John Voorhees Author Article on Environmental and Social Governance (ESG)
Shareholders Christopher L. Bell and John Voorhees of the global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, co-authored "Using Standards as a Framework for Environmental and Social Governance" published in the quarterly Natural Resources & Environment magazine by the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources of the American Bar Association.
NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Shareholders Christopher L. Bell and John Voorhees of the global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP, co-authored "Using Standards as a Framework for Environmental and Social Governance" published in the quarterly Natural Resources & Environment magazine by the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources of the American Bar Association.
"Using Standards as a Framework for Environmental and Social Governance" details the environmental compliance and governance challenges facing multinational companies, and discusses how extra-legal standards can provide a disciplined management framework for achieving compliance and executing sustainability, environmental social governance (ESG), and corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies.
"Companies operating in multinational markets face an ever-increasing and complex set of ESG and CSR obligations, ranging from laws established by governments to the expectations (and criticisms) of investors, customers, neighbors, and environmental and advocacy groups, all in the context of highly variable cultural, social, political, and market situations," said Voorhees and Bell in a joint statement. "Standards can provide a practical governance framework, as well as substantive guidance, to help companies successfully manage these ESG obligations and challenges." Observing that ESG reporting is a current hot topic, they emphasize that "executing a disciplined strategy to achieve consistent high ESG performance is the foundation of credible ESG reporting: you have to 'walk the talk.'"
Bell, a shareholder in the firm's Houston office Houston office, represents clients in civil and criminal enforcement and investigations, litigation, and compliance counseling, under all of the major environmental laws. He helps companies implement environmental management and compliance systems, advises on sustainability and ESG strategies, and recently completed a five-year stint as EPA Independent Monitor overseeing Duke Energy's compliance with complex probation and debarment agreements arising out of criminal misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act.
Voorhees, a shareholder in the firm's Denver office, focuses his practice on litigation and compliance counseling, particularly on environmental, health care, fraud, and white collar matters. has over 40 years of litigation experience defending Superfund and Clean Water Act cases, and a wide variety of other civil and criminal environmental cases, in courts throughout the United States.
Voorhees and Bell also co-authored a recently published book titled International Environmental Risk Management: A Systems Approach on managing environmental risk.
About Greenberg Traurig's Environmental Practice: Greenberg Traurig's Environmental Practice assists clients with issues arising under virtually all of the environmental and natural resource laws in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The firm's environmental attorneys assist with securing permits and approvals; negotiating and closing transactions; defending clients in enforcement actions; handling a broad range of environmental and toxic tort litigation; providing compliance advice; preparing for and respond to emergencies; crafting approaches for legacy cleanup issues; evaluating and implement environmental, health, and safety compliance and management systems; and developing solutions for product regulation, market access, and environmental policy challenges. Greenberg Traurig received a first-tier ranking in the "Environmental Law" and "Litigation — Environmental" categories in the U.S. News - Best Lawyers 2020 "Best Law Firms" report.
About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has approximately 2,200 attorneys in 40 locations in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, diversity, and innovation, and is consistently among the largest firms in the U.S. on the Law360 400 and among the Top 20 on the Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.
SOURCE Greenberg Traurig, LLP
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