What is the role of ESG in shaping a sustainable future? Tom Fox and his special guest, Lawrence Heim, take an insightful journey into the principles and practice of ESG in this week’s show. Lawrence is a true advocate for ESG and shares his unique perspective and deep understanding of ESG and its role in shaping a sustainable future.  Lawrence Heim is the editor of Practical ESG. He is a seasoned professional in the field of environmental sustainability; with a background in environmental...

What does remodeling a home have to do with ESG? In this episode of the ESG Report, Tom Fox and Kristy Grant-Hart discuss the role of compliance in leading the ESG initiative within a corporation. Kristy, the founder of Spark Consulting, explains how compliance professionals can expand their role to lead the E, S and G components of ESG. She also shares her personal experience of remodeling her new home with her husband and how it relates to ESG. Kristy Grant Hart is a well-known figure in...

Tom’s guest in this episode of the ESG Report is Dan Frechtling of Boltive, a company that helps keep the Internet safe from invasive media and enforces data privacy. Data privacy and cybersecurity are ESG issues because they are significant drivers of business risk and a growing concern among investors and CEOs. The public costs of poor corporate cybersecurity management are increasingly viewed as market failures. Dan is the CEO of Boltive. His career began as a marketer, and he has spent...

In this episode of the ESG Report, Tom Fox discusses the regulatory movement towards mandatory climate disclosure requirements. Guest Jared Connors explains why product liability, previously viewed as a negative for sustainability, is now viewed as a positive. Jared Connors is on the regulatory team at Assent. In his role, he supports and analyzes the market, engages standards and framework makers and regulatory agencies to help understand what companies will face and how they can...

On this special edition of the ESG Report, I repost a recent webinar hosted by Assent. In this webinar, top Assent SMEs looked back at key ESG, supply chain and sustainability topics from 2022 and into 2023. Speakers included Cally Edgren, Director, Regulatory & Sustainability Experts; Dr. Bruce Jarnot, Regulatory & Sustainability Expert, Product Sustainability; Jared Connors, Regulatory & Sustainability Expert, ESG & Responsible Sourcing and Travis Miller, General Counsel....

Tom Fox welcomes Mandi McReynolds to this episode of the ESG Report. Mandi is the Head of Global Environment, Social and Governance at Workiva, a company whose ESG program allows them to communicate with internal and external stakeholders. In this conversation, she and Tom talk about Workiva's role in ESG compliance. The Backbone of ESG Internal controls are the backbone of ESG, so including them in your framework will make your ESG program run more efficiently. This takes the collaborative...

Tom Fox welcomes Sarah Dadush and David Snyder to this episode of the ESG Report. They are both law professors with backgrounds in human rights. In this conversation, they join Tom Fox to talk about the role of contracting in ESG. Robust Supplier Codes of Conduct Tom asks what steps are being taken to build more robust contract clauses. David explains that the process is still fairly in its initial state. Business lawyers have only recently adopted policies against forced labor and child...

Tom Fox welcomes Page Motes to this episode of the ESG Report. Page is the Head of Global Sustainability at Dell Technologies. In this conversation, Page and Tom talk about sustainability, how Dell oversees it, and where sustainability may go in the future. The Role of Sustainability  Tom asks Page to elaborate on what role sustainability plays at Dell. "The way we define the sustainability role and purview at our company is around all things environmental and then an aspect of social,...

Tom Fox welcomes Doug Hileman to this episode of the ESG Report. Doug is the founder of Doug Hileman Consultancy and part of the Volkswagen Monitor Team. In this conversation, he and Tom talk about his experience in the environmental and compliance industries, highlighting the increasing complexity of the environment and legal landscape. He also discusses how corporate compliance officers can play an important role in ensuring that companies are compliant with their environmental and safety...

Tom Fox welcomes Ted Dhillon to this episode of the ESG Report. Ted is the co-founder of FigBytes, an ESG insight platform that tracks raw data for environmental, social, and governance management. In this conversation, he and Tom talk about the ways FigBytes helps other companies do data analytics around ESG, the financial impact of ESG, and water stewardship.   FigBytes FigBytes as a platform tracks data for social, environmental and governance management. That raw data is then converted...

Fariyal Khanbabi is the CEO and chairman of Dialight Group, an LED industrial lighting technology company that services the maritime industry. Dialight's LED products provide lighting solutions that deliver reduced energy consumption and create a safer working environment. Fariyal joins Tom Fox to talk about her company’s product and services, as well as her thoughts on ESG.  What is Dialight? Tom asks Fariyal to tell listeners more about Dialight. Dialight is the global leader in...

Jared Connors and Daniel Zamora join Tom Fox in this episode of the ESG Report to discuss how market expectations have evolved with regard to due diligence in the responsible sourcing field. Due diligence used to be a data collection exercise where you get transparency into your supply chain, but now it's all about what you do with that information after you collect data. It's about how a company can move from being reactive to being proactive and going beyond regulatory requirements. It...

In this episode of the ESG Report,Tom Fox is joined by Devin O’Herron and Jared Connors of Assent to discuss Scope 3 emissions reporting as the key to disclosure success. They talk about the importance of accounting for Scope 3 in your emissions strategy. There are three scope levels within the emissions reporting strategy: Scope 1 refers to things like your vehicle or things you’re doing around your facility; Scope 2 is the purchased heat or electricity powering your facility; and Scope 3...

In this episode of the ESG Report, Cally Edgren and Devin O’Herron of Assent join Tom Fox to discuss product compliance and sustainability. They explore how the two worlds are starting to intersect.  Making sure products meet regulatory requirements is what product compliance is all about. In recent years, the requirements have been changing. There used to be a focus on safety features like mechanical and electrical safety, but things changed with the RoHS Directive in 2002. That directive...

Tom Fox welcomes Travis Miller and Jamie Wallisch to the ESG Report. In this episode, they talk about the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), and how it impacts the way companies do business across the supply chain. The UFLPA is a United States federal law that stops companies from importing products made with forced labor in the Xinjiang region of China or any other part of China with forced labor by workers or other minorities. This law is important because it makes sure that...

James Calder and Jared Connors of Assent are today’s guests on this premier episode of the 5-part series, Supply Chain and ESG - What You Need to Know. In this brief conversation, they chat with Tom Fox about how ESG impacts a company's performance presently and in the future. Before the pandemic, many companies were very dependent on global supply chains. Post-pandemic, however, companies need to focus on environmental resilience. This means that they need to be careful about where they get...

Tom Fox welcomes Keith Deinert to this episode of the ESG Report. Keith is the Global Program Manager at Jabil, a company that provides product design, manufacturing, and logistics to customers, as well as reverse supply chain strategies. In this brief conversation, they talk about scope three emissions, define the circular economy, and discuss how these topics all relate to ESG.   Scope Three Emissions  Tom asks Keith to start off by defining scope three emissions. "It's probably easier to...

In this brief solo episode, Tom Fox is reflecting on the impact the Russian Invasion had on ESG. He talks about how the invasion changed the way businesses viewed their ESG programs, the importance of ESG in business and national security, and what it means for businesses to be purpose-driven.  ESG is Business Change ESG is not driven by a specific political ideology or political group. What drives ESG is the business world. "What the Russian invasion of Ukraine drove home was the need for a...

Tom Fox welcomes Alexandra Poe, Andrew Fowler, and Bryan Sillaman of Hughes Hubbard & Reed (HHR) to part two of this series of the ESG Report. Hughes Hubbard & Reed released their newest ESG guide with practical guidance about the most common issues in establishing an ESG program. It also gives companies resources to help them comply with the evolving ESG expectations of regulators and investors. Key ESG Topics In the Resource Guide Tom asks Andrew and Alexandra to highlight the key...

Tom Fox welcomes Alexandra Poe, Andrew Fowler, and Bryan Sillaman of Hughes Hubbard & Reed (HHR) to the ESG Report! Hughes Hubbard & Reed released their newest ESG guide with practical guidance about the most common issues in establishing an ESG program. It also gives companies resources to help them comply with the evolving ESG expectations of regulators and investors. The ESG Resource Guide Tom asks Alexandra to explain the genesis of the ESG Resource Guide. Andrew’s previous work...

Tommy Linstroth is the founder and CEO of Green Badger, a SaaS company providing easy-to-use, collaborative cloud-based solutions to streamline and automate sustainability in the green building construction market. Tommy is a leader and pioneer in the ESG space, and in this week’s episode, he and Tom Fox explore ESG in the green construction market. Green Construction Within ESG Tom asks Tommy how green construction fits into an overall ESG conversation. Tommy acknowledges that ESG is...

Tom Fox welcomes Will Robinson to the ESG Report. Will, a former investment banker, now serves as the CEO at Encapture, a 20-year-old document management services company that pivoted into a SaaS product company in 2019. In this week’s episode, he and Tom talk about how Encapture helps its clients comply in the changing world of ESG.  Intelligent Document Processing Encapture is a software company with a unique process called “intelligent document processing”. Will explains that this process...

Todd Boehler has over 25 years experience in the governance risk and compliance software space. He is currently Senior Vice President of Strategy at ProcessUnity, where he oversees third-party risk management. ProcessUnity is a company that is making good governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) practices and tools available to organizations via cloud-based, third-party risk and cybersecurity program management tools. Tom Fox welcomes Todd to this week’s episode of the ESG Report to discuss the...

Tom Fox welcomes renowned compliance leader, Ty Francis, to the ESG Report! Ty is the Chief Advisory Officer at LRN; he leads the company’s worldwide ethics and compliance consulting, ESG, and community outreach strategy. In this week’s episode, Ty and Tom discuss LRN’s new report, Assessing Corporate Culture, and how it relates to ESG.  The Genesis of the Assessing Corporate Culture Report Tom asks Ty about the genesis of the LRN report. This is the second report LRN produced; the first one...

Tom Fox welcomes Raj Arora to the ESG Report. Raj is the CEO of Jensen Hughes, deemed the global leader in safety, security, risk-based engineering, technology, and consulting. It is primarily known for its innovative work in fire protection and engineering. In this week’s show, Raj and Tom discuss the firm, his professional background, and how it relates to ESG. Risk-Based Engineering Tom asks Raj to define risk-based engineering. “Risk-based engineering and consulting are all the facets of...