Side by Side: Sustainability and Legal

Summary

Developed by Governance & Accountability Institute in partnership with Ropes & Gray, this report draws directly from the experiences of sustainability and legal professionals to examine how companies are responding to evolving sustainability regulations, disclosure expectations, and oversight.

Our researchers engaged sustainability and legal professionals from 35 leading companies across a range of industries through a structured survey and in-depth interviews. The findings show that corporate sustainability and legal teams remain lean even as sustainability disclosure and compliance responsibilities continue to expand. Professionals frequently manage multiple priorities with limited resources, increasing the need for clear roles, efficient processes, and coordinated decision-making.

The research demonstrates why cross-functional collaboration is becoming increasingly important to sustainability risk management and identifies practical ways companies can improve coordination among sustainability, legal, and compliance functions.

What You’ll Learn

Learn how sustainability work is changing and how corporate sustainability and legal teams are responding. The report presents perspectives from both functions side by side, highlighting shared priorities, differing needs, and the benefits and challenges of increased collaboration.

It also identifies practices and tools that can improve coordination, support sustainability compliance, strengthen disclosure processes, and help companies respond more effectively to changing sustainability regulations.

Who Should Read This

Corporate sustainability, legal, compliance, and risk professionals, as well as business leaders responsible for sustainability regulations, governance, disclosure, regulatory readiness, and organizational risk management.

Support

Need help navigating sustainability regulations and evolving reporting requirements? Explore our Reporting Standards & Framework Support.