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Having evolved rapidly from its inception in the investor and fund community, ESG now touches every part of our lives and ESG in the real world can mean wildly different things to different organisations.

ESG is changing in the way we do business. It is informing the way investors build funds, how banks consider their lending criteria and how multinationals review their supply chain, right through to how manufacturers power their factories and employers recruit, retain and look after their staff. The emphasis may vary depending on sectors and geographies, but the overall objective is the same: a drive for increasingly responsible business behaviours.

We're here to help those delivering ESG on the ground, working with you to understand how to bring about change and make smart decisions when it comes to shaping your response, either at primary strategic level or, more specifically, within the key subsets of ESG compliance.

Our Sustainability Team has developed a Carbon Glossary to provide a clearer understanding of key environmental sustainability terms. Click here to explore the glossary.

Key Contacts

Areas of Expertise

Environment & Climate Change

How our clients do business locally, nationally and globally is changing as you consider your environmental impact and seek to operate more sustainably. Wherever your business is on its sustainability journey, our team can help you navigate through the complexities of green energy projects and environmental law. 

Our services include:

• Green energy, net zero regulation and net-zero projects
• Carbon and emissions trading
• Environment and climate regulation and risk management
• Environmental permitting and licensing 
• Managing pollution, contamination and hazardous substances
• Biodiversity and environmental impact assessment
• Environmental and chemical product regulation
• Representation in environmental enforcement
• Energy efficiency agreements and net zero outcomes 
• Industrial disease and nuisance cases
• Waste and the circular economy

Please contact Steven Stewart if you require any assistance.

Governance

Working right across the corporate eco-system, we're ideally placed to help in the delivery of your ESG strategy, all of which is underpinned by the G of good governance. From helping you keep complaint with statutory reporting obligations, we can also work with your boards and wider teams to embed ESG principles into your decision making, generating value and giving you a competitive edge. 

Our services include:

• Maintenance of statutory registers and ongoing Companies Act compliance
• Board and committee support, including agenda planning, board packs, minuting and action lists
• Horizon scanning for legislative and procedural changes
• Corporate structure charts and rationalisation of group structures
• Share capital restructuring, including buybacks and reductions
• Pension scheme governance advice
• Directors' duties and statutory liabilities from the Companies Act and beyond
• Director indemnities, protecting directors personally, analysed in the context of your D&O insurance
• Working with directors and company secretaries to develop effective board teams
  

Social Impact & People Matters

The social implications of ESG are wide ranging and affect how businesses are perceived by their employees, clients, suppliers and in society in general.

We can work with you to provide support in the approach you are taking towards the wellbeing of your people, in creating a diverse, inclusive and socially responsible culture, and on how you can operate as an ethical and responsible business.

In addition, we support a huge range of clients to directly deliver social impact in a variety of ways.

Our services include:

• Diversity & Inclusion training, advice, policies & reporting
• Employee benefits & incentives
• Human Rights
• Social impact funding
• Immigration
• Industrial relations and industrial actions
• Charities and social enterprises
• Development trusts
• Community renewable energy projects

The Built Environment 

Greenhouse gases present issues at every stage of a building's lifecycle, from the manufacture of materials, construction and maintenance, through to demolition. Up to 25% of the UK's total greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to the built environment. 

The real estate, planning, public law and construction sectors have an extremely important role to play in tackling climate change and our work across the spectrum of built environment projects allow our specialist teams to advise you whether you're developing, operating, leasing out or occupying premises within your portfolios. 

Our services include:

• Greening of leases
• Energy efficiency
• Environmental planning
• Construction and infrastructure projects
• Net zero transport infrastructure
• Green energy land projects
• Green energy infrastructure on buildings and land
• Agriculture and rural business
• Forestry
• Affordable housing land
• Building safety
• Procurement and subsidy control

Please contact Neil Bruce if you require any assistance.

Sustainable Finance & ESG Investment

ESG-related activities are attracting increasing attention from regulators in the EU and UK. We understand that the growing complexity and frequency of regulatory change is a priority area of focus for banks and financial institutions, pension providers, asset managers and investors. We offer tailored solutions to assist clients in integrating ESG considerations into their compliance, reporting and risk management strategies and transactional activities.

Our services include:

• Regulatory compliance and reporting – including SFDR, SDR, TCFD (and ISSB) and other local or international regulations pertaining to sustainable finance, labelling, anti-greenwashing and ESG investing

• ESG integration into investment strategies - including in relation to sustainable fund formation and drafting relevant disclosures

• Policy analysis and development – assisting interpreting and implementing regulatory policies relating to sustainable finance and ESG investing and developing compliant internal policies and procedures

• Due diligence and risk assessment – performing due diligence on investment opportunities to assess ESG risks and compliance with regulatory requirements, and advising clients on appropriate risk mitigation strategies and policies for dealing with ESG management

• Stakeholder engagement – assisting clients in engaging with regulators, investors and other stakeholders on ESG-related matters

• Training and education on relevant aspects of ESG, including Board level training and/or organisation specific

• Regulatory enforcement and investigations – advising and representing clients in regulatory investigations and enforcement actions related to sustainable finance and ESG investing, and advising on compliance strategies and remediation measures

• Impact measurement and reporting – including to internal governance committees and Board and externally

Please contact Jamie Gray if you require any assistance.

Litigation & Crisis Management

When the worst happens, whether that be a corporate disaster, corruption scandal or data breach, the culture of the whole organisation is put under the spotlight, including ESG strategies and initiatives. We can work with you to proactively manage potential exposure to any litigation, incident or breaking scandal, including working with SMTs and internal crisis management teams to ensure that all management decisions provide an opportunity for the best outcome at every stage, including civil and criminal legal proceedings and class actions (also known as group claims in Scotland).

Our services include:

• Cyber security
• Crisis response
• Civil fraud
• Defamation and reputational management
• Defence of regulatory proceedings
• Greenwashing
• Insolvency
• Professional negligence
• Product liability
• Tax

Please contact Joanna Fulton if you require any assistance.

Business Ethics

ESG objectives and regulation present challenging risk management priorities for businesses. Business ethics, whether that be how and who you do business with to managing your assets, including people, is central to the S and G of ESG. Understanding the legal and regulatory risks is necessary to corporate strategy. We can support you to ensure the right teams have access to the right subject matter experts to inform and develop all areas of ethics and compliance, as well as advising and providing representation when things go wrong. We can make sure you are equipped to deal with scenarios that can impact you and your business through training, workshops, and audits or reviews to measure and manage compliance and risks, ultimately protecting your business and reputation.

Our services include:

• Anti-bribery & corruption
• Business & Human Rights
• Corporate reporting and transparency
• Corporate crime & internal investigations
• Competition
• Data protection
• Directors’ duties
• Health & Safety
• International sanctions and export control
• Modern slavery
• Managing regulatory investigations
• M&A risk advisory
• Tax

Please contact Lynne Gray if you require any assistance.

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