Thompson Hine Podcasts

What’s With All These AG Letters? Tips for Ensuring Your ESG Program Avoids Antitrust Scrutiny

Tanya Nesbitt is a litigator and partner in Thompson Hine’s Environmental practice and co-leader of the firm’s Greenwashing Defense & Litigation group. She helps companies navigate the rules governing the mandatory disclosure of climate-related risks. She also counsels clients on the reputational, litigation, and regulatory risks associated with greenwashing. She frequently speaks and writes about greenwashing litigation and its implications for companies’ ESG goals. In this episode, Tanya and her colleague Caitlin Thomas, also a partner at Thompson Hine, discuss ongoing antitrust challenges to joint industry sustainability alliances and climate targets. They analyze how the antitrust trust laws may be used to scrutinize sustainability efforts and provide some best practices for avoiding potential pitfalls.

HFC Phasedown & Regulation: Turning Up the Heat to Turn Down Global Warming

Joel Eagle, partner, and Ashley Kirk, associate in Thompson Hine’s Environmental practice group are joined in this episode of Environmental L.A.W.S. by guest Alex Sadvari,an environmental lawyer and partner in the Toronto, Canada office of Gowling WLG. Joel, Ashley, and Alex discuss the international phasedown of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are widely used in the refrigerant, propellant, and foam blowing industries, and examine the similarities and differences in the U.S. and Canadian approaches to HFC regulation. They also explore the international agreements governing HFC regulation, discuss why HFC regulation and phasedowns are important tools for combatting climate change, and provide insight into some of the challenges U.S. and Canadian entities face in complying with changing HFC regulations.

In this episode, Heidi Friedman, a partner in our Environmental and Product Liability Litigation practice groups and co-chair of our ESG Collaborative, hosts a one-on-one conversation with Jen Huffstetler, Chief Product Sustainability Officer and Vice President/General Manager of Intel Future Platform Strategy and Sustainability. She is responsible for driving the integration and execution of the corporate-level product strategy to drive future growth across client, cloud, network and edge to deliver sustainable computing for a sustainable future.

In this episode, Heidi Friedman, a partner in our Environmental and Product Liability Litigation practice groups and co-chair of our ESG Collaborative, hosts a one-on-one conversation with Averil Edwards, Managing Counsel of Environmental and Sustainability at United Airlines. She advises and represents the airline on environmental and sustainability matters, including United’s near-term 2050 decarbonization strategies and commitments and sustainable aviation fuel procurement and clean technology investments. She is also a member of the legal department’s Pro Bono and Community Service Committee. Averil is very involved in her local community, serving as a governor-appointed board member of the Illinois International Port District, a municipal corporation; secretary of the board of directors of Ladies of Virtue, a nonprofit organization focused on improving the lives of girls in Chicago’s underserved communities; and an associate board member of Cabrini Green Legal Aid.

This discussion originally took place as part of our Power Huddle: Inside the Minds of ESG Gurus series. These conversations examine how company executives from various industries are actively paving the way as ESG trendsetters and championing pragmatic ESG strategies to align with business values while building a sustainability framework to advance their company’s ESG goals and practices.

In this episode, Heidi Friedman, a partner in our Environmental and Product Liability Litigation practice groups and co-chair of our ESG Collaborative, hosts a one-on-one conversation with Kristin Campbell, former Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief ESG Officer at Hilton Worldwide. She will provide insights into her experiences at the organization and share how she helped navigate the hospitality giant’s consumer-driven business while keeping its ESG strategies, public governance and compliance initiatives as top priorities.

This discussion originally took place as part of our Power Huddle: Inside the Minds of ESG Gurus series. These conversations examine how company executives from various industries are actively paving the way as ESG trendsetters and championing pragmatic ESG strategies to align with business values while building a sustainability framework to advance their company’s ESG goals and practices.

What’s New in Air? A discussion of developments in Environmental Justice and U.S. EPA’s PM 2.5 standard.

Devin Barry, partner, and Audrey Avila, counsel in Thompson Hine’s Environmental practice group, bring their air expertise to the forefront in this episode. Devin specializes in advising large manufacturing clients on air permitting requirements for the construction of new and existing emission sources, proactive compliance counseling, and defending clients in enforcement actions by state agencies, U.S. EPA, and U.S. DOJ. Audrey, who recently joined Thompson Hine’s Chicago office, brings valuable experience from her time as an Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General’s office. In this episode, Devin and Audrey discuss the latest environmental justice developments in Illinois, involving disputes over the relocation of a scrap metal recycling facility and an important settlement impacting environmental justice nationwide, and the U.S. EPA’s recent rulemaking to reduce the PM 2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Their discussion includes key takeaways for companies navigating these dynamic issues under the Clean Air Act.

In this episode, Heidi Friedman, a partner in our Environmental and Product Liability Litigation practice groups and co-chair of our ESG Collaborative, hosts a one-on-one conversation with Susan Lester, former Senior Director of ESG at Otis Elevator, the world’s largest provider of elevators, escalators and moving walkways. While at Otis, she provided counsel, thought leadership and trendspotting on all aspects of ESG and sustainability. Prior to joining Otis, Susan created and managed the ESG program at McDonald’s.

This discussion originally took place as part of our Power Huddle: Inside the Minds of ESG Gurus series. These conversations examine how company executives from various industries are actively paving the way as ESG trendsetters and championing pragmatic ESG strategies to align with business values while building a sustainability framework to advance their company’s ESG goals and practices.

Greenwashing & Carbon Management Solutions on the Road to Climate Justice

Tanya Nesbitt is a litigator and partner in Thompson Hine’s Environmental group and co-leader of the firm’s Greenwashing Defense & Litigation practice group. She helps companies navigate current mandatory disclosure rules related to the disclosure of climate-related risks. She also counsels clients on the reputational, litigation, and regulatory risks associated with greenwashing. She is a frequent speaker and author on litigation related to greenwashing and its implications for companies’ ESG goals. In this episode, Tanya is joined by Dr. Christian Braneon, formerly of Carbon Direct, to discuss how greenwashing can serve as a hurdle to achieving climate justice in the carbon management sector. Their discussion includes mitigation strategies and how technology can both harm and assist efforts to reduce the prevalence of greenwashing.

In this episode, Heidi Friedman, a partner in our Environmental and Product Liability Litigation practice groups and co-chair of our ESG Collaborative, hosts a one-on-one

conversation with Megan Belcher, Chief Legal & External Affairs Officer Megan Belcherat Scoular, a global agribusiness company. She leads the company’s legal, brand marketing, corporate communications, and sustainability and ESG functions. Megan is also a member of Scoular’s board of directors.

This discussion originally took place as part of our Power Huddle: Inside the Minds of ESG Gurus series. These conversations examine how company executives from various industries are actively paving the way as ESG trendsetters and championing pragmatic ESG strategies to align with business values while building a sustainability framework to advance their company’s ESG goals and practices.

In this two-part episode, we examine the history of Love Canal, America’s most notorious toxic waste dump, which prompted the passage of CERCLA. In part one, Thompson Hine attorney Nathan Hunt tells the story of William Love and his ambitious plan to build a perfect city powered by free hydroelectricity in Niagara Falls, New York. Little did Love know that history would forever associate him with toxic waste instead of his ideal city. Nathan will explain who William Love was, his vision for the perfect city, why he wanted to build it in Niagara Falls, how he planned to get people and businesses to move to Niagara Falls, and why (spoiler alert!) the project ultimately failed. Part two covers the environmental catastrophe that made Love Canal a household name in the 1970s and galvanized support for the passage of CERCLA in 1980.