Criteria relating to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) have increasingly been gaining relevance in international supply chains across different industrial sectors. Due to (i) the ever-increasing pressure by different stakeholder groups (including investors, NGOs, etc.), (ii) the growing awareness towards corporate greenwashing and social-washing practices leading to reputational and pecuniary damages for companies and (iii) legally mandatory ESG-related corporate reporting/due diligence regimes, ESG-related issues have the increasing potential to cause arbitrations, lawsuits, supply chain disruptions, retenders, major project delays and damage claims.
While mainly focusing on the extraterritorial effects of the brand new EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU Deforestation Regulation and the EU Forced Labor Regulation and their major direct and indirect impact on Chinese/Asian (Singaporean) companies doing business in the EU or being involved in EU-related supply chains. The session will also feature some of the most compelling ESG-related case studies involving multinationals such as Shell, TotalEnergies, RWE, Austrian Airlines, KLM, Borealis, BMW, VW, etc.
The webinar explores as well climate change-related law in the EU, China and USA, introducing existing and upcoming reporting requirements on Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contained in laws such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the newly developed European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), the upcoming US SEC Climate Disclosure Rules and the Chinese stock exchanges’ guidelines on corporate sustainability reporting.
Against this background, the necessity for ESG-related contractual clauses (including provisions for liquidated damages and the contractual termination in the event of severe or ongoing contractual violations) binding the entire supply/value chain by means of contractual cascading and ESG-related audits will be demonstrated.
Enforcement of such contractual clauses can best be achieved by international commercial arbitration (multi-party arbitrations involving different supply chain tiers and parties). The Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC) provides the perfect set of arbitration rules for such supply chain scenarios.
This session is part of the SMU Law Academy “Recent Highlights” series. Designed with the busy practitioner in mind, this series provides participants with a convenient platform to obtain timely and practical bite-sized analysis of the latest developments in various areas of the law. The series will be taught by leading and experienced experts curated from academia and practice. Each topic in the series is distilled into a short-duration online webinar so that busy legal professionals can be effectively updated with the most material developments affecting their practice.
SPEAKER
Dr. iur. Dr. phil. Adolf PETER, LL.M., MA, CSE is Professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law (SHUPL), Consultant at the international law firm Fieldfisher and Co-Chair of the Legal & Compliance Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai focusing on international commercial arbitration, the enforcement of ESG standards in international supply chains and EU law.
A selection panel established by the European Commission found Dr. Peter suitable for appointment for the position of Arbitrator and Trade and Sustainable Development Expert in bilateral disputes under the EU’s trade agreements with third countries.
In his capacity as Certified Supervisory Expert recognized by the Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO) he holds specialized one-day seminars for the WKO in Vienna directed at supervisory board members of stock exchange-listed companies.
Dr. Peter is the author of numerous arbitration and ESG-related publications in international law journals and the book “CSR and Codes of Business Ethics in the USA, Austria (EU) and China and their Enforcement in International Supply Chain Arbitrations” (ISBN: 978-981-33-6072-3).
He is listed as arbitrator in 10 international arbitration institutions, including the Shanghai International Arbitration Center (SHIAC), the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC), the China Maritime Arbitration Commission (CMAC), the Shanghai Arbitration Commission (SHAC), the Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC Reserve Panel), the Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC), etc. Furthermore, Dr. Peter is Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators (SIArb), a Senior Fellow of the Austrian-Chinese Legal Society (Vienna) and the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution (AIADR). Moreover, he is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), the European Chinese Arbitrators Association (ECAA) and the Austrian Arbitration Association (ArbAut).
He holds two PhD and two master degrees in Law and Religious Science, a master degree in Applied (Business) Ethics and an LL.M. degree in South East European Law and European Integration (Karl-Franzens University of Graz, Austria).
FEES
a. Registration Fee
Registration fee of S$109.00* (inclusive of GST) applies
b. Group Registration
Registration fee of S$98.10* (inclusive of GST) applies if there are at least 10 participants from the same organisation.
c. SMU Alumni (LLB / JD / LLM graduates)
Registration fee of S$98.10* (inclusive of GST) applies for SMU LLB/ JD/ LLM Alumni
*Please note that there will be no refund of any fees should the participant cancel the registration/ fail to attend the event. However, registration is transferable. Notice of any change in participant should be sent to the Academy via email: smulawacademy@smu.edu.sg, by 17 May 2024.
SMU Law Academy reserves the right to cancel or postpone any event. In such case, we will arrange for the refund of fees paid.
