Meet our experts

Joanne O’Donnell

Head of Global Regulatory Compliance team
Principal Subject Matter Expert

Cork, Ireland

Expert Topics

  • Climate Disclosures
  • ESG Reporting
  • Human Rights-Affected Communities
  • Human Trafficking and Slavery
  • Supply Chain Due Diligence
Joanne O’Donnell
Overview

Leading Global Regulatory Compliance with Expertise in Sustainability, ESG, Climate Change, Forced Labor, as well as Business and Human Rights.

 

Joanne heads up the Global Regulatory Compliance team at Compliance and Risks where she leads a global team of international product regulatory consultants in both the EU and the US.  She qualified as a Solicitor with the Law Society of Ireland in 2003 and has extensive national and international legal experience in private practice, in-house and industry. Prior to joining Compliance and Risks, Joanne worked as a lawyer with the United Nations in Geneva as well as one of Ireland’s top-tier law firms. She also spent 4 years as General Counsel for a leading biomedical company.

 

Joanne has worked with Compliance and Risks for over 13 years and supports its clients with their global legal compliance challenges with a particular interest and focus on Sustainability, ESG, Climate Change, Forced Labor, as well as Business and Human Rights.

 

Joanne has a Bachelor of Arts (Legal and French) and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from the National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland as well as a Masters in International law (LLM) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. In addition, she has a Masters Degree in French from the University of Limerick, Ireland and, more recently, a Graduate diploma in Business and Human Rights from the University of Bergen, Norway. In November 2024, she was shortlisted for the Irish Business Post’s ESG Leader of the Year Award.

Experience Highlights
  • Presenter at several international conferences and symposia including:
    • International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) North American Training Workshop, Toronto: Jurisdictional product reporting requirements in  Canada, United States and EU
    • Assent Compliance Supply Chain Summit Series, San Diego: Building a Compliance Program
    • International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO), Brussels: ESG and Sustainability – what’s new and how to keep up?
  • Co-presenter of several webinars including
    • One Size Does Not Fit All: ESG Regulations for a Sustainable Fashion Industry
    • Climate Disclosure Obligations in the EU, USA and Beyond
    • Accelerating ESG Progress: Breaking Down the Latest on CSRD
    • Future of Climate Regulation in the EU (in association with Sustain Life)
  • Key speaker at several C&R ESG and Product Compliance Insights events in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Paris, London, Los Angeles, Boston, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Tokyo
  • Author of several white papers including:
    • ESG Regulations: Your Guide to Key Upcoming Dates, February 2024
    • Navigating the Changing Landscape of ESG Regulations, March 2023
    • ESG: A Year in Review, December 2022
    • From Non-Financial to Corporate Sustainability Reporting: Accelerating ESG Disclosures in the EU, June 2022
    • Regulatory Developments in Global Human Trafficking and Slavery Legislation, May 2019
    • Modern Slavery and Illegal Trafficking – Global Mandatory Reporting and Due Diligence Requirements in the Supply Chain, April 2018
Qualifications
  • Bachelor of Arts (Legal Studies and French) (BA) – 1994
  • Bachelor of Law (LLB) – 1996
  • Masters in public international law (LLM) – 1998
  • Qualified lawyer with Law Society of Ireland  – 2003
  • Masters in French (MA) – 2007
  • Graduate diploma in Business and Human Rights – 2023