Directors' Liability for Climate-related Risks
Directors' liability for climate-related risks under Australian law has been a major topic ever since barristers, Noel Hutley and Sebastian Hartford-Davis, produced their extremely influential 2016 Memorandum on the growing risks of director liability in this area.
Meanwhile, there has been a range of significant international developments to support corporate disclosure and management of nature-related risks. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures released its recommendations in September 2023, and the International Sustainability Standards Board is currently consulting on the development of international standards for nature and biodiversity reporting as part of its package of international sustainability reporting standards. The Australian Government has also recently introduced mandatory climate risk disclosure and have indicated an intent to develop broader sustainability reporting standards, adopting a ‘climate first, not only’ approach.
Monash Law's Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies (CLARS) was delighted to co-host an online seminar on the next frontier ie "Nature-related Risks and Directors' Duties - What's the Current State of Play" on 17 February at 1pm. The keynote speaker was barrister, Zoe Bush, who, together with Sebastian Hartford-Davis, has co-authored a legal opinion on nature-related risks and directors’ duties.
Zoe was joined at this event by moderator, Anna Skarbek (CEO, ClimateWorks Centre), with Panelists, Mark Beaufoy (Partner, King & Wood Mallesons and Monash Law) and Laura Bacon (Senior Policy Advisor, Australian Institute of Company Directors).
Speakers
Zoe Bush is a barrister with particular expertise in climate law.
Immediately prior to coming to the Bar, Zoe was a senior solicitor at the Environmental Defenders Office. In that capacity, she advised and acted in corporate and consumer law matters arising in the context of climate change.
Zoe started her career as an Associate at the Federal Court, before joining the State Solicitor’s Office of Western Australia (SSO). During her time at the SSO, she appeared and instructed in the High Court, Federal Court, Supreme Court of Western Australia and lower courts in a broad range of proceedings, including revenue matters and regulatory prosecutions.
Zoe holds a Master of Laws from Columbia Law School, where she studied on a General Sir John Monash Scholarship. She graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Law (Hons I) and Arts, where she was also an Adjunct Lecturer. She has won numerous academic awards and prizes, including placing first in climate change law at Columbia.
In her time as a solicitor, Zoe was awarded 30 under 30 Pro Bono/Community Lawyer of the Year and Junior Woman Lawyer of the Year.
Moderator
Anna Skarbek is CEO of Climateworks Centre, leading the organisation’s work in Australia and Southeast Asia with decision-makers who have power to reduce emissions at scale. Anna has led Climateworks since its creation in 2009. Co-founded by philanthropy and Monash University, Climateworks bridges the gap between research and climate action, operating as an independent not-for-profit within the Monash Sustainable Development Institute.
Anna is an Asia Pacific Advisory Board member for GFANZ (the Glasgow Financial Alliance on Net Zero), a member of the Nature Finance Council, a board director of SEC Victoria, the Green Building Council of Australia, and the Centre for New Energy Technologies.
Panellists
Laura Bacon is a Senior Policy Adviser at the AICD, with expertise in governance, ESG, corporate law and regulatory affairs.
Laura is responsible for developing the AICD’s public policy agenda, advocacy and contemporary governance practice initiatives, engaging with government and regulators, legal experts, directors and senior leaders from both the private and public sector.
Prior to joining the AICD, Laura provided corporate law and board advisory services at KPMG and was a solicitor at Gilbert & Tobin and Russell McVeagh (NZ).
Mark Beaufoy is a specialist environmental and planning lawyer. He acts for Commonwealth, State and local government, statutory authorities, corporations and developers.
Mark is experienced in all aspects of environmental and planning law including contaminated land and brownfield redevelopment, project approvals (infrastructure, energy and resources), environmental regulatory compliance and due diligence and environmental and planning litigation.
Mark advises clients on environmental due diligence and legal strategies for managing environmental and planning legal risk in property and business transactions.
Mark has worked on the environmental and planning aspects of major transactions in the food, transport, energy, mining, water, pharmaceutical, equipment hire and steel industries. He also advises clients on environmental legal compliance and risk management and environmental management systems (including the ISO 14000 standard series), including environmental, energy and greenhouse corporate reporting.