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
This week's edition of Environment weekly highlights includes: the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)’s working paper on a community...
A round-up of the latest environmental enforcement, including Ofwat imposing a record £122.7m penalty on Thames Water for wastewater operations...
The European Commission has published its final EU-wide assessment of the updated National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) (as due for final...
The Environment Agency has published heatmaps, showing 16,773 reports of waste crime across England during 2023 and 2024. The data revealed that the...
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has launched two consultations, seeking views on (1) improving the implementation of...
Latest Environment Practice Notes
Emissions trading schemes—EU/UK comparisonSince the end of the Brexit transition period (IP completion day) on 31 December 2020, the UK no longer...
Business and human rights—core responsibility under the UNGPsWhat are the UNGPs?In June 2011, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN...
Carbon markets—basic principles and future developmentsBasic principlesCarbon markets operate within the ‘science’ of economics, the study of the...
UK Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 Recast—snapshotTitleAssimilated Regulation (EU) 2019/1021 of the...
UK ETS—legal framework, key obligations and administrationSince the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day), the...
Latest Environment Precedents
Board briefing note—environmental reporting—quoted companiesMemorandum prepared by [Name of Firm]For the directors of[insert company name] (the...
Legal due diligence report—private M&A—share purchaseProject [insert project name]Prepared for [Insert addressee name][Insert date of...
Board briefing note—environmental reporting—unquoted companiesMemorandum prepared by [Name of Firm]For the directors of[insert company name] (the...
The green supplier contract—a standardised contractual pricing model clause (The Chancery Lane Project)1DefinitionsIn this Schedule unless the context...
Target product carbon footprint clause—schedule for consumer goods contracts (The Chancery Lane Project)Additional recitalsThe parties acknowledge...
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,...
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...
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)—snapshot
World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)—snapshotTitleWorld Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Also known as the World Summit 2002, the...
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)—essential requirements
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH)—essential requirementsIndustrial diseasesThe Control of Substances Hazardous to...
Associated legal terms
Anti-pollution works
Environmental measures that can be imposed by the Environment Agency through a works notice in order to protect controlled waters.
Attribution
The process of apportionment of the liability for remediation action between different liability groups.
Significant contaminant linkage
A significant contaminant linkage means a contaminant linkage which gives rise to a level of risk sufficient to justify a piece of land being determined as contaminated land.
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