Sustainability & Responsible Business
About
Businesses are increasingly embracing responsible commercial practices, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues for a sustainable future. As market forces around this topic escalate, our clients face a rapidly evolving and fragmented reporting and regulatory landscape. Due diligence obligations require greater scrutiny and transparency of supply chains, and strategy needs to consider legal accountability and stakeholder engagement.
Our Sustainability & Responsible Business Practice draws on the experience of lawyers across the Firm in practices that include Environment & Climate Change, Business & Human Rights, Public Company Advisory, Antitrust/Competition, International Trade, Energy Transition, Debt Finance, Regulatory & Compliance, Economic Sanctions & Export Controls and White Collar/Investigations. Together, we help companies, financial institutions, sovereigns, investors and other stakeholders address these challenges while maximizing long-term economic stability and growth.
Climate
Climate change presents a variety of risks—including physical, transition and legal—that can significantly impact a company’s operations and financial performance. Shareholders and other stakeholders are increasingly interested in understanding company approaches to managing climate risks and opportunities, including around compliance with climate disclosure regulations, establishing emissions reduction or operational net-zero targets, and climate governance strategy. Our climate change practice draws from experience that includes advising sovereigns on global climate change treaty negotiations, and businesses on climate risk assessment in transactions, climate litigation and carbon offset transaction.
Environmental
A growing number of transactions and disputes involve complex environmental issues and compliance requirements. Our environmental team guides clients in navigating global, national and local environmental regulations relevant to their operations. On complex business transactions, including M&A, divestitures, project financings and security offerings, our transactional practice drafts and negotiates environmental terms and indemnity provisions. We routinely counsel clients on environmental permitting, enforcement defense matters, environmental litigation, internal investigations, and a range of environmental and regulatory matters affecting their operations.
Energy Transition
Clients face increasing demands to clarify the implications of energy transition for their operations and business models. Our knowledge of energy assets, regulations and local markets means we can advise on investing in both traditional core and renewable assets, as well as newer technologies such as carbon capture, battery storage and hydrogen. Our lawyers have significant experience in monetization projects, corporate venturing and investments into energy transition assets, renewable energy project development, SDG-linked securitizations, green bonds and other financings with ESG and “just transition” requirements, and the development of new technologies.
Sustainable Finance
Sustainability plays an important role in global financial markets. Issuers, arrangers, sovereigns and investors are raising capital and making investments through sustainable finance arrangements, including green bonds, while industry bodies publish guidance for structuring these transactions so they achieve the consensus needed for scaling up. Our Capital Markets and Debt Finance teams devise innovative structures that finance capital sustainably and conform to developing best practice standards. They draw on experience that includes advising on compliance with the environmental and social standards of multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, as well as evolving international standards, including the Equator Principles.
Related services: Environment & Climate Change; Energy; Energy Transition; Capital Markets; Debt Finance
Business and Human Rights
There has been a dramatic transformation of the legal and reputational risks associated with business impacts on human rights. With respect to specific legislation and international guidance—such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct and the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights—we advise on the full life cycle of preparing and responding to these changes. This includes risk management, due diligence, policies and procedures, investment structures, social assessments, reporting, and grievance and remediation mechanisms. With the proliferation of complex proxy resolutions and claims related to human rights, diversity and inclusion, and human capital issues—as well as evolving, sensitive disclosure requirements—we help clients manage the mounting pressure for transparency and responsibility in their operations and supply chains.
Related services: Public Company Advisory; Mining & Metals; Capital Markets; Antitrust/Competition; Commercial Litigation; Mergers & Acquisitions; Technology; Project Development and Finance
Governance
Companies, boards and investors need to implement strategically aligned ESG reporting and disclosures. Our support allows public company boards to meet ESG oversight expectations and mandates of regulators, institutional investors and markets. We deploy market-specific approaches to adopting various international and sector-specific standards, frameworks and initiatives, such as the UN Guiding Principles, OECD Guidelines, Sustainable Development Goals, CDP, GRI and the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
Related services: Environment & Climate Change; Business & Human Rights; Public Company Advisory; Data, Privacy & Cybersecurity; Antitrust/Competition; Regulatory & Compliance; Shareholder Activism; White Collar/Investigations
Our story
At White & Case, we are preparing for the next chapter in sustainability. Leaders across the Firm are working to understand the risks presented by climate change, set near-term targets to reduce our environmental impact and devise a strategy to hold ourselves accountable. We are a signatory to the UN Global Compact, participate in annual assessments with Ecovadis and disclose our greenhouse gas emissions data to CDP.
Learn more about our initiatives
See our 2024 Environmental Sustainability Report
Read our 2023 Global Citizenship Review
Awards & Recognition
Winner in "Innovation in People and Skills Management"
FT Innovative Lawyers North America 2022
#1 activist advisor among global elite firms
Bloomberg Global Activism League Tables 2023
Most diverse Am Law 50 firm
Am Law Diversity Scorecard 2024
"Green Bond Deal of the Year"
IJGlobal Americas Awards 2023
