ESG Explorer: Recent Episodes
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP
Welcome to the ESG Explorer podcast from Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Environmental, Social and Governance factors increasingly drive business strategy, performance, and sustainable value creation. So how are businesses in Canada and around the world gaining momentum and seeing results in these areas? Join us as we engage with some of the leading voices across the ESG frontier. You will have front row seats as we speak with those who are at the forefront of advancing environmental, social and governance change in Canada and globally.
In this episode of the podcast, guest host Teresa Tomchak, a partner in the litigation group at Osler, and David Salmon, President of Laurel Hill Canada dive into the topic of trends in shareholder activism. Teresa and David discuss ESG issues they are seeing in the shareholder activism space, steps companies can take to address and prepare for ESG issues and the role of proxy advisors.
In this episode of the ESG Explorer podcast, guest host Jennifer Humphrey, an associate in the Emerging and High Growth Companies Group at Osler, speaks with Patricia Thaine, founder and CEO of Toronto-based Private AI, and Lourdes Juan, founder and CEO of Calgary-based Knead Technologies about their founder stories and the unique experiences they’ve had as successful female entrepreneurs. They also discuss current market conditions and the trends they are seeing. They also dive into the findings of the EHG team’s second annual Deal Points Report: Venture Capital Financings published in March 2023.
In October 2022, Osler released its eighth annual Diversity Disclosure Practices - Diversity and leadership at Canadian public companies. The report looks at how well companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act are doing at working to improve diversity in senior leadership positions. This includes increasing representation of women, members of visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities in senior leadership positions.
In this episode, guest host Colleen Moorehead, Osler’s Chief Client Officer, moderates a discussion about the report’s findings with regular podcast host and report co-author John Valley and Deborah Rosati, Founder & CEO of Women Get On Board.
According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report, the science is now settled that human behaviour is the cause of climate change and it will have profound effects on our economy and natural world. In this episode, Osler’s Andrea Boctor, partner and Chair of the Pensions and Benefits group, discusses with Ecojustice lawyer Andhra Azevedo about how pension plan administrators’ fiduciary duty likely requires them to understand, assess, and manage climate-related risks.
Earlier this year, the Council of the European Union agreed on two new directives that will form cornerstones of the European Green Deal and have far-reaching implications, affecting many Canadian businesses with operations in Europe or who are part of a global value chain delivering goods or services to Europe.
In this episode, Osler’s Lisa Mantello, a partner in the Banking & Financial Services group, hosts Ulrich Wolff, a Corporate partner at Linklaters in Frankfurt, to discuss how the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive mark a “step change” in ESG considerations, where the process goes from here, and how Canadian businesses that might be affected can get ready for the new compliance requirements.
Osler’s Martin Ignasiak, partner, Regulatory, Environmental, Indigenous and Land, joins Pat in the aftermath of the Alberta Court of Appeal’s advisory opinion that the federal Impact Assessment Act poses an existential threat to the division of powers set out in the Canadian Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional. The pair discuss the history of environmental assessment laws in Canada, their impact on resource development projects, and where the debate is headed. They also explore why environmental regulation is such a tricky issue in Canada and how it all relates to discussions about tackling climate change.
This episode features Osler’s Andrew MacDougall, partner, Corporate, in conversation with Michael Torrance, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer of BMO Financial Group, about the importance of ESG to sustainability and corporate responsibility. ESG reinforces the idea that there is more to assessing a corporation’s performance than financial results to achieve long-term shareholder value. Good governance requires effectively integrating environmental and social considerations into all corporate decision-making that has a societal impact.
This episode features a discussion involving Osler’s Shuli Rodal, partner, Competition/Antitrust and Foreign Investment, and Isabelle Crew, associate, Litigation; Regulatory, Environmental, Indigenous and Land, regarding environmental green claims and the enforcement that can be taken against deceptive marketing practices. Companies making false statements or misrepresentations have been subjected to severe penalties by the Competition Bureau. Until more detailed guidance is provided, legal practitioners will have to rely on first principles and general experience with the Bureau to navigate the current landscape regarding green claims.
This episode features Osler’s Andrew MacDougall, partner, Corporate, in a discussion about the International Sustainability Standard Board’s proposed standards focused on sustainability and climate-related disclosures. The proposals are designed to provide the market with a complete set of sustainability-related financial disclosures, as well as setting out specific requirements for the identification, measurement and disclosure of climate-related financial information. Andrew and Pat discuss the ISSB’s proposed standards and where they fit within the world of ESG disclosure, all with a view to the ISSB’s request for public comments due at the end of July 2022.