Ardea International

This Practice Note provides a guide to in-house lawyers on what the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) are. It explains what the core responsibility for business is under the UNGPs and why in-house lawyers should be aware of them. It also provides some practical tips on what business should do.

This Practice Note outlines the implications of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), also known as the Ruggie Principles, for lawyers and law firms. It explains what the UNGPs are, what they mean for lawyers and law firms and also references guidance, as well as considering the challenges and opportunities the UNGPs present for law firms.

This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note discusses climate change in a public procurement context, noting the tools available to contracting authorities to assess climate change impacts when awarding public contracts.

This Practice Note outlines International Standard ISO 14001:2015 on environmental management. It was produced in partnership with Ardea International and is part of a series of notes on environmental management. It explains what environmental management system (EMS) ISO 14001 is and sets out the key changes brought about by the latest revisions to ISO 14001 (ISO 14001:2015).

This new starter guide provides practitioners new to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues with an overview of what ESG is, how it has developed and the key drivers and legislation behind it. It provides key practical tips useful to practitioners talking to clients about ESG implementation; whether for an ESG strategy generally or focussing on specific aspects of the E, S and G.

This Practice Note outlines the key requirements of the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings (Directive 2014/95/EU), which amended the EU Accounting Directive with effect from 5 December 2014. It covers the background to the NFRD, the scope of the NFRD, the main provisions, and the expansion of ESG reporting requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

This Practice Note explains what governance means in the context of environmental, social, governance (ESG) issues—an evolution of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Practice Note starts by explaining what ESG and CSR are, as well as what governance means ie the system by which companies are directed and controlled. The Practice Note then looks at board members and the fiduciary responsibility that they have for the effective management of social and environmental risks. It also sets out the in-house lawyer’s role and practical steps to develop a suitable governance framework. It was produced in partnership with Ardea International and is part of a series on corporate responsibility.

This guide, written for in-house lawyers, provides a high level overview, with links to detailed guidance, into the mandatory reporting requirements for companies covering non-financial issues such as energy, carbon and greenhouse gas reporting in strategic and directors’ reports, as well as Modern Slavery Act 2015 and gender pay gap reporting obligations. It also focuses on voluntary reporting and explains what a sustainability report is, sets out some of the different voluntary reporting frameworks available in summary format and highlights the benefits of assurances.

This Practice Note focuses on providing guidance for reviewing environmental policies. This is to help a reviewer to determine their legal sufficiency, alignment with international agreements, and effectiveness in addressing key environmental concerns such as emissions reduction, resource management, and climate resilience. It is intended to support legal practitioners in ensuring that policies meet compliance requirements, corporate sustainability commitments, and stakeholder expectations. The Practice Note will assist legal practitioners, including environmental lawyers, corporate counsel, and compliance officers, who are responsible for reviewing, drafting, and advising on environmental policies. It serves as a practical tool to navigate the complex legal landscape of environmental regulations and sustainability obligations, that often provide the backdrop to an environmental policy. By providing a series of questions grouped into relevant topics, practitioners can interrogate an environmental policy to evaluate its efficacy and effectiveness.

This risk management guide, written for in-house lawyers in partnership with Ardea International, aims to provide a useful checklist when considering how to address the environmental risks relating to an organisation and to provide the tools to monitor compliance with the laws.

This Practice Note highlights the professional responsibility of lawyers in relation to human rights due diligence, particularly in the context of the United Nations Guiding Principles on business and human rights (UNGPs), also known as the Ruggie Principles. It was produced in partnership with Ardea International. It outlines the scope of human rights diligence, including references to human rights due diligence in international agreements, and the potential for liability under international frameworks.

This Practice Note outlines mandatory human rights reporting requirements in the UK and EU, where applicable to non-EU entities. It was produced in partnership with Ardea International. It covers current and future human rights reporting requirements and considers supply change management issues, including under the Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/1970, Modern Slavery Act 2015, EU Directive on non-financial and diversity information as extended by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation, the EU Deforestation-free Supply Chain Regulation, and EU Forced Labour ban.

This Practice Note explains what terms such as ‘responsible’ or ‘sustainable’ business’, ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR), ‘sustainability’ and ‘environmental social governance’ (ESG) mean in the context of business. It sets out why General Counsel (GC) working in-house, as well as their external advisors, should understand these terms and how they can contribute to a company’s responsible business programme. It provides examples of good business practice and some practical steps to developing sustainable business.

This Practice Note outlines the definition and application of sustainable development at EU level. It covers the Brundtland definition and the three pillars of sustainable development, sustainable development in the EU treaties, sustainable development in EU policy and sustainable development in EU law. It was produced in partnership with Ardea International (previously CLT Envirolaw).

This Practice Note outlines the definition of sustainable development (SD) at the international level and international policy on sustainable development. It includes the most widely recognised definition of sustainable development from the 1987 United Nations Commission on Environment and Development (UNCED) report ‘Our Common Future’, known as the Brundtland Report. It also covers how sustainable development has been defined at other international meetings, in other international agreements and documents, and by other international organisations, such as the UN General Assembly, the World Bank, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) and the United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). It also considers criticisms and shortcomings of the mainstream definition of SD and discusses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was produced in partnership with Ardea International.

This Practice Note outlines the definition and application of sustainable development at UK level. It covers the Brundtland definition and the three pillars of sustainable development, sustainable development as a policy objective in national sustainable development strategies issued by the UK government and devolved administrations, and mechanisms for implementing sustainable development including in UK legislation. This Practice Note also discusses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Sustainable Development Indicators (SDI) as a means to measure progress toward the policy goal of sustainable development, and the influence of sustainable development policy on the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

This Practice Note outlines the use of sustainability indicators and goals. It covers the origin and history of sustainable development indicators (SDIs), SDIs in the UK and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), including what they are, how are they implemented and monitored, and what lawyers need to know about the SDGs.

This Practice Note outlines what sustainable procurement is and why lawyers should understand how to apply the principles of sustainable procurement (not to be confused with green public procurement) in the private sector. It provides a practical outline of the issues, including the benefits of taking sustainability into account in purchasing decisions, sustainability criteria in tenders and the use of standards in sustainable procurement.

This Practice Note outlines various voluntary frameworks and initiatives for reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It includes guidance on voluntary GHG reporting and a summary of international reporting guidance and frameworks such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, and Task Force on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD). There is also reference to international standards, such as ISO 14064:2018.

The precedent environmental policy can be used as a starting point to setting out an organisation’s commitment to managing the environmental risks and impacts of their operations. It is a key feature of the UN Sustainable Development Goals that organisations must reduce harm to the environment and actively contribute to solutions for a sustainable future and many voluntary frameworks require organisations to consider how they will address any environmental impacts. Given the focus on environment, social and governance (ESG) factors many businesses use their environmental policy as a key tool for articulating the business’ environmental commitments. Environmental impacts listed in this environmental policy are not exhaustive, and organisations must address the environmental challenges that are relevant to their operations.