Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)

...and certainly no longer an "emerging" topic. Environmental, Social and Governance factors – alongside the broader challenge of sustainability – are an increasingly important area for clients.

Society and the law fuel increasing demands on businesses for changes in their transparency, responsibility and ultimately, accountability. A licence to operate is no longer sufficient since public trust in the regulatory approval process has decreased, as in regulatory authorities themselves. Moreover, society is hard-pressed by the advent of climate change and the necessary energy transition, implying massive and disruptive changes in the legal, political and economic landscape, all further impacting businesses already under increasing public scrutiny.

In the absence of political guidance or clear legal frameworks, these developments require complex decision-making and raise new legal questions. Our extensive experience navigating this challenging landscape, and dealing with complex and often politically sensitive matters, puts us in a unique position to handle these matters for corporations and major state-owned entities. We have a well-developed informal network which includes senior advisers and legal staff in central government, and work in multidisciplinary teams that liaise with technical experts to build strong cases that withstand judicial review by third parties in this multifaceted area.