Lewis & Clark Law School’s 2025 Business Law Forum, “Corporations and Climate Change: The State of Play” gathered legal scholars, industry leaders, and international policy experts to discuss how corporate law, regulation, and governance intersect with the urgent challenges presented by climate change. Presented by the Center for Business Law and Innovation, Earthrise Law Center, and the Green Energy Institute, this event was made possible through the work of Professor Lisa Benjamin and law student, Mikki Ness.
The Forum began with a session on “ESG and Climate Reporting and Investing”, that discussed the rapid developments in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, climate-related investment practices, legal and policy implications related to disclosure mandates, investor expectations, and ever-evolving international standards. Moderated by Professor Melissa Powers, panelists included Dr. Lisa Benjamin, Professor Cynthia Williams, Taylor Nchako, and Dr. Nathan de Arriba-Sellier. These panelists, representing Lewis & Clark Law School, Indiana University Maurer School of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, and Erasmus University respectively, centered their discussion on how corporate climate regulatory regimes are in flux around the globe..
Executives from Ceres, TransUnion and Nike participated in the second panel session, “Industry and NGO Perspectives on Disclosure Initiatives” which provided perspectives on the practical realities and implications of integrating ESG frameworks into global operations, as well as the growing importance of sustainability in supply chain oversight, data management, and stakeholder relations. Moderated by Professor Cynthia Williams, panelists included Jake Rascoff, the Director for Climate Disclosure and Securities Regulation at Ceres, Cris Banahan, the Senior Director and Global Head of Citizenship & Sustainability at TransUnion, Tony Lim, the Senior Counsel for Supply Chain and Global Manufacturing & Sustainability at Nike, and Dominique-ChantaleAlepin, the Senior Counsel for ESG Compliance at Salesforce.
Lewis & Clark Law Professor Dan Rohlf moderated the third panelist session: “Net Zero Targets, Commitments, and Perspectives.” Here, discussion centered on the legal and policy dimensions of corporate net-zero commitments, with contributors analyzing the credibility of emissions-reduction pledges and exploring the financial mechanisms that support these types of initiatives. Panelists in this forum included Professor Peter Boyd of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, Professor Tracy Hester of the University of Houston, Professor Hari Osofsky of Northwestern University, and Lucas Black of the World Wildlife Fund.
The final panel discussion, “Corporate Climate Litigation” discussed how corporate climate litigation plays a role in the future of environmental accountability, focusing specifically on trends in both international and domestic climate cases, the evolving role of shareholder activism, and how courts define corporate responsibility in cases of environmental harm.
Moderated by Dr. Lisa Benjamin, the panel was comprised of Professor Jackie Peel from the University of Melbourne Law School, Dr. Joana Setzer from the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and Kaia Turowski, PhD student at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Dr. Maria Antonia Tigre from Columbia University, and Professor Sarah Haan from Brooklyn Law School.
Throughout the day, speakers in every panel session emphasized that corporate law and climate policy are increasingly intertwined. The forum highlighted how regulation, disclosure, and litigation are reshaping what it means for corporations to act responsibly in a warming world. For students and practitioners alike, this event offered a rare opportunity to engage with leaders defining the legal frameworks that will govern corporate climate action for decades to come.
