Report on the 8th Annual efila Lecture on esg Investment Strategy

On 13 October 2022, the European Federation for Investment Law and Arbitration (efila) hosted its 8th Annual Lecture in Brussels on “esg Investment Strategy”. For the first time two speakers rather than one discussed esg issues from different perspectives. Jillian Kirn provided the legal framework regarding esg, while Laurent Lhopitallier explained the practical implications of implementing esg from Sanofi’s experience. The ensuing debate illustrated that esg is moving fast and that the increasing disclosure obligations for companies will have a significant impact on companies’ esg ambitions. The challenges that the growth of esg will pose was also discussed, in particular as regards the collecting verifiable esg data and the ranking of companies based on this data. Generally, it was concluded that both companies and States must be more ambitious in the esg standards they aim to achieve.