S10E3 | Transparency and disclosure: Unpacking the “E” of ESG reporting

Environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, has been in the news a lot lately—particularly the “E” when it comes to new and evolving regulations. There’s been a greater push in the United States for transparency and disclosure of data regarding businesses’ environmental impact, driven largely by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau. In fact, California is expected to soon be the first US state to require company reporting related to environmental impact. So, what does this all mean for companies that are working to become more sustainable? How do you even begin to report on emissions and environmental impact? In this episode of LRN’s Principled Podcast host Eric Morehead explores how transparency plays a crucial role in corporate sustainability with Andrea Peters, the senior counsel of Interface. 

For a full transcript of this podcast, visit the episode page at LRN.com. 

Guest: Andrea Peters

Andrea Peters is senior counsel for Interface, Inc., a global commercial flooring company (NASDAQ: TILE).  In her role, she provides legal support for the company’s global operations, including Research & Development, Sales, Marketing, Procurement, Tax and Human Resources, and she also manages Interface’s global compliance program. Andrea has over 26 years of legal experience, over two-thirds of which comes from working in-house at companies such as Interface, CAN Capital, The Weather Channel, the General Electric Company and GAMBRO Healthcare.   

Andrea earned her J.D. from the Vanderbilt University School of Law and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertising from the Pennsylvania State University, where she was the student marshall (valedictorian) for the College of Communications. 

Andrea resides in Atlanta with her 10-year-old daughter.  She has gone sky diving twice, bungee jumping once, and ziplining once. She enjoys cooking, wine and travel. When she retires, Andrea plans to go back to college to audit all of the hard but interesting classes without worrying about writing papers or taking exams. 

Host: Eric Morehead

Eric Morehead is a member of LRN’s Advisory Services team and has over 20 years of experience working with organizations seeking to address compliance issues and build effective compliance and ethics programs. Eric conducts program assessments and examines specific compliance risks, he drafts compliance policies and codes of conduct, works with organizations to build and improve their compliance processes and tools, and provides live training for Boards of Directors, executives, managers, and employees.

Eric ran his own consultancy for six years where he advised clients on compliance program enhancements and assisted in creating effective compliance solutions. Eric was formally the Head of Advisory Services for NYSE Governance Services, a leading compliance training organization, where he was responsible for all aspects of NYSE Governance Services’ compliance consulting arm.

Prior to joining NYSE, Eric was an Assistant General Counsel of the United States Sentencing Commission in Washington, DC. Eric served as the chair of the policy team that amended the Organizational Sentencing Guidelines in 2010. Eric also spent nearly a decade as a litigation attorney in Houston, Texas where he focused on white-collar and regulatory cases and represented clients at trial and before various agencies including SEC, OSHA and CFTC.