“I’ve been involved in ESG and sustainability for over 20 years and in the last few years the focus has increased significantly,” says Rich Hall, Head of Sustainability at leading accountancy and professional services firm RSM, on the shift in perception of ESG-related risk within corporate organisations. “Even before the pandemic, we were beginning to see more commentary on ESG issues, mainly centred around the environmental side ...
Shoosmiths has launched ESG 360, a free online compliance audit tool to enable organisations to understand their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance. ESG 360 users receive a personalised report providing red, amber or green ratings in relation to various elements of ESG compliance performance, alongside commentary and suggestions for improvement. Built around an online questionnaire, ESG 360 allows users to assess their general ESG performance or focus on specific aspects ...
The Chilean Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) has recently announced the possibility to apply to a program for fast-tracking patent’s and utility model’s applications, provided that said applications relate to technical solutions capable of impacting the environment positively ...
On March 28, the Minister of Labour introduced Bill 19, an Act respecting the regulation of work by children (the ?Bill?), which establishes in particular a minimum working age of 14 and a maximum number of hours of work for children subject to compulsory school attendance. This Bill is presented in the wake of massive and noticeable entry of young workers into the market in the context of shortage of unskilled workers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic ...
In early March, Georgia's Access to Medical Cannabis Commission finally adopted rules governing the state's low-THC oil industry. As businesses navigate this new landscape, legal questions will inevitably pop up. And lawyers, being trained to answer them, will want to address their clients' questions. But a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court means that Georgia lawyers generally cannot ethically advise participants in this new program ...
We are pleased to issue our fourth edition of the Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Updates. These updates are intended to keep Maltese regulated entities informed of regulatory changes and developments taking place in the local financial services space. In this issue, we focus on the sector specific and cross-sectoral regulatory updates relating to Investment Services and Asset Management, Company Service Providers, Insurance Undertakings, and Insurance Intermediaries ...
April 17, 2023 By: Meghna Parikh ALERT: Recent guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) clarifies a procedural issue for premarket submissions related to cybersecurity of medical devices and emphasizes the importance of collaboration between the FDA and medical device manufacturers. Providers using medical devices in their practice should pay attention to these rulings because they impacts the providers’ ability to educate and engage their patients ...
Contents Please click on the links below to jump to the relevant section: Overview FAQ 1: Are SPV trustees in scope? FAQ 2: What about SPVs that aren’t trustees? Do you need to have a “customer” or “third party” to be in scope? FAQ 3: I do have “customers” or “third parties” ...
On March 31, 2023, Governor Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 making medical marijuana use and sale legal in Kentucky, effective January 1, 2025. [i] Kentucky now joins at least 37 other states that have legalized medical marijuana. The newest piece of legislation comes on the heels of Governor Beshear signing two executive orders related to cannabis in November of 2022 ...
On the 2nd of February 2023, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (hereinafter referred to as “EIOPA”) published a Supervisory Statement on the use of governance arrangements in third countries to perform functions or activities (hereinafter referred to as the “Statement”) ...
The rise of ChatGPT and other large language models has been well-documented, although the technology underpinning it has been developing for several years ...
Earlier this year, the government announced its support for the passing of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. Should it become law, the Bill is set to bring huge change for tens of millions of employees in the UK who do not currently have a statutory right to request a predictable working pattern ...
Americans have increasingly accepted meat and dairy alternatives as staples in their daily diets. For example, recent market research shows that two out of every five U.S. consumers plan to purchase plant-based meat products in 2023. The prevalence of these forms of alternative protein has set the stage for a semantic — and potentially paradigm-shifting — dispute over the very meaning of the terms "meat," "milk" and "dairy ...
At a time when some are demanding that artificial intelligence (AI) research and advanced systems development be temporarily suspended and others want to close Pandora?s box, it is appropriate to ask what effect chat technology (ChatGPT, Bard and others) will have on businesses and workplaces. Some companies support its use, others prohibit it, but many have yet to take a stand. We believe that all companies should adopt a clear position and guide their employees in the use of such technology ...
As schools and institutions of higher education anticipate the release of new Title IX regulations this May, on Thursday, April 6, the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) released a new notice of proposed rulemaking relating to athletic eligibility under Title IX (the “Athletics NPRM”). The Athletics NPRM was forecast by the Department in its proposed Title IX regulations published in July 2022 ...
Previously, the Government issued Decree No. 03/2023/ND-CP dated 10 February 2023 on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam Competition Commission (“VCC”) (“Decree 03”). The Prime Minister has now issued Decision No. 310/QD-TTg dated 29 March 2023 appointing Mr. Le Trieu Dung to hold the position of Chairman of the VCC (“Decision 310”). Before being appointed as the Chairman of VCC, Mr ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on 2023 Changes to the Immigration Rules. The webinar was hosted by Pavan Sumal and Rachel Harvey and a recording of the webinar can be found below along with a summary of the key takeaways ...
To mark the launch of EG's latest UK Cities Investor Guide at MIPIM 2023, Shoosmiths real estate partner Patrick Duffy joined a panel discussion on public-private partnerships. The session explored the opportunities and challenges that will affect the growth of UK cities, as well as what more can be done to attract innovation and investment ...
The first hearings for the official UK Covid-19 Inquiry are fast approaching – though less quickly than originally anticipated, with the start date now delayed to Tuesday 13 June. Although public hearings are yet to get under way, the Inquiry has nonetheless had a busy February and March, with preliminary hearings for Modules 1 (pandemic preparedness and resilience), 2 (political and administrative decision-making) and 3 (impact on the healthcare sector) all taking place ...
