Climate Change and Business Breakfast: Corporate Risk from the Changing Climate
Overview
Join Procopio Partner John Lormon and Scripps Oceanography Assistant Director Stephen Bennett for a breakfast discussion focused on the legal risks that businesses face due to the changing climate. The legal framework surrounding today's business environment is changing. State regulations, regional climate initiatives and looming federal regulation are merely the beginning.
Firms are increasingly expected to consider climate as they conduct due diligence for investment, M&A activity and IPOs. Shareholders are beginning to expect and, in some cases demand, companies disclose their activities with environmental impact. How will the SEC react to climate as a reporting issue? As if these issues weren't complex enough - new litigation has burst into state and federal courts. Defendants in these suits range from energy companies to auto manufacturers to land developers.
“We’ve witnessed a convergence between scientists and business people who are now working together to address the world's environmental issues.”
—Dr. Tony Haymet, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
About the Program
This breakfast is a stand-alone primer for Climate Change and Business: The ROI for Going Green, an in-depth two-day course which arms participants with a basic understanding of climate change, teaches them to discuss climate change in social and professional conversations and to formulate corporate or investor action plans.
“By combining the management expertise here at Rady, with the science knowledge at Scripps, this program capitalizes on the strengths of both,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “The result is an innovative course for business leaders who want to adjust business practices to reduce waste and increase efficiency, as well as investors who are poised to profit from the changing climate.”
Schedule and Speakers
7:00am–7:45am
Breakfast and Networking
7:45am–9:00am
Presentation and Q&A
John Lormon specializes in environmental, climate change and sustainability law. He has experience working with local and state government and regulatory agencies on environmental permitting, entitlement and compliance matters. John has also handled project development, permitting compliance and enforcement issues. He recently published “Climate Change — Recent Climate Litigation” for the California Environmental Law Treatise in addition to “Climate Change: Treaties, Legislation, Due Diligence and Litigation Update” for the Treatise on Environmental Law for Columbia Law School.
Stephen Bennett leads the UC San Diego effort to bring relevant climate change science (translated for a business audience) to business planners and corporate leaders. Steve spent the first half of his career as a meteorologist consulting for media and industry before working as a a manager and director for two multi-billion dollar financial firms. Steve currently coordinates a research partnership linking Scripps Oceanography to energy companies who want to better understand the weather's relationship to periods of high energy demand. Steve also leads the partnership between Scripps Oceanography and the Rady School of Management putting climate change into a business context and teaching practical approaches for corporate leaders to deal with these environmental issues.
