ClientEarth successfully held its first event in the UK parliament earlier this week, co-hosted with FairPensions.  The topic for discussion was company transparency on environmental and social issues; the event title 'Avoiding environmental Enrons: Environmental and social issues as financial risks, and the future of company reporting'.

The event was particularly timely in light of the UK government's recent announcement that it intends to reform the law that governs the way that companies report on these issues.  Our event was raising awareness of the importance of this matter, and starting a conversation in Parliament about what the UK's political representatives can do to safeguard the interests of people, planet and markets the world over, and get UK business fit for the future.

We were lucky enough to have Jonathon Porritt CBE give a keynote presentation to open, which was as enlightening and insightful as one would expect from such an esteemed speaker and thinker.  He set out the 'big picture' that sits behind this work - the relationship between business and the environment, the history and current state of sustainability and 'corporate social responsibility', and how we can seek and achieve change for the better.

We then heard from Matt Crossman of Rathbone Greenbank, ClientEarth's CEO James Thornton, and Martin Horwood MP, Liberal Democrat member for Cheltenham - all of whom brought their particular experiences and expertise to bear on the subject.  We heard, among other things, about the need of investors for clear and verified information on the way that companies interact with the environment and society; about the key factors that will decide the success of a new legal framework to govern this kind of reporting; and the need for all - investors, customers, governments, regulators, MPs - to do their bit in driving better company practices.  Some good questions came from the floor and chair, and an engaged discussion ensued.

There was a lot of interest in the room, some real will for change, and we showed that there are positive answers being offered to these challenging questions.  We also successfully arranged ClientEarth's first public meeting in UK parliament, convening voices from across the political spectrum, in the seat of UK political power - we hope it'll be the first of many.