ESG tax and legal

A rapidly evolving global landscape is driving increased demands and pressures on businesses to implement sustainable initiatives that turn ESG into action. This shift is also an opportunity to help fulfil their purpose, achieve goals and position themselves for future growth.

Businesses have become exposed to significant ESG legal risk due to a global imperative to change corporate behavior, which requires a deep understanding of rules and regulations across jurisdictions.

Having robust tax policies and practicing good tax governance are critical steps when increasing transparency to showcase responsible tax practices. Being able to benchmark against standards and peers provides valuable insights and improves decision making. As businesses take steps to decarbonize their business and supply chains, it is imperative they consider where rapidly changing tax regulations may impact strategic decisions, as costs could increase, but significant opportunities to access tax incentives or other funding opportunities may arise.

KPMG firms bring specialized knowledge to areas which might have tax and legal implications, with services spanning:

• Environmental taxes, incentives, and subsidies, and grants
• EU Green Deal advice on tax, regulatory and access to funding
• International fair tax environment advice
• ESG tax governance, transparency and benchmarking
• ESG supply and value chain changes; tax and legal services
• Employee engagement and enablement on ESG activities
• ESG deals and sustainable finance; tax and legal transformation services
• Managing ESG legal risk and ESG litigation

As stakeholder expectations evolve, tax matters will increasingly become part of the ESG transformation journey. Companies should seek to understand how to navigate the changing tax and legal sustainability landscape; because no matter what stage you’re at, KPMG professionals can assist in strengthening your company’s tax and legal reporting and governance, to improve transparency and help keep it safe.