About Environment Law
Have you been instructed at short notice to advise on transactions or new environmental legislation outside your comfort zone? Are you up-to-date with the latest changes in environmental regulation – and have a sense of what’s on the horizon?
Current awareness, horizon scanning and trackers
Our curated daily news alerts, environmental law podcast and dedicated environmental law trackers, split according to topic and covering consultations and legislation, alongside our cases tracker, will save you time.
Air emissions and climate change
We show where climate change targets come from at national, European and international levels, plus we detail climate reporting and disclosure frameworks, track litigation and provide practical guidance for your business
Brexit and divergence
We detail the environmental law regimes that have been impacted by Brexit and track EU/UK/GB divergence.
Transactional support
We’ll give you transactional support guides and precedents for the environmental and health and safety (EHS) issues that environmental lawyers need to consider when supporting corporate and property deals.
Topics We Cover
Latest Environment News
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed an EU-wide restriction on certain hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) substances to reduce their harmful...
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced new measures to combat waste crime. Local authorities will receive powers...
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and...
The Financial Markets Standards Board (FMSB) has published a Statement of Good Practice on the governance of sustainability-linked products (SLPs) to...
This edition of the Sustainable finance and ESG monthly round-up from the Finance Group includes: (1) IFRS Foundation and TNFD sign MoU to enhance...
Latest Environment Practice Notes
Net zero carbon buildings—law and policyWhat is a net zero carbon building?In April 2019, the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) published Net Zero...
How to evaluate an environmental policyWhat is this guidance for?This guidance is to help legal professionals evaluate environmental policies for...
England and Wales environment tracker 2024—waste [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.This tracker tool...
England and Wales environment tracker 2024—sustainability [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained.This tracker...
Money laundering and proceeds of crime—implications for environmental lawyersLegal frameworkMoney laundering is the process by which the proceeds of...
Latest Environment Precedents
Key definitions 1 Additional definitions in this Precedent The following definitions are those referred to in these sample...
Pie crust lease of a unit on an estateHM Land Registry Prescribed ClausesLR1. Date of the lease[date]LR2. Title number(s)LR2.1 Landlord's title...
Environmental policy[Insert organisation name] is a signatory to [insert details of any environmental initiatives to which the organisation is a...
Sustainable Soil Management Obligations (The Chancery Lane Project)Additional definitionsAgricultural Land Classification (ALC)•means the system used...
Agreement between sewerage undertaker and the owner and occupier of trade premises for reception of trade effluentThis Agreement is made on the...
Latest Environment Q&As
Featured Environment content
Nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for pollution
Nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for pollutionPrivate nuisancePrivate nuisance is an unlawful interference with a...
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety enquiries
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety enquiriesCommercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) are industry...
Sewers and drains—sewerage undertakers’ core duties and powers
Sewers and drains—sewerage undertakers’ core duties and powersA sewerage undertaker is the company appointed by the Secretary of State or Ofwat to be...
BREEAM key requirements
BREEAM key requirementsWhat is BREEAM?The Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM) is a method for evaluating...
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—snapshot
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)—snapshotTitleUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)Parties168Adopted10...
Contaminated land—meaning of remediation
Contaminated land—meaning of remediationMeaning of remediation'Remediation' is given a relatively wide definition in the Environmental Protection Act...
Control of asbestos—asbestos surveys
Control of asbestos—asbestos surveysLegal requirementsThere is a legal presumption that any non-domestic buildings (and the common parts of domestic...
Sustainable procurement—private sector
Sustainable procurement—private sectorWhat is sustainable procurement?According to the UN Global Marketplace definition: procurement is sustainable...
Lease transactions toolkit (environmental issues)—Commercial Property Standard Enquiries and additional environmental enquiries
Lease transactions toolkit (environmental issues)—Commercial Property Standard Enquiries and additional environmental enquiriesCommercial Property...
Control of asbestos—duty to manage
Control of asbestos—duty to manageThe Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR 2012) place various duties on employers to protect employees from...
Riparian ownership—rights and responsibilities
Riparian ownership—rights and responsibilitiesWhat does riparian ownership mean and who does it affect?‘If you own land or property next to a river,...
Highway drains and culverts
Highway drains and culvertsFor the purposes of s 100 of the Highways Act 1980, a ‘highway drain’ is defined as including a ditch, gutter, watercourse,...
Environment Agency (EA)—powers of entry
Environment Agency (EA)—powers of entryThe Environment Agency (EA), Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have...
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)What is an environmental management system (EMS)?An environmental management system...
Transporting dangerous goods
Transporting dangerous goodsBrexit11 pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following...
Waste types and control—asbestos waste
Waste types and control—asbestos wasteIdentifying asbestos wasteAsbestos exists in a number of forms—the three most common are chrysotile (white),...
Harbour authorities—duties and powers
Harbour authorities—duties and powersDuties and powersHarbour authoritiesA harbour authority is an independent self-governing body that is responsible...
Energy Company Obligation (ECO)—key features of ECO1 and ECO2 [Archived]
Energy Company Obligation (ECO)—key features of ECO1 and ECO2 [Archived]Energy Company Obligation (ECO) replaces Carbon Emissions Reduction Target...
Associated legal terms
Compliance classification scheme
A national system used by the Environment Agency for categorising non-compliance with different regulatory permit conditions, based on the same approach as the Common Incident Classification Scheme (CICS).
Contaminated Land Regime
The contaminated land regime was introduced in 2000 to ensure contaminated sites in the UK are identified and remediated and is set out in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and statutory instruments and guidance issued under it.
Part IIA
Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (referred to in the accompanying Statutory Guidance as 'Part 2A') sets out the contaminated land remediation regime for England and Wales.
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