Environmental issues

As environmental issues increasingly extend across all elements of modern business, Speechly Bircham’s integrated team of experts provides environmental law advice for the real estate, planning and construction arenas, and on the green aspects of businesses facing corporate, IP, technology or commercial issues.

Environmental laws and policies affect many industries from those in energy and waste to real estate, manufacturing, food, electronics and retail. The growth in green technology and the need for corporate governance in respect of environmental law, require corporate and risk management skills.

Our recent experience, for companies large and small alike, has covered:

Premises

Property

• Guidance on energy performance of Building Regulations and the imminent Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC)
  
• Advising on green lease structures and greening structures for existing leasehold portfolios
  
• Providing due diligence on environmental liabilities in property transactions
  Waste
  
• Advising on liability for spillage and possible prosecution for contamination
  
• Advising on access for clean up following third party spillage
  
• Land remediation
  
  

Energy

• Supporting pre-IPO fund-raising in a number of funding rounds (£40m in aggregate) from UK and US investors for a fuel cell company.
• Advising a number of green energy suppliers including structuring advice on lease arrangements for major installations of PhotoVoltaic Cell and of thermal energy systems
  
• Advising landowners on options and leases to wind farm operators
  

Business processes

Environmental regulations

• Guidance provided for the carbon reduction commitment and carbon credits
  
• Drafting environmental warranties and indemnities
  
• Advertising compliance - 'green' and environmental claims
• Advising on a food product recall
  
  

Technology

• Advising on data centres, ‘cloud’ and virtualisation
  
• EU data centre code of conduct
  
• WEEE/RoHS
• Green IT initiatives
• Advising on Batteries and REACH Directives
• Use and disposal of RFID, biometrics and tracking devices
  
  

People and working environments

• Consumer rights and duties
• Responsibility in the workplace
  
  

Corporate reputation

• Data protection, freedom of information
  
• Human rights and privacy in the workplace
  
• Implications of CRC
  
  

Directors’ responsibilities

• Duties of the directors under the new legislation
  
• Compliance audits and training for company directors
  
• Risk and relevant insurance