ESG
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements play a central role in corporate governance. Today, breaches of ESG requirements not only pose reputational risks, but also significant liability risks. In addition, litigation risks are emerging in the form of greenwashing claims and climate litigation against companies and governments. We help our clients to identify and minimise ESG risks and provide support when risks materialise.
Our services include both strategic and operational advice to companies, in particular on the integration of ESG policies into corporate strategy and operational management, as well as support in investigations to identify potential breaches of the law. We help our clients develop and implement environmental management and sustainability strategies to ensure that their business activities are responsible, sustainable and in line with ESG guidelines such as the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
Our core competencies also include defending against claims based on alleged breaches of environmental and climate regulations in the broader sense, such as greenwashing claims or climate litigation against companies.
We also assist companies in the out-of-court resolution of ESG conflicts, communication with regulators, the media and the public, and representation in environmental disputes. In addition to advising companies, we work with law firms and consultancies on ESG due diligence processes.
Special areas of focus include the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz - LkSG) as well as climate protection, environmental and substance law in the broader sense. In the area of environmental law, we advise on issues such as environmental permits, waste management, substance and chemicals law, energy efficiency and renewable energy law. We also advise on certification schemes for climate-neutral business operations, such as the fuel emissions trading scheme and the certification of alternative fuels for the transport sector.
We place particular emphasis on providing our clients with holistic advice that not only takes into account current legal requirements, but also anticipates future developments and industry-specific trends.
In doing so, we benefit from our in-depth knowledge of those industries that are particularly exposed to climate, environmental and substance law requirements. Our team of lawyers has many years of experience advising companies in the energy, transport and logistics, recycling, natural resources, infrastructure and network industries.
