Sustainability

Core deal support

Sustainability concerns are increasingly critical in mergers and acquisitions and in large commercial transactions. Our team works with developers, operators and consultants to identify material issues and assess their implications for a transaction, as well as providing practical advice on how best to manage any risk.

We are widely recognised as market-leading transaction-linked counsel, conducting due diligence investigations across multiple sectors including manufacturing, energy, mining, waste recovery, recycling and agriculture.

Project development

We advise our clients across the full lifecycle of sustainable and climate-aligned projects, from concept and feasibility through to financing, construction, operation and decommissioning. Our services include legal structuring and procurement strategy; land rights and permitting; environmental and planning approvals; regulatory compliance; and the negotiation of key project documents such as EPC, O&M, supply, offtake and concession agreements. We further support project finance and investment structuring (including green and sustainability-linked financing), risk allocation and bankability reviews, and the integration of ESG, climate and governance requirements into contractual frameworks.

Sustainable finance

Under our sustainable finance offering, we advise lenders, borrowers, sponsors and investors on the structuring, documentation and implementation of financing aligned with environmental, social and governance objectives. This would include legal support for green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked loans and bonds; transition finance; and blended or impact finance structures.

Regulatory advisory

We assist clients in navigating the rapidly evolving legal and policy landscape regulating ESG matters across jurisdictions, with our services including monitoring and interpreting applicable legislation, regulations and standards and advising on compliance with environmental, mining, climate change, energy, carbon, waste, biodiversity and water regimes.

This is all tailored to our clients’ sectors and operations, ensuring that businesses remain compliant, resilient and aligned with evolving regulatory expectations while enabling them to pursue sustainable growth and transition objectives.

We support our clients in identifying, managing and resolving ESG and climate-related legal risks across their operations, transactions and supply chains. We offer advice on internal and third-party investigations into environmental incidents, regulatory non-compliance, governance failures, human rights and labour practice concerns, or alleged greenwashing; and advise on regulatory enforcement, remediation and stakeholder engagement.

Our teams also represent clients in litigation, arbitration and regulatory proceedings arising from environmental, climate, sustainability disclosure or transition-related matters, including shareholder and activist claims, contractual disputes in sustainable projects and director liability issues.

We assist boards, executives and in-house legal teams to embed environmental, social and governance considerations into corporate governance structures, decision-making and oversight in line with local legal and regulatory requirements.

Our services include advising on directors’ duties and fiduciary obligations in relation to sustainability and climate risk under South African company law and King V; and developing or refining ESG governance frameworks, board and committee charters, policies and internal controls.

We prepare and regularly update legal registers for clients across many different sectors by identifying, documenting and managing the full suite of environmental, social and governance legal obligations applicable to their operations across jurisdictions. Our teams are also able to support our clients with compliance audits, gap analyses and updates in response to regulatory changes.