Biography
Joel Coward
ESG Lawyer, Specializing in Mining, Petroleum, Human and Environmental Rights
Joel is an Asian market experienced ESG commercial and ethical sourcing lawyer, whose unique approach takes kaizen methodologies and links evidenced ESG compliance to revenue lines within global mining houses value chains including Tesla, Glencore and BHP, to take business beyond sustainable to self-sustaining.
The often-misunderstood concept of ESG, Joel has reshaped how mining companies and downstream customers define sustainability not just as emissions but ethical too because you can’t offset slavery.
Joel recently shaped BHP’s modern slavery and ethical sourcing compliance from mere principles to profitable market access defining sales, procurement and operational reality by linking modern slavery transparency to Scope 3 emissions transparency commitments. Both Blackrock, State Street and EY agreed, utilising BHP’s modern slavery and ethical supply chain transparency program as the benchmark for the mining industry to highlight that people, planet and profit are not mutually exclusive concepts, they are good for business.
As former special operations soldier and now ESG lawyer, Joel has over 15 years operational mining and energy experience from Iraq to Indonesia, Congo to China. Joel holds BA in Asian Studies; Juris Doctor in Law specialising in mining and petroleum human rights and environmental law and will commence his MBA with Yale University in May 2022.
