Thompson Hine LLP is pleased to announce that it has published its inaugural internal ESG report, “Always Thinking Ahead,” which highlights its investments, achievements and ongoing initiatives to operate responsibly and sustainably.
The report outlines the firm’s comprehensive ESG program development process, which started with conducting a prioritization assessment to assist in defining key metrics that are essential to Thompson Hine’s stakeholders and help hone its environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, improve internal reporting and public disclosure processes, and identify business opportunities to support growth and innovation. The work is led by an internal ESG Council comprised of leaders representing all key areas of the firm as well as relevant practice groups and programs that feed into its holistic ESG approach. This diverse group of individuals represents the many aspects of the firm’s ESG program and aids stakeholders in setting, tracking and meeting key metrics.
The firmwide ESG program complements the legal counsel Thompson Hine’s ESG Collaborative provides to clients. Through the firm’s ESG Collaborative, lawyers partner with clients to align their ESG objectives with their companies’ values and business objectives, enabling them to reduce risk and satisfy stakeholder demands.
“Our goal is to be a leader in setting best practices for developing, refining, implementing, managing and monitoring an ESG program in a law firm environment,” said Jurgita Ashley, partner and co-chair of Thompson Hine’s ESG Collaborative.
“Thompson Hine is following the same path that we guide our clients on. We believe that to be authentic, we must focus on our own pillars of governance, human capital and sustainability. We are committed to aligning our ESG strategy with our firm goals just as we advise our clients to align their programs with their business values” added partner and ESG Collaborative co-chair Heidi Friedman.
Thompson Hine is committed to staying on top of significant business trends and continuously innovating to meet clients’ evolving needs. In addition to this internal report, the firm has published the results of two external surveys. Through the ESG Collaborative, Thompson Hine was one of the first firms to formally survey in-house counsel and senior executives for their thoughts on key ESG issues, including the status of their companies’ implementation of ESG practices; their short- and long-term ESG-related needs and challenges; and which metrics they are measuring. The two reports, “An ESG Snapshot” and “ESG: An Intensifying Focus,” offer valuable benchmarking and analysis in a space that seems to shift daily.
The firm’s ESG Collaborative is a multidisciplinary team of lawyers with the practical legal and business knowledge and experience to help clients develop, implement and fine-tune ESG strategies. Like that of other firm lawyers, the group’s work is enhanced by the use of proprietary SmartPaTHTM tools, select technology resources, and the thoughtful application of legal project management, flexible staffing, process efficiency and value-based pricing to deliver increased value and predictability.