GREEN GUIDE EMEA 2023: Poland
Dentons
UN Global Compact signatory Dentons has a sustainability and governance committee, which advises the leadership on ESG issues affecting the firm, and a global ESG steering committee responsible for developing ESG products and services for clients. In 2022, the firm also created a Europe Public Law and Regulatory practice which provides advice on climate change and environmental law, as well as a new Europe Green and Circular Economy sector group. In Poland, in December 2021, the firm’s environmental team in Warsaw launched its PLM (product lifecycle management) offering focused on advising clients on green compliance and upholding the principles of a circular economy.
In a recent highlight, the Warsaw public law and regulatory as well as energy teams advised Modus Asset Management, a Lithuanian fund manager focusing on renewable energy investments, on the acquisition of 100% of shares in a portfolio of 28 photovoltaic projects in Poland, amounting up to 30 MW. In another recent matter, a multi-disciplinary team assisted a consortium of banks with the financing provided to Goldbeck Solar and Respect Energy for the construction and operation of one of the largest standalone solar PV farms in Poland.
Firm-wide initiatives include the contribution of several thought leadership pieces via the firm’s ESG : Global Solutions Hub, and pro bono advice to a number of organisations such as the Environmental Defence Fund.
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HANTON
Multi-service Polish law firm Hanton has broad experience in the renewable energy and railway transport sectors, and also advises companies and local authorities on matters concerning the protection of the natural environment as well as agricultural and forestry lands, alongside expertise in the Water Law Act.
The firm is currently advising ENEA Group, which supplies energy to over two million people, on the transition to more renewable energy sources, and on the project of shutting down the operation of Koezienice Power Plant’s eight 200MW coal-fired power units. It is also acting for Net Cable on four projects for the construction of renewable electricity sources, namely photovoltaic farms, as well as the construction of a factory intended for recycling photovoltaic panels.
In an attempt to obtain legal protection for a green area, the firm advised on protecting the historic park of the Warsaw School of Life Sciences in Mokotow. Obtained legal measures through negotiations with residents, investors and city’s officials would prevent changes in the soil structure, and the irretrievable loss of a number of rare species of trees and shrubs, both native and foreign.
Another notable client is the Clean Air Foundation (Fundacja Czyste Powietrze). Besides providing legal advice, the firm has partnered with the foundation for its international climate summit TOGETAIR.
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Dentons
UN Global Compact signatory Dentons has a sustainability and governance committee, which advises the leadership on ESG issues affecting the firm, and a global ESG steering committee responsible for developing ESG products and services for clients. In 2022, the firm also created a Europe Public Law and Regulatory practice which provides advice on climate change and environmental law, as well as a new Europe Green and Circular Economy sector group. In Poland, in December 2021, the firm’s environmental team in Warsaw launched its PLM (product lifecycle management) offering focused on advising clients on green compliance and upholding the principles of a circular economy.
In a recent highlight, the Warsaw public law and regulatory as well as energy teams advised Modus Asset Management, a Lithuanian fund manager focusing on renewable energy investments, on the acquisition of 100% of shares in a portfolio of 28 photovoltaic projects in Poland, amounting up to 30 MW. In another recent matter, a multi-disciplinary team assisted a consortium of banks with the financing provided to Goldbeck Solar and Respect Energy for the construction and operation of one of the largest standalone solar PV farms in Poland.
Firm-wide initiatives include the contribution of several thought leadership pieces via the firm’s ESG : Global Solutions Hub, and pro bono advice to a number of organisations such as the Environmental Defence Fund.
HANTON
Multi-service Polish law firm Hanton has broad experience in the renewable energy and railway transport sectors, and also advises companies and local authorities on matters concerning the protection of the natural environment as well as agricultural and forestry lands, alongside expertise in the Water Law Act.
The firm is currently advising ENEA Group, which supplies energy to over two million people, on the transition to more renewable energy sources, and on the project of shutting down the operation of Koezienice Power Plant’s eight 200MW coal-fired power units. It is also acting for Net Cable on four projects for the construction of renewable electricity sources, namely photovoltaic farms, as well as the construction of a factory intended for recycling photovoltaic panels.
In an attempt to obtain legal protection for a green area, the firm advised on protecting the historic park of the Warsaw School of Life Sciences in Mokotow. Obtained legal measures through negotiations with residents, investors and city’s officials would prevent changes in the soil structure, and the irretrievable loss of a number of rare species of trees and shrubs, both native and foreign.
Another notable client is the Clean Air Foundation (Fundacja Czyste Powietrze). Besides providing legal advice, the firm has partnered with the foundation for its international climate summit TOGETAIR.
B2R Law Jankowski Stroinski Zieba
Polish multi-service firm B2R Law Jankowski Stroinski Zieba, formed through the merger of JS Legal and Zieba & Partners in June 2020, advises clients on matters including sustainability, climate change, and diversity. It is one of the first Polish firms to establish an ESG practice, and an active participant in leading ESG-related events in the Polish market.
In an ongoing highlight, key ESG contact Aleksandra Polak and Rafał Stroiński are advising Triggo, a Polish company whose activities focus on the construction of the electric city vehicle ‘Triggo’, on its IPO at the Warsaw Stock Exchange. Polak and Rafał Zięba also recently led the advice to Johnson Matthey regarding its agreement with Axpo Polska, which will provide renewable electricity to the client’s new factory in Konin. The factory will supply automotive platforms with automotive battery applications and will be fully powered by renewable energy from the outset. In another recent highlight, the firm advised a Chinese buyer on the acquisition of a portfolio of photovoltaic power plants with a total capacity of 51 MW.
The firm’s leading disputes practice is a signatory to the Greener Litigation Pledge, thereby committing to taking active steps to reduce the environmental impact of the practice.
In the thought leadership space, Polak was recently a speaker on a panel discussion regarding ESG reporting, and Luiza Wyrębkowska participated in a panel regarding the financial aspects of sustainable development, where she discussed topics such as green financing and the sustainable finance taxonomy.
CWW Kancelaria Prawnicza sp.k.
Polish firm CWW Kancelaria Prawnicza sp.k. counts with over 20 years of experience in the energy sector, and specialises in providing advice on renewable resources. The firm has advised on several sustainable investment projects including photovoltaic power plants and wind farms, among others.
Key individuals Tomasz Dobrzyński and Marcin Mucharski are currently advising SFW Energia on the construction of a biomass and alternative fuels combustion plant in the city of Gliwice. The pair is also assisting the same client with the construction of a thermal treatment installation for municipal waste in the city of Zduńska Wola.
Additionally, the firm is acting for a client in the energy sector concerning a project that aims to improve air quality through the use of waste heat, while assisting another client with a project that aims to supply heat and cold from a renewable energy source.
Outside of its client work, the firm’s team regularly gives guest lectures at the German Law School of the University of Wrocław on its activities and on environmental protection issues concerning renewable energy resources.
EY Law Poland
EY Law in Poland stands out for its work in the areas of energy and environmental law, advising clients on matters in connection with climate change and emissions trading, and acting in the capacity of regulatory advocacy strategists. The firm often supports lawmakers, regulators, and other industries in developing sustainable climate and energy policy for Poland.
Under the firm’s EU Green Deal Center of Excellence, it provides advice around EU Green Deal policies, including on carbon pricing and decarbonisation strategies. Furthermore, under its EY Center for Climate Policy, it advises governments which are setting up domestic climate regimes, and business entities which are subject to carbon pricing systems and active players on voluntary carbon markets.
At the request of an independent statutory body advising on climate change, Kasia Klaczynska Lewis, who heads up the energy, sustainable development and climate change team, together with Dariusz Kryczka and Malwina Burzec conducted a review of the assessment principles for international offsets in the context of the Paris Agreement. The review provides advice on the principles and criteria to be applied to the use of international offsets and specifies the offsets which could be eligible. Lewis also acted for the European Commission in connection with advice to a group of major Polish airports regarding the building of skills necessary to calculate their carbon footprint and prepared a proposal of policy measures related to the commitment of CO2 emissions reduction at the airports.
Of note is also the firm’s recent collaboration with the Harvard Law School Center on the 2022 General Counsel Sustainability Study, which analyses how law departments are responding to the rising importance of sustainability issues.
Greenberg Traurig LLP
In Poland, Greenberg Traurig LLP’s ESG practice, headed by senior associate Joanna Kuc, advises clients on various matters ranging from environmental and regulatory compliance, and natural resource management, to renewable energy and carbon footprint reduction. Additionally, the firm counts with an independent environmental protection practice, led by Barbara Pancer, which provides clients with advice on various aspects of Polish environmental legislation.
Recently, the firm advised Polsat Plus Group on the planned acquisition of Polish energy group ZE PAK’s green assets by media and telecoms company Cyfrowy Polsat, adding green energy to the group’s other strategic pillars of media and telecoms. The planned investments in the development of clean energy exceed PLN1.6bn and would enable generation capacity to reach 100 MW and significantly contribute to the value chain of an economy based on hydrogen. The team also recently acted for ZE PAK regarding the establishment of a joint venture with Ørsted in order to participate in permitting and construction procedures for wind farms in the Baltic Sea.
Other recent work includes advising PAK-Polska Czysta Energia on the acquisition of two wind farms, one based in the Człuchów municipality and the other located in the Przyrów municipality.
The team regularly contributes to thought leadership in the ESG space. Pancer has authored a number of publications on ESG-related topics, including articles on decarbonising the construction industry and on green building standards. She has also participated in various events concerning environmental protection, such as the Polish Construction Law Congress event on waste management in the implementation of construction projects. Kuc regularly contributes to the firm’s Environmental, Social & Governance alert, which provides a monthly summary of ESG developments.
The firm’s Warsaw office is located in the Varso Tower, one of the world’s tallest buildings to be awarded the highest level of BREEAM interim certification.
Kieltyka Gladkowski KG Legal
Besides its green energy practice, polish firm Kieltyka Gladkowski KG Legal also stands out for its involvement in legal projects related to green technology, namely green cryptocurrencies. Notably, the firm applies client acceptance policies aligned to ESG criteria; for example, as a rule, it does not provide legal assistance to clients regarded as polluters.
In an ongoing highlight, the firm’s founding partners Malgorzata Kieltyka and Kazimierz Jakub Gladkowski are assisting a foreign investor specialising in the biofuels market by conducting a due diligence of the legal status of biomass as well as aerothermal energy, agricultural biogas, geothermal installations and hydropower. Kieltyka and Gladkowski were also recently asked to prepare a report on the Polish legal requirements and legal basis for green cryptocurrencies. Their work included providing recommendations on the planned framework that proposes a prohibition of crypto services that rely on environmentally unsustainable consensus mechanisms. In another recent highlight, Gładkowski advised a leading global financial services provider on the implementation of green energy and sustainable data scraping and data crawling.
The firm is actively engaged in an initiative led by the Polish Life Science Cluster network which focuses on a clean energy transition toward renewable energy sources. Furthermore, it participates in events organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, contributing to conferences covering topics including electric vehicles, vehicle to grid (V2G), and energy storage. It also takes part in events organised by the International Renewable Energy Agency, and in trade fairs, such as the Solar Energy Expo – International Industry Fair for the Renewable Energy Sources Industry.