ESG and sustainability: employment issues

This Overview provides a summary of the content in the subtopic, ESG and sustainability: employment issues. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations, along with sustainability, are broad concepts and in the business context generally include the impact an entity is having on the environment and society. This content aims to help practitioners advising businesses by providing an overview of the many pervasive ESG issues in the employment context and also signposts other relevant materials.

Understanding the terminology

The terminology used in this area is extensive. Terms such as ‘sustainable business’, ‘responsible business’, ‘corporate responsibility’ (CR) or ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR), and ‘environmental, social and governance’ (ESG) are used by business and lawyers in various different contexts, and can mean different things to different audiences. However, for the most part they are all used to convey a business behaving in a responsible manner as part of its day-to-day activities. Many companies are realising that compliance with national, state and local laws and regulations may no longer provide sufficient protection from legal, regulatory or reputational risk, and that it is necessary to view ‘responsible

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Latest Employment News

Council and Parliament agree revised European works council directive

The The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to revise Directive 2009/38/EC—the European works council—aimed at strengthening the representation of workers in large multinational companies. The directive, originally implemented in 2009, will be amended to ensure European works councils are established more easily, receive better funding, and benefit from stronger protection. The Polish Minister for Family, Labour, and Social Policy, Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk, underscored the importance of these bodies in consulting and informing employees on transnational issues that affect them.

EHRC publishes consultation on amendments to CoP on services, public functions and associations

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published a consultation on changes to its Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations (the Code), following the Supreme Court’s judgment of 16 April 2025 in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers on the definition of ‘sex’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. A draft of the full Code was consulted on between October 2024 and January 2025 and as such, the latest consultation will focus on the sections of the Code which are affected by the Supreme Court judgment. The consultation closes on 30 June 2025.

Government consults on local government pension fixes to tackle discrimination

Law360: The government proposes making all maternity, shared parental and adoption leave automatically pensionable for members in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), among a raft of other changes it said would boost benefits and end 'years of discrimination' when it published a consultation on 15 May 2025.

Commission launches consultation on 2026-2030 Gender Equality Strategy

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on its Gender Equality Strategy for 2026-2030. The strategy aims to build on the 2020-2025 programme and recent Roadmap for Women's rights, outlining measures to enable women and men to reach their potential without limitations from gender stereotypes, gaps or violence. The strategy document will detail specific actions for advancing gender equality across Europe, with Commission adoption planned for the first quarter of 2026. The consultation period runs from 19 May to 11 August 2025.