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 Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published its response to a consultation on reforming chemicals legislation, addressing biocides,...
The European Commission has opened a consultation on the proposed amendments to energy-efficient product legislation, with the consultation period...
The Welsh Government has laid the Deposit Return Scheme for Drinks Containers (Wales) Regulations 2026 before the Senedd establishing the legal...
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that the UK government has agreed to grant the Welsh Government an...
The Environment Agency (EA) has published regulatory position statement (RPS) 365 outlining monthly data reporting obligations for accredited...
Latest Environment Practice Notes
Packaging design and useThe Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2015 (PERR 2015) govern packaging product design compliance in England and...
Packaging waste—compliance schemesA compliance scheme is an organisation that provides a service for producers who join the scheme, by taking on their...
Packaging waste—producer responsibility obligationsThe Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007, SI 2007/871 (PRO(PW)R...
Compensation orders in criminal casesThe procedural rules relating to the criminal courts’ powers to make compensation orders are contained in...
Climate change and sustainability issues for ConstructionThis Practice Note considers the effect of climate change and the push by the UK and other...
Latest Environment Precedents
Board briefing note—environmental reporting—unquoted companiesMemorandum prepared by [Name of Firm]For the directors of[insert company name] (the...
Board briefing note—environmental reporting—quoted companiesMemorandum prepared by [Name of Firm]For the directors of[insert company name] (the...
Retained EU law—training materials [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Precedent has been archived and is not maintained.These training materials consist of...
Environmental policy[Insert organisation name] is a signatory to [insert details of any environmental initiatives to which the organisation is a...
Environment Health and Safety due diligence questionnaire (DDQ)—asset purchaseEnvironment Health & SafetyPlease provide the following:1Copies of all...
Latest Environment Q&As
Featured Environment content
Private nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for environmental harm
Nuisance and the rule in Rylands v Fletcher—common law liability for pollutionPrivate nuisancePrivate nuisance is an unlawful interference with a...
Public nuisance—general principles
Public nuisance—general principlesPublic nuisanceThe common law offence of public nuisance was abolished by section 78 of the Police, Crime,...
Meaning of waste—definition of waste
Meaning of waste—definition of wasteDefinition of Waste'Waste' is defined in the Waste Framework Directive, Directive 2008/98/EC (WFD) as any...
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...
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety considerations and additional enquiries
Commercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSE)—environmental and health and safety enquiriesCommercial Property Standard Enquiries (CPSEs) are industry...
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,...
Environmental insurance—when is it needed?
Environmental insurance—when is it needed?What is environmental insurance?Environmental insurance is a risk transfer solution to indemnify the insured...
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,...
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...
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)
Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)What is an environmental management system (EMS)?An environmental management system...
Water pollution—legislation
Water pollution—legislation This Practice Note looks at the key legislation in England and Wales for controlling and preventing water pollution and...
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...
Judicial review—sufficient interest (standing) in environmental matters
Judicial review—sufficient interest (standing) in environmental mattersOriginally produced in partnership with Alistair Mills of Landmark Chambers and...
Contaminated land—remediation notices (service and appeal)
Contaminated land—remediation notices (service and appeal)What is a remediation notice?A remediation notice is a formal written notice that requires...
Energy performance certificates (EPCs)—issues for commercial landlords and tenants
Energy performance certificates (EPCs)—issues for commercial landlords and tenantsThis Practice Note looks at some of the key practical issues for...
Environmental management—environmental legal registers
Environmental management—environmental legal registersWhat is a legal register?A legal register is the documented output from a process where an...
Environmental liabilities—what are clean-up liabilities?
Environmental liabilities—what are clean-up liabilities?Clean-up liabilities are legal and financial obligations to remediate pollution or...
Contaminated land—meaning of remediation
Contaminated land—meaning of remediationMeaning of remediation'Remediation' is given a relatively wide definition in the Environmental Protection Act...
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.
Best Available Techniques
Standard imposed in pollution control regulation to avoid or reduce emissions from installations or processes, without prescribing the use of one specific technology.
Significant harm
Any harm which is determined to be significant in accordance with the Statutory Guidance to Part IIA in that it meets one of the specific descriptions of the types of harm which must exist, or of which there must be a significant possibility, for land to be determined as contaminated.
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