The Impact Lawyers: What objective(s) does CMS pursue through its ESG team?

Döne Yalçın: Our stated objective is to fulfil our responsibilities as a company and to align our business and actions with the UN’s Global Compact. As a signatory to the Compact we are strengthening and channelling our ESG activities to become a more sustainable, socially and environmentally responsible business. We have teams who are responsible for both client-facing activities and internal operations. The team aims to communicate to all stakeholders our commitment and continuous progress towards our objective, to reassure our clients that they are supported by a law firm that embraces the similar challenges they do and to demonstrate that we are adaptable and responsible as a service provider employing over 8,000 globally. Internally, the team provides internal support and creates best practice centres that our industry groups and practice teams can utilise. 

TIL: Is an ESG department relevant in law firms?

DY: Yes, definitely, we face similar challenges as our clients and the shareholders have committed to the Compact. We have ensured that all departments have been involved in equal measure in this change management process and are equipped to disseminate best practices, success stories, thought leadership and research findings, and to proactively initiate change management programmes and corporate culture initiatives. Our Sustainability/ESG department is active at a central and regional level and is best placed to achieve CMS' goals as a global organisation. 

TIL: Can technological development help in any way in sustainability actions? 

DY: Covid-19 has really shown us the potential of the digital economy and digitalization - from the way data can be transferred to the possibilities of fully digitising many business processes. The pandemic has certainly accelerated the adoption of new technologies, especially in customer-facing industries. In the future, companies will need to manage their data processes sustainably and to monitor the resulting impacts. Increasing reporting requirements and the need to respond quickly require measurable data. Sustainability goes beyond producing data for audits and reports. However, here, as with any other measure on the path to a sustainable company, critical consideration must be given. Even if technical measures seem sustainable, they may be quite different when analysed more closely. User acceptance is particularly important here. Technologies are not introduced in CMS without critical end-user analysis.

TIL: What challenges has the CMS ESG team had to face?

DY: The biggest challenge internally has been data collection and data processing for new objectives. We started with a lighthouse project in our Vienna office and invested in new data management structures and introduced new data collection strands. This started in the purchasing department and went all the way to the finance and accounting departments. This project has been multiplied in an international context. Another challenge has been to define measures that can be implemented in all jurisdictions. There are measures that make sense in one country and for one office but not in others. For example, for European offices it may make sense to gift employees with e-scooters but this may not work in tropical climates. In other words, within our network of offices we have found that it is a challenge to adapt the processes in each office to meet the different local ESG standards and realities. Finally, it has been interesting to see that ESG holds different importance and significance for different stakeholders, so awareness raising was an important factor here. 

TIL: Why is it in the interest of a firm like CMS to invest in sustainability?

DY: CMS believes in walking the talk. We are a future-facing firm, as you can see from our logo – Law, Tax, Future. We believe that climate change is the biggest challenge for our future. Our commitment to ESG targets, as I mentioned, is not only to be a sustainable company, which is crucial, but also to enable us to really understand the challenges that our clients face, to enable us to guide them in what they need to do to achieve their ESG goals, whether internally or externally imposed by regulators, stakeholders or the market.

TIL: Is there real environmental awareness within the legal sector?

DY: I believe that this topic is featuring more prominently on the agendas of law firm management. However, I think the speed and response to what needs to be done is differs considerably. At CMS, we take an all-inclusive internal and external holistic approach to addressing our own environmental impact and how we can influence, engage and inspire others. 

TIL: What trends do you foresee for 2022 in ESG in the legal sector?

DY: There are many trends in the sustainable economy which are very far-reaching and affect everyone and all sectors, including of course the legal sector, law firms and consultancies. The extent of the overall impact of ESG is unbelievable and never-ending. Legislators play an important role here; the regulatory wave coming from Europe with an extraterritorial effect is gigantic, bringing many trends to the forefront of corporate strategizing. To name a few, the integration of ESG into business performance, culture and day-to-day operations; broadening the scope of advice; valuing human capital and improving the employee experience; risk management and resilience to climate change; the importance of resilient supply chains; and, as the head of legal tech for 11 CEE countries, the role and use of technology is particularly on trend.