Dhir & Dhir Associates Successfully Convenes 2nd Virtual Legal Marathon On ESG
Dhir & Dhir Associates conducted the 2nd Edition of India's First Virtual Legal Marathon, a 24 hours Research Lab on ESG (Environment, Social & Governance), which was flagged off with an inaugural ceremony on 3rd June under the patronage of renowned industry experts and environmentalists and was successfully concluded on 5th June, 2022 commemorating World Environment Day. With India's 1st dedicated ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) Practice Desk, Dhir & Dhir Associates, a full-service law firm has been time and again conducting various ESG driven initiatives involving various stakeholders of India Inc.
This year the response was a staggering count of 700+ Registrations from around 100 Educational establishments. About 100 Students were shortlisted for the 24 Hour Marathon, and 30 Winners were acknowledged for their research submissions during the Marathon, given widespread recognition and they were felicitated with certificate of achievement. The initiative was registered as #OnlyOne Earth Action for 2022 for Celebrating 2022 World Environment Day, led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and held annually since 1974.
With #OnlyOne Earth Action as the central theme, the Inaugural Ceremony included discussions with industry experts on topics like the Role of ESG & Sustainability Practices, Environment Restoration - A Dire Need, Relevance of BRSR for more responsible Non-Financial Disclosures, and analysis of relevant Case Studies. The panel discussion involved participation from eminent speakers like Manish Gupta, Group General Counsel, CK Birla Group, Prateek Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, TERI SAS, Tanishaa Mukerji, Actor & Environmentalist, Shukla Wassan, Independent Director, GE (General Electric) Power India Ltd., India Glycols Ltd. & Others with a Special Address by Alok Dhir, Managing Partner, Dhir & Dhir Associates. The Inaugural Ceremony was Moderated by Sonal Verma, Partner - ESG, Dhir & Dhir Associates.
The ceremony set the tone and plan for the 24-hour Research Lab, which involved a robust research activity across Case Laws Indexing, UN SDGs – Best Practices, and International Laws Research. Sonal Verma, Partner – ESG Advisory, Dhir & Dhir Associates, mentored the entire Marathon along with other team members.
"While the world is geared towards environment preservation and restoration, we did our bit in the form of the 2nd edition of this rigorous legal Marathon with massive participation from the budding lawyers of the country deliberating on various topical subjects related to ESG. Our youth is inherently driven by the desire to uphold environment consciousness practices and this platform offered the opportunities to enhance their knowledge along with exploring practical avenues globally to achieve this end. It is indeed stimulating and assuring to see the support of the young generation who have emerged as ESG warriors for protection of environment and to make the mother earth a better place to live in for our future generation. I am sure we could not have celebrated World Environment Day 2022 any better than this." said Alok Dhir, Founder & Managing Partner, Dhir & Dhir Associates.
"The ESG Practice Desk is constantly engaged in activities and initiatives such as Planet People Program, ESG Almanac, ESG Survey etc. that evolve around the consciousness towards the environment, social and governance principles, which bind together various parts of the ecosystem, including the business community, the government, and the environmentalists. The virtual legal Marathon, a 24 hour research lab is one such initiatives, which is aimed towards steering the young lawyers to explore the ever-evolving practice of ESG in the legal realm and scale success in all avenues of personal, professional and social growth. We will actively strive to contribute more of such ESG oriented dialogues across forums." said Poonam Bisht, Chief Executive Officer, Dhir & Dhir Associates
The 30 Winners have been offered internship positions at Dhir & Dhir Associates. In addition, a few winners would be placed as interns with Re Sustainability Limited, one of Asia's leading providers of comprehensive environment management services, as part of corporate participation in the ESG research Lab. Conclusively, the winners will receive an annual subscription to Lex Witness - India's 1st Magazine on Legal & Corporate Affairs and a Co-Authorship Opportunity with the ESG Team Members at Dhir & Dhir Associates.