Case Study: Reuters Legal ESG Scenario

Our experience in ESG matters allowed us to quickly put together a veteran team to advise the fictitious client. Partners Dave Meyers and Andrea Wortzel in our Richmond office and Partner Shelli Willis in Atlanta signed on to participate. Dave, Andrea, and Shelli are part of a multi-disciplinary team of attorneys focused on ESG issues across a number of practice groups within the firm.

Reuters asked us to respond to the following sustainability scenario:

Brighton Tractor Supply Co is a publicly traded American company with $1 billion in annual revenue. BTSC provides goods and services to industrial farm and factory operations across the country. Its supply chains are multifaceted and international. BTSC also has hazardous waste legal issues resulting from improper storage and disposal of used batteries returned to its rental and service business.

The BTSC board has reached out to your law firm because it is getting questions from investors and customers about the sustainability of the company. Also, BTSC is now considering co-designating one of its vice presidents as its chief sustainability officer.

To provide the best service to BTSC, what are the three key things you would recommend to help the company get started in prioritizing its environmental, social and governance issues?

We don’t expect you to spend more than one to two hours on this project. Submissions should be in the range of 500 to 1,000 words.

You can view our response by clicking on the document below.

Eighteen top law firms responded to Reuters’ scenario. We were one of four firms featured in a video along with Reuters’ panel of five sustainability experts. Our response was highlighted for being particularly sensitive to the concerns of the client.

“What I liked about [Troutman Pepper’s submission] is how they talked about doing materiality under privilege. That’s really a great way to get others in the company to feel comfortable about disclosing this information, which is often such a challenge.” 

⁠—Cecily Joseph, Former VP Corporate Responsibility, Symantec

View Reuters’ coverage of the exercise online here. For more information about our ESG practice, visit troutman.com.