Like many areas of corporate regulation, environmental standards change frequently, and in-house attorneys need to stay on top of the latest from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other enforcers. There’s also significant brand and reputational value for many companies in doing right by the environment. ALM’s 2014 Environmental Compliance and Commitment Legal Summit, held in New York City on Monday, brought together attorneys to talk over some of the most important issues facing companies that want to make their practices and policies more environmentally friendly, whether it’s because they want to do good or just because they want to follow the law. (ALM is Corporate Counsel’s parent company.)
John Cruden, president of the Environmental Law Institute and a former deputy assistant attorney general for the environmental and natural resources division of the U.S. Department of Justice, was the event’s keynote speaker. His speech laid out top priorities for companies that want to play defense when it comes to the environment by creating a strong internal compliance program. He also had some words of encouragement for companies that want to go on the offense in this area by going above and beyond regulatory standards and simply being better corporate citizens when it comes to protecting the natural world.
