Turkish General Counsels Play a Key Role for Corporate Sustainability

Argüden Governance Academy, in collaboration with Global Compact Türkiye, conducted the “Conference for General Counsel on Corporate Sustainability” on March 10th, 2017 in İstanbul, at TÜSİAD. In the conference, the crucial role of the General Counsels for the sustainability of institutions was emphasized.

Argüden Governance Academy and Global Compact Türkiye organized a conference for executives and legal counsels of all sectors. The vitality of the contribution of the General Counsels for the sustainability of institutions was underlined at the “Conference for General Counsels on Corporate Sustainability” held at TÜSİAD in İstanbul.

In the opening remarks at the Conference, Mustafa Seçkin, the Chairman of Global Compact Türkiye said “General Counsels of the companies that integrated sustainability to their strategy, should understand the goals and dynamics of their companies well. They are the ones to provide guidance with their moral compass.” Prof. Dr. Metin Çakmakçı, the Chairman of Argüden Governance Academy, stated “We are proud to launch the translation of the publication of UN Global Compact on the duties of General Counsels, on promoting human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and prevention of corruption.”

The Conference proceeded with a panel discussion, moderated by Dr. Erkin Erimez, Academic Board Member of the Argüden Governance Academy; with Ertuğrul Onur, Chief General Counsel of Coca Cola; Gönenç Gürkaynak, Executive Partner of ELİG Gürkaynak Attorneys at Law; and Değer Boden, Founding Partner of Boden Law, in which the panelists shared their field experience with the audience.

Ertuğrul Onur mentioned the critical role of the General Counsels for the companies who aim to become a responsible “corporate citizen” and shared his experience with the international perspective.

Gönenç Gürkaynak stated that lawyers are the pioneers to create value within the institutions and underlined the importance of trust to the institutions and sustaining reputation.

Değer Boden, who works on “law of energy” said “The lawyers should develop a vision to take preventive actions for their companies. They have a critical role which should exceed their compliance duties.”

The Academic Board Member of Argüden Governance Academy, Dr. Erkin Erimez summarized the issue as “The companies who adopted integrated thinking, manage their own risks better than others.”

In the closing remarks, the Founding Chairman of Global Compact Türkiye and Founder of Argüden Governance Academy Dr. Yılmaz Argüden said “Legal advisors, who aim to preserve the rights of all stakeholders, have a substantial role on sustainability and social justice.”

Translation of “Guide for General Counsel on Corporate Sustainability” publication was shared

The latest publication of the Argüden Governance Academy, “Guide for General Counsel on Corporate Sustainability”, whose original format of the publication was launched by UN Global Compact, was translated by the Academic Board Member of Argüden Governance Academy, Dr. Erkin Erimez into Turkish and was shared with the audience at the end of the conference.

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