GREEN GUIDE EMEA 2023: Portugal
PLMJ
Leading multi-service Portuguese law firm PLMJ‘s responsible business practice, which launched in 2021, continues to advise clients on sustainable and social financing and business ethics. The firm assists clients in areas including the preparation of sustainability policies, the analysis of reporting duties in ESG matters, and the structuring of contracts and bond issues aligned with sustainability indicators, with a focus on the energy sector.
In a highlight led by key contact João Marques Mendes , member of the projects and energy practice, and others, the firm is advising Start Campus on the innovative SINES 4.0 project, a €3.5bn investment for a 495MW hyperscale data centre in Sines, fully powered by renewable energy, simultaneously ensuring both a digital and a green transition. Mendes also recently advised over 10 banks including Millenium BCP and CaixaBI on the public subscription offer of bonds of up to €100m notes, due in 2027 and issued by Greenvolt, the proceeds of which will be used to finance or refinance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in accordance with the Green Bond Framework.
Managing associate Joana Brandão and her multi-disciplinary team continue to assist Eco Wave Power in the implementation of an innovative project which will potentially serve as an experimental concept to further develop wave energy projects in Portugal.
In addition to being one of the founding partners of Maze-C, a startup for tech-based impact, the firm also helped create Urbem, a non-profit association that aims to create urban biodiversity spaces through the planning of urban forests.
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PLMJ
Leading multi-service Portuguese law firm PLMJ‘s responsible business practice, which launched in 2021, continues to advise clients on sustainable and social financing and business ethics. The firm assists clients in areas including the preparation of sustainability policies, the analysis of reporting duties in ESG matters, and the structuring of contracts and bond issues aligned with sustainability indicators, with a focus on the energy sector.
In a highlight led by key contact João Marques Mendes , member of the projects and energy practice, and others, the firm is advising Start Campus on the innovative SINES 4.0 project, a €3.5bn investment for a 495MW hyperscale data centre in Sines, fully powered by renewable energy, simultaneously ensuring both a digital and a green transition. Mendes also recently advised over 10 banks including Millenium BCP and CaixaBI on the public subscription offer of bonds of up to €100m notes, due in 2027 and issued by Greenvolt, the proceeds of which will be used to finance or refinance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in accordance with the Green Bond Framework.
Managing associate Joana Brandão and her multi-disciplinary team continue to assist Eco Wave Power in the implementation of an innovative project which will potentially serve as an experimental concept to further develop wave energy projects in Portugal.
In addition to being one of the founding partners of Maze-C, a startup for tech-based impact, the firm also helped create Urbem, a non-profit association that aims to create urban biodiversity spaces through the planning of urban forests.
Linklaters LLP
Linklaters LLP in Portugal has demonstrable experience in the renewable energy sector. In an ongoing highlight, the team is assisting Marguerite Adviser with the operation of two biomass power plants in Portugal with a total capacity of 30 MW. It also recently advised MEAG on the financing of the construction and operation of a 444 MW solar photo-voltaic portfolio in Portugal, being developed by Akuo.
Additionally, Diogo Plantier Santos and Joana Almeida led the team in advising Power Dot in one of the major deals in the electric mobility sector in Portugal, worth around €150m, the proceeds of which will be used to deploy a charging network for electric cars in Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Poland.
Noteworthy pro bono mandates include the firm’s work for B-Lab, the founder and administrator of B-Corp certifications.
Beyond its work portfolio, the firm aims to raise clients’ awareness around sustainability through several initiatives, such as its global ESG Legal Outlook publication which explores global ESG themes and was launched in 2021.
Internally, the firm has set carbon reduction targets that are approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, and sources over 70% of its electricity from certified renewables sources. It also has an ISO14001:2015 certified global environmental management programme in place.
Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados
Portuguese firm Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados counts with a specialised energy law department and a multidisciplinary team specialised in ESG and human rights. It works in the areas of energy transition, climate change and environmental law, covering sectors including renewable energy and hydrogen, electric mobility, biodiversity and ecosystems, and circular economy.
The firm is currently advising Start Campus in connection with the development of up to 1.5GW solar generation capacity dedicated to supplying renewable power to a 495MW green data centre in Sines. In another ongoing highlight, Vítor Pereira das Neves is leading the team advising the consortium for the development of a major green hydrogen production project in Portugal; it aims to install a 10MW electrolysis facility to evolve up to 1GW of electrolysis capacity supported by 1.5GW of renewable electric power. Two other clients are EDP and Windplus regarding all legal matters related to the operation of an innovative offshore floating wind farm, among other matters.
In order to incorporate environmental best practices into its development strategy and operations, the firm created ML Green, an internal package of initiatives led by Luís do Nascimento Ferreira, which, among other aims, promotes environmental awareness, offers environmental training, and carries out an environmental evaluation of products and services offered by the firm’s suppliers.
The team’s regular contributions to thought leadership in the ESG arena includes Diana Ribeiro Duarte, Pedro Capitão Barbosa and Sofia Araújo Matias’ recent article in the EMEA ESG Report 2022 discussing how to avoid becoming lost in ESG compliance in the EU. João Tiago Silveira and Rui de Oliveira Neves authored the article ESG – Sustainability Tailwinds, published by Lexology, where they discuss how Portugal is favouring local communities’ engagement in the renewables business.
Raposo Bernardo
In 2021, full-service Portuguese law firm Raposo Bernardo launched its free ESG training programme to educate clients on new regulations and requirements as well as offering a subsidised ESG due diligence service. It holds its own suppliers to the same ESG criteria.
As part of its work portfolio, the firm assists clients across a range of sectors with the development of internal sustainability best practices and initiatives. In the aviation industry, a recent client, World 2 Fly, has committed to the ambitious decarbonisation target of halving its carbon emissions by 2050. A team led by corporate co-head Joana Andrade Correia advised the airline on contracts of fuel acquisition to enable zero-carbon flights in the near future through hydrogen, Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and nature-based solutions. This work included setting up the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation to ensure a percentage of fuel is sustainably sourced.
Also of note is Andrade and managing partner Nelson Raposo Bernardo’s advice to Finnco Packaging Iberia in relation to achieving and maintaining the two most important environmental certifications in the forestry industry: the FSC and PEFC.
Furthermore, the firm regularly assists clients in relation to green bonds, such as Interpass Group Business Conglomerates on its €22.5m placement for investment in PV systems.
TELLES
Portuguese multi-service law firm Telles counts with an environment and climate change practice and an energy and natural resources practice, both led by key contact Ivone Rocha. Additionally, in 2022 the firm created a multidisciplinary team to help its clients embed net-zero and ESG ambitions into their corporate strategy by advising them on matters including waste regulation, energy transition and decarbonisation.
In an ongoing highlight, Rocha is leading the advice to AdEPorto (Agência de Energia do Porto) on the design of all legal and procurement frameworks needed for the implementation of the PEER project, which aims to develop the Porto Energy Hub, a renovation programme striving to fight energy poverty by promoting energy efficiency in buildings, renewable energy communities and collective self-consumption. Rocha is also acting for all the municipalities of the Porto Metropolitan Area in connection with the large-scale development of decentralised renewable energy generation in public buildings, allowing for more environmentally sustainable energy generation.
Another current highlight led by Rocha is the advice to a group of companies in relation to the H2 Driven project, a joint venture for the development of industrial facilities to produce hydrogen and ammonia, powered by solar photovoltaic plants.
Highly engaged outside of her work for clients, Rocha has co-authored publications on climate change and the Paris Agreement, and is a member of the ICC Climate Arbitration Task Force; a founding and board member of the Sustainable Growth Platform; president of the Fiscal Council of Portuguese Electric Mobility Association; and a member of the ‘Women for Climate’ movement.
The firm is a founder of Business As Usual, an NGO aiming to promote gender equality and sustainable consumption by promoting circular economy projects, as well as two associations which aim to promote energy knowledge, literacy, and policy: APDEN (Portuguese Energy Law Association) and EFELA (Energy Federation of Energy Law Association).
Vieira de Almeida
Leading Portuguese firm, Vieira de Almeida provides legal services in the areas of climate change, carbon trading, green taxation, environmental regulation, and energy transition and decarbonisation. Additionally, it has a team specialised in the legal impacts and implications of the constantly evolving environmental regulatory framework across various sectors. The firm’s ESG Integrated Services Platform, coordinated by of counsel and head of the environment practice Assunção Cristas, brings together all relevant practice areas to provide clients with an integrated ESG view of their activities and transactions in Portugal and aboard.
In the financing space, the firm continues to advise Greenvolt on the issue of green bonds with a total nominal value of €100m, the proceeds of which shall be allocated under the Green Bond Framework to the financing of renewable energy, integrated pollution control and prevention projects. The firm also advised all parties involved in the public subscription offering launched by Mota-Engil representative of the bond issue denominated “Sustainability-linked Bonds Mota-Engil 2022-2027” of up to €70,000,000 Notes due in 2027.
In another highlight, the firm assisted with the setting up of a Portuguese law governed real estate investment fund aiming at investing in the sustainable forestry and agriculture sectors, the first of this kind qualified as an Article 9 financial product under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“dark green” product) committed to climate goals but also biodiversity protection and recovery.
The firm’s internal ESG strategy is led at the highest level by senior partner Joao Vieira de Almeida. The firm has been measuring its carbon footprint since 2011 in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol methodology, monitoring its performance in terms of energy consumption, materials, water, and mobility. Its Green Project promotes the adoption of sustainable practices with the goal of obtaining zero-carbon status.
The firm is a member of the UN Global Compact, the Legal Sustainability Alliance, and Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) Portugal, as well as a signatory of initiatives including act4nature Portugal and Lisboa Green European Capital 2020.