The General Counsels Changing Role in ESG Transformation within the Mining and Extractives Industries

May 2022

Abstract

The concept of ‘Sustainability’, also known as ‘ESG’ (environmental, social, and governance) has become not only a global buzz word, but has functioned as a compass for companies across industries, setting the trajectory and pace of its strategies and, for many, re-inventing their corporate purpose. No industry or country is immune, with sustainability traversing language and physical boundaries, with the mining and extractives industries very much on the radar.

Author

Victoria Usova

Group Legal Counsel, Central Asia Metals, UK

Victoria is a dual-qualified lawyer (UK and US) functioning as Group Legal Counsel for Central Asia Metals plc, with experience working with private and publicly listed mining and extractives companies with a focus on metals, energy, and natural resources.

Company

Central Asia Metals

Central Asia Metal is an AIM listed company (since 2010) on the London Stock Exchange and with a market capital of approximately $550 million. It is a base metals producer (mining exploration and extraction) with main assets in Kazakhstan where is produces copper cathode and North Macedonia, operating an underground zinc and lead mine.

For decades, the General Counsel (GC) occupied the periphery of corporate life: a risk-averse technician of contracts and compliance. Those days are gone. In an age of regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical...Read more

Jeffery Tan

Group General Counsel & Chief Sustainability Officer , Jardine Cycle & Carriage Limited, Singapore

Herding Cats – Engaging External Counsel

In this article I explore the challenges and opportunities faced by in-house lawyers in effectively engaging and working with their private practice counterparts. Managing professionals working together in a law...Read more

Clive Davies

Legal Business Consultant, Clive Davies Consulting, UK

Can a General Counsel’s Achievements Live on Post-Retirement? A Personal Story

The following is a personal story based on my own experience as a General Counsel of a foreign bank (the “Bank”) operating in the United States. I joined the Bank...Read more

Bruce Ortwine

General Counsel (retired), Americas; Adviser, Global Legal and Compliance (Retired), Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc., USA

Addressing Mental Health in the Legal Workplace of Tomorrow

Mental health in the legal workplace has become a critical issue in recent years, with increasing awareness of its impact on productivity, employee wellbeing and organisational resilience. As workplaces evolve...Read more