ESG Advisory

Our ESG Advisory team helps businesses of all sizes turn sustainability goals into practical action. With clear, commercially focused legal guidance, we support clients in meeting ESG standards, managing risk, and building resilient, responsible organisations for the future.

The team offers practical, forward-thinking legal support for ESG to a wide range of clients across many sectors. Our focus is on providing support and advice to help clients embed ESG considerations into all their processes.

Our team includes specialists in environment, employment, investment, banking and green finance, charity and governance, disputes and litigation, public and private access to land, energy, corporate structures and transactions, natural capital and commercial real estate. By working together, our experts can call upon both the breadth and depth of our experience. Our broad client base means that we have advised on a wide range of specific projects as well as on general business and legal structures and practices. We provide clear, commercially focused advice to help clients meet their ESG goals and satisfy (or exceed) regulatory requirements. We can also support clients on their B Corp journey. We have experience with regulators and regulations across a broad spectrum of markets and sectors.

We promote legal literacy and leadership development through the Birketts Shaping Excellence training programme, which offers practical modules on employment law, GDPR, equality and inclusion, and ESG governance, empowering teams to lead responsibly and with confidence.

Examples of the services that we offer include:

Governance

ESG-related corporate governance frameworks
Board effectiveness reviews and director duties
ESG clauses in M&A and investment agreements
Regulatory compliance (e.g. FCA ESG Sourcebook, CSRD)
Risk management and internal investigations
Shareholder engagement and activism response

Environmental

Green leases and sustainable real estate advice
Green finance and sustainability-linked lending
Sustainable finance and impact investing legal support
Environmental compliance advice and enforcement defence
Clean energy project structuring and regulatory support
Biodiversity and natural capital legal frameworks
Environmental due diligence in transactions
Advice on public access to land

Social

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategy and data compliance
Modern slavery and human rights due diligence
Community engagement and stakeholder governance
Employment law with ESG integration (e.g. whistleblowing, discrimination)
Ethical sourcing and responsible business conduct
Social impact investment structuring

Cross-Cutting & Sector-Specific Services

ESG litigation and crisis management (e.g. greenwashing, human rights)
ESG due diligence in transactions and investments
ESG reporting and disclosure obligations
Tax and ESG strategy alignment
Technology, AI, and data governance with an ESG lens

Our Experience

Advised M7 Real Estate/Oxford Properties on delivering electric vehicle charging points which will allow charging of up to 2 million vehicles annually.

Since February 2022, Birketts has advised M7 Real Estate on a partnership with SSE Energy Solutions and Oxford Properties to install electric vehicle charging points across 20 UK retail parks. With up to 12 bays per site, the initiative could support 2 million annual charges. This fast-growing legal area is under scrutiny, and Birketts’ involvement highlights its expertise and leadership in commercial property and emerging energy infrastructure law.

Completion of a lease for an electrical substation.

A lease was completed for an electrical substation powering eight ultra-rapid EV chargers at Reading Football Club’s Select Car Leasing Stadium. Birketts acted for the Independent Distribution Network Operator adopting the high and low voltage network linking the site to the regional grid. The chargers were installed by InstaVolt, the UK’s largest open public EV network provider, supporting the expansion of sustainable transport infrastructure at major venues.

Advising circa 60 separate landowners comprising individuals, partnerships, companies and trustee clients and circa 15 additional occupiers and tenants in relation to a windfarm.

Birketts represented landowners and occupiers in negotiations over cable routes from Vattenfall’s Vanguard and Boreas Windfarms across Norfolk. Acting for FBT/AHA tenants, life tenants, and licensees, Birketts secured early access to draft documents and shaped precedents via a panel of land agents. The firm also advised on planning, compound leases, wildlife relocation, and reviewed titles, prepared epitomes, and drafted declarations for unregistered land and lost deeds.