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Environmental, social and governance (ESG) blog

Our ESG blog offers you regular updates on the latest legal ESG issues and how they impact organisations, our people, our clients and the wider communities that we work with.

illustration for Environmental, social and governance (ESG) blog

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35 items

20 Dec 2024

2 mins

Sustainability Reporting: what is an SME to do?

Sustainability reporting well on its way to becoming a mandatory exercise for all large companies based in the EU and the UK.

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10 Dec 2024

2 mins

Government plans to make Britain a “Clean Energy Superpower”

The government’s Plan for Change announced on 5 December included “Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower” as one of its “five national missions”.

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28 Nov 2024

3 mins

How the announcements at COP29 may affect your company

COP29, the 29th meeting of the main decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, came to an end last week. During the 12-day event, a number of announcements were made that could have an impact on UK companies in the coming years

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18 Oct 2024

2 mins

How to do Sustainability Claims Right

Having a story to tell on sustainability is increasingly expected to the point that it is becoming a necessity.  But it is a necessity that carries significant legal risk particularly in light of ASA in CMA enforcement around misleading green claims or green washing.

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01 Oct 2024

3 mins

New CMA guidance provides practical advice on making environmental claims

The Competition and Markets Authority (the “CMA”) has published practical guidance on the Green Claims Code (the “Code”) for fashion retail businesses. The guidance aims to support fashion retailers to “comply with the principles of the Code and with the consumer protection law which underpins it, to ensure that consumers are not misled and to help create a level playing field for fair dealing businesses”.

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30 Jul 2024

2 mins

New government switches on to solar energy

The new Labour government has approved the construction of three major solar farms in the east of England to accelerate decarbonisation and support the UK’s net zero goals by 2050.

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15 Jul 2024

3 mins

What the new Labour government means for sustainability in the UK

The recent election of the Labour government in the UK, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, signifies a shift in policy on sustainability and climate action.

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11 Jul 2024

3 mins

ASA decision illustrates what omitting material information from Green claims means in practice

The ASA decision on an ad for Wessex Water is a very timely illustration of the very high standards that are currently being applied by the ASA and also the CMA in relation to green claims.

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10 Jun 2024

2 mins

New FCA rule anti greenwashing rules for financial products

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its rules and guidance to address greenwashing in the advertising of financial services, effective from the 31 May 2024.

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31 May 2024

2 mins

European Commission adopts the CSDDD

The European Council approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) on May 24, 2024, requiring large organisations to align with the Paris Agreement’s net zero goals.

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22 May 2024

4 mins

Greenwashing: Where are we now?

Greenwashing is a type of marketing that (intentionally or unintentionally) presents companies as more sustainable than they in fact are, in order to appeal to an increasingly eco-conscious public. 

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17 May 2024

2 mins

ESG funds - naming requirements

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has introduced stricter guidelines for using ESG-related terms in fund names to combat greenwashing, requiring 80% of investments to meet sustainability criteria.

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22 Apr 2024

5 mins

The intersection of climate change and human rights: Insights from a recent European Court of Human Rights ruling

The recent ECtHR ruling on Earth Day 2024 underscores that governments’ failure to mitigate climate change breaches the ECHR, impacting fundamental rights, health, well-being, and quality of life.

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26 Mar 2024

3 mins

New EU Directive empowers consumers against corporate greenwashing

The EU continued its efforts to clamp down on greenwashing with the European Parliament approving the Green Claims Directive and the Greenwashing Directive entering into force on 26 March 2024.

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19 Mar 2024

1 min

EU approves long-awaited directive on sustainability due diligence

The EU’s long-awaited Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD or CS3D) finally achieved approval from the European Council on 15 March and will now be put to the European Parliament for final approval.

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08 Mar 2024

2 mins

SEC adopts long-awaited climate disclosure rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted long-awaited rules to enhance and standardise climate-related disclosures by large public companies, which represent the first nationwide climate disclosure rules in the USA.

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14 Feb 2024

2 mins

Simplified sustainability reporting standards on the horizon for SMEs

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has opened the floor for public consultation on two draft EU reporting standards proportionate to the scale and complexity of SMEs.

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05 Feb 2024

3 mins

ESG: What in-house solicitors need to know and do

Boards are increasingly looking to their in-house legal team for advice on ESG matters. This places a new onus on in-house solicitors who face the challenge of balancing an organisation’s legal obligation with its strategic goals.  

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