Oyewole LLP, DLA Piper Africa to Host Webinar on Building an ESG Competent Board for Companies

Sunday Okobi

A member of DLA Piper Africa, Olajide Oyewole LLP, will host a Webinar for African company directors to enlighten them on their evolving oversight role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, as sustainability takes centre stage in the corporate affairs of businesses.

This is coming against the backdrop of the outcomes of COP26, where the environmental impact of businesses and countries is highlighted, as world heads and business leaders address the challenges caused by ESG issues.

The organisers of the programme noted in a statement made available to THISDAY on Monday that lawmakers, regulators, shareholders, and the society at large are all waking up to the critical nature of environmental risks and opportunities, and how they impact the activities across the business and economic ecosystems.

Leading global companies are now actively making significant commitments to ESG targets and incorporating sustainability considerations into their business models and long-term strategies, with institutional investors also contributing to the pressure on companies to be sustainability leaders.

This virtual summit, the statement noted, would feature prominent speakers such as the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, Lafarge Plc, Khaled Abdelaziz El Dokani; Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola; Board Chairman, African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, Tokunbo Ishmael; Partner and Head of EMEA Capital Market and Practice DLA Piper, Alex Tamlyn; Partner, Bola Tinubu, and a member of DLA Piper Africa, Olajide Oyewole LLP.

Meanwhile, it added that Oyewole is the DLA Piper Africa member firm in Nigeria. DLA Piper Africa is a Swiss Verein, whose members are comprised of independent law firms in Africa working with DLA Piper.

Accordingly, the webinar is titled: ‘Director Oversight of ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role and Building an ESG Competent Board’. It will cover different aspects of ESG considerations and opportunities for companies from the directors’ perspective and empower directors to drive long-term value by sustainability principles into their business models and corporate strategies, the organisers stated.

According to the statement, the summit is scheduled to take place on November 18, 2021, by 12 noon via Zoom (https://bit.ly/3D8Uz9h).