The Legal 500 Green Guide: EMEA 2023

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP has positioned itself in France as a key advisor to clients in the financing of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure and solar projects. 

The firm advised portfolio management company RGreen Invest on its creation of the NW Storm joint vehicle with NW Group and an associated €300m investment, which will accelerate and expand the deployment of EV charging stations and energy storage solutions.  

In the solar power sector, David Blondel advised retail banking network Crédit du Nord on the financing of the acquisition of three shade houses with solar panel rooftops; and a Crédit du Nord, Caisse d’Epargne Ile de France, BPI France, and NATIXIS consortium as lenders on a 25 MW portfolio of 252 operating and developing rooftop solar farms. The firm also advised financial institution Caisse d’Epargne CEPAC and renewable energy producer Arkolia Energies on its ‘Avalanche’ programme, which involved the financing of 213 rooftop solar farms and a 22.8 MW ground solar farm. For Credit Agricole du Languedoc, the firm assisted with the implementation of a revolving credit facility for Energie Developpement, a global renewable energy producer formed as a joint venture between Amarenco and TotalEnergies, to support the expansion of the solar buildings market. 

Jean-Pierre Delvigne is a key figure in thought leadership, having written articles both on the French PV contract regime and on state liability for environmental harm amid the worsening impacts of climate change, with the latter article co-authored by associate Maryne Gouhier.

Toward reducing its own environmental impact and carbon emissions, the firm has established a Sustainability Committee which identifies and manages internal initiatives. Key are the firm’s Sustainability Practices, directives which gather all personnel to support the green transition through measures like conserving water, waste, and electricity. The firm’s Paris office boasts a BREEAM Excellent certification.

CMS

UN Global Compact signatory firm CMS counts on a specialised French team that often advises clients on sustainable finance matters.

In collaboration with the firm’s Spain office, the French team, led by Céline Cloché-Dubois and Alexandra Rohmert, recently advised Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy on the sale of a 3.9 GW portfolio of onshore wind projects worth €580m to SSE Renewables. The portfolio includes projects in France, Italy, Spain, and Greece. The team also recently assisted TKYB with its first sustainability bond worth €100m; it was issued under TKYB’s Sustainable Finance Framework, which is aligned with the International Capital Market Association Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, and Sustainability Bond Guidelines. At least 75% of the proceeds of the issue of the bond will be used to fund green projects.

In 2021, the firm formed a partnership with the French National Forest Office, planting 2.5 hectares of trees and offsetting 407 tonnes of carbon emissions. To measure its carbon footprint and set emission reduction targets, the firm will work together with D-carbonise, a provider of carbon footprint management services.

Firmwide measures include the launch of the CMS Green Globe initiative, a platform which aims to keep clients updated about trends and developments relating to sustainability. It also offers training sessions to clients, helping them stay ahead of the ESG regulatory framework.

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

In Paris, UN Global Compact member Herbert Smith Freehills LLP has a strong sustainable finance practice. Its portfolio of major transactions recently included advice to customer service company Teleperformance on its inaugural issuance of €500m of sustainability-linked bonds, with the interest rate linked to reductions of their carbon emissions.

The firm is active in advising leading aerospace industry clients on sustainable financing matters, crucial to supporting the sector’s decarbonisation strategies. Highlights include assisting Safran with the negotiation of a €2bn ESG-linked syndicated revolving credit facility agreement and handling the negotiation of an €8bn sustainability-linked revolving credit facilities agreement for Airbus.

Notable individuals at the Paris office offer their expertise within the dedicated specialisms of the firm’s global, cross-practice ESG team. Within the cross-office Sustainable and Green Finance team, Louis de Longeaux is a key contact, while in the core Climate Change practice, Mathias Dantin provides experience on major energy deals which help corporate clients further their decarbonisation strategies.

Key to the firm’s offering is the provision of guidance notes, commentary, and legal updates through its ESG Transformation Hub, which produces podcasts, webinars, and development trackers across regulatory change, activism, reporting, and decarbonisation. 

Within its global sustainability strategy, and supporting its commitment to become net zero by 2030, the firm certified its near-term reduction targets with the Science Based Targets Initiative and verified its footprint data through the Carbon Disclosure Project. 

As a member of the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, Legal Sustainability Alliance, and Campaign for Greener Arbitrations, the firm has helped share knowledge and best practice to improve green expertise while reducing the environmental impact of legal work. 

An example of the firm’s international pro bono clients is the Legal Response Initiative, which supports developing nation delegations and NGOs in relation to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Hogan Lovells

In Paris, Hogan Lovells assists with transactions and financings for leading clients who bring innovative solutions to the green transition within energy, transport and the food industry. 

A key client is Denham Capital, which sought the firm’s advice on the acquisition of the project company managing the 34 MW Djermaya solar power plant and accompanied 4 MW battery electricity storage system. The client’s investment will support the project’s construction, helping expand Chad’s electricity capacity and boosting the nation’s transition away from fossil-fuel reliance. 

The firm also advised Equinor on its investment in Lithium de France, which creates sustainable batteries for the electric vehicle industry through combining the production of zero-carbon geothermal energy with the environmentally friendly extraction of subsurface lithium.

Demonstrating expertise in innovative green financings, the firm represented Ÿnsect in the closing of €750m of C series funding. Consequentially, Ÿnsect can upscale its insect-based protein production, which seeks to decarbonise the food supply chain by circumventing the emissions, water consumption, and land use of the meat-farming industry. 

Vincent Fidelle is highly active assisting with the issuance of green bonds, having advised ALD on the €500m issuance of its inaugural green and positive impact bond, which is aligned with the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative’s Principles for Positive Impact Finance; and RTE on its inaugural €850m green bond issuance. 

Alongside being a member of The Chancery Lane Project, supporting the development of climate change-focused contracts within the legal sector, the firm is a signatory to the UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C and Race to Zero. Through the Science Based Targets initiative, the firm has committed to both reduce 90% of its scopes 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 2030 and become net zero by 2030, implementing a global net zero strategy which currently prioritises the transition to renewable energy, sustainable procurement, and green real estate.

Latham & Watkins LLP

Latham & Watkins LLP’s Paris office plays a major role within the firm’s multijurisdictional, cross-practice ESG group, which provides advice across sustainable governance, the energy transition, sustainable finance, and environmental litigation.  

In a pioneering green financing matter, Thomas Margenet-Baudry advised industrial equipment leasing company Loxam regarding its €130m loan from the European Investment Bank. The loan, the first to be certified as an EIB Green Loan, will facilitate the electrification and greening of Loxam’s fleet, supporting the company’s decarbonising policy of replacing its existing fossil fuel-based equipment with low-carbon alternatives. 

Key Paris-based contacts within the firm’s ESG team include Roberto Reyes Gaskin, who provides expertise in energy and infrastructure projects, green bonds and sustainable finance, and ESG best practices; and Thomas Vogel, who has experience in renewable energy transactions, including in green hydrogen. The ESG practice provides cross-practice advice to members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a CEO-led collaboration between the world’s largest companies who together seek to accelerate the green transition and support sustainably operating businesses. It also co-developed the software tool ‘RiskHorizon’ to help industry-leading clients understand ESG risk and incorporate it into their traditional risk management processes. 

As a founding member of the pro bono initiative Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy, which offers free legal services to sustainability-focused start-ups and non-profits, the firm’s Paris team assisted Plastic Odyssey, a research platform that develops and provides solutions to combat plastic pollution. 

The firm is also a member of the Science Based Targets initiative and the Law Firm Sustainability Network, and has measured the environmental impact of its own operations. It has implemented footprint-reducing goals across energy efficiency and consumption, electronic waste, and sustainable procurement.  

Linklaters LLP

Linklaters LLP in France counts with a team specialised in sustainable finance work.

Bruno Derieux and Julien Bourmaud-Danto are leading the advice to ARDIAN and FiveT Hydrogen on the launch of Hy24, one of the world’s largest clean hydrogen infrastructure investment platforms, targeting €1.7bn for its first fund designed to invest in projects that are critical to global decarbonisation.

The team also recently advised ARISE Infrastructure Services on its 35% investment in Aera Group, one of the largest independent originators and traders of voluntary carbon credits in Africa.

NW Storm, a French leader in battery-based electricity storage and charging stations for electric vehicles, sought the firm’s advice on its €300m fundraising from RGreen Invest, a management company dedicated to investments in green infrastructure and technologies.

Globally, the firm has an ISO14001:2015 certified global environmental management system programme in place, as well as ambitious carbon reduction targets which are grounded in climate science and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. It now sources over 70% of all its electricity from certified renewables sources, and offsets over 22,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions associated with its business activities and travel through the Gola Rainforest Conservation Project in Sierra Leone.

Seattle Avocats

French boutique law firm Seattle Avocats is experienced in corporate accountability law and in particular matters concerning the compensation and prevention of environmental damage and environmental duty of care, often acting in high-profile cases. For example, the firm represented Surfrider Foundation Europe, Client Earth, and Zero Waste France in the issuance of warnings to Danone over its failure to reduce its plastic footprint; Danone’s response was deemed inadequate by the activist groups who are now suing the company.

In another matter of significance, the team supports Oxfam France, Friends of the Earth France and Notre Affaire à Tous who accuse BNP Paribas of failing to apply climate change due diligence due to its continued financing of oil and gas projects. In October 2022 the NGOs gave BNP three months to comply with the Paris Agreement and completely stop its support for new fossil fuel projects. Failure to do so will lead to a referral to the Paris court and what could be the first climate litigation in the world involving a commercial bank.

Sebastien Mabile has a deep knowledge of French due diligence law and provides numerous training sessions for judges, both on ecological damage and on the “devoir de vigilance”. At Po Paris School for International Affairs Mabile lectures on environmental law and also chairs the “Environmental Law and Policies” Commission of the IUCNs French Committee.

Simmons & Simmons

Simmons & Simmons’ office in Paris, which recently obtained Ecovadis certification, stands out for its work in the sustainable finance space, with a focus on green funds.

Paris-based Agnès Rossi and others recently assisted French investment management company RGREEN INVEST with the closing of its INFRAGREEN IV fund, a Greenfin labelled fund dedicated to investments in infrastructure projects related to energy transition and climate change adaptation in Europe, bringing the total commitment of the fund to €670m. Rossi also recently handled the second generation of Meridiam’s Africa infrastructure fund, Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund II, which will invest in greenfield infrastructure projects across the region. Additionally, she advised the European gas transmission system operators Enagas, Snam, and GRTgaz on a multi-jurisdictional matter regarding an agreement to set up shared initiatives aimed at supporting and exploring projects to accelerate the clean hydrogen market.

The firm demonstrated its commitment to ESG by appointing a specialised global head of ESG in 2022 to oversee the development of the firm’s ESG strategy across all practice areas and offices. The firm also counts with an integrated international ESG SteerCo which leads and supports ESG matters, as well as an environmental sustainability network, the green room, which links together the firm’s internal sustainability initiatives and aims for collaboration with clients to achieve greater impact. Clients also benefit from the firm’s ESG Global Solutions, a suite of innovative tools and resources on the broad spectrum of ESG.

Internationally, the firm is one of the first to achieve carbon-neutral status in 2006 and recently submitted a letter of commitment to the SBTi pledging to set science-based targets to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals.