The Legal 500 Green Guide: EMEA 2023

Andersen

Andersen in Spain stands out for its work on circular economy and waste management matters, as well as environmental legislation. The environment and sustainability practice, which forms part of the firm’s public and regulatory department, is led by Arancha Bengoechea. Other sectors covered by the team include water and energy.

The firm regularly provides advice to AMBILAMP and ECOTIC, both Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) dedicated to companies’ proper management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in response to the legal requirements on producers and distributors of such equipment. Another key client is Befesa, a company specialising in the recycling of steel dust, salt slag, and aluminium waste, in connection with environmental matters across its six plants in Spain.

In an ongoing highlight, the firm is advising another PRO, SIGFITO AGROENVASES, on how to comply with their legal waste management obligations, particularly following the approval of Spain’s Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soil for a circular economy, which introduces a new regulatory framework for extended producer responsibility.

Following the approval of Law 7/2022, the firm published a guide analysing the new legislation and organised an event in collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) to discuss the impact and strategies to be followed to create a future economic model based on the circular economy. Additionally, the firm has published a number of thought leadership pieces discussing ESG principles.

The firm has also shown its commitment to sustainability by sponsoring the Climate Launchpad event, a European green business ideas competition for entrepreneurs.

Ashurst

At its Madrid office, Ashurst has a specialised practice handling financial and transactional mandates which support the utilisation and development of renewable energy across Spain.

The firm has demonstrable experience in the renewable energy sector. A key client is Hy24: Andrés Alfonso advised the hydrogen investment fund on its investment in a joint venture company with Enagás toward pursuing the production and commercialisation of biogas, hydrogen, and other renewable gas projects.

In the solar power sector, the firm advised energy developer ACS on the sale of a 100 MW solar PV portfolio to operator Sonnedix, supporting the continued delivery of renewable electricity to the Spanish market.

For real estate developer Culmia, the firm assisted with a €135.3m green financing for the development of 1763 affordable rented housing units within the Madrid Regional Government’s Vive plan. The project pursues the city’s social development goals in a sustainable manner, with the houses all targeting a high energy-efficiency rating and at least a BREEAM Very Good certification.

The firm also assists partnerships which aid the construction industry’s green transition, working with McKinsey’s Global Infrastructure Initiative to support the decarbonisation of the built environment, and drafting an EU green leasing white paper for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Within the firm’s global energy transition thought leadership, the Madrid office provides regular updates on the development of renewable energy regulations and legal opportunities.

As a member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, and The Chancery Lane Project, the firm aids the green transition of the legal sector by assisting with the development of green expertise and clauses. Internally, the firm has submitted its Carbon Disclosure Project benchmark and created a global sustainability pledge, in which employees added personal commitments to the firm’s decarbonisation target.

DLA Piper

DLA Piper set up its multidisciplinary ESG group in Spain in 2020. The team stands out for its assistance with the bidding and acquisition process of high-value renewable projects.

Juan Gelabert Chasco leads the firm’s advice to Aquilla Capital on several renewable projects, including the acquisition of a 1200 MW portfolio of 24 PV plants under development in Spain. In another recent matter, head of Spain’s corporate practice José-María Gil-Robles and her team advised Shell on its potential acquisition of several PV plants and wind farms across Spain with around 2.5 GW output.

Internal best practices from across the firm’s global operations include a commitment to sourcing 100% electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030, up from 61% at present, and cutting supply chain emissions by 25%, also by 2030.

Deloitte Legal

Deloitte Legal counts with a specialised Spanish team that stands out for its work with renewable energy projects. Recently, Ignacio Echenagusia and Maria Guinot led the Spanish team advising Kobus Partners in the sale of a portfolio of several photovoltaic projects with a total capacity of 36,8 MW to Sonnedix, a renewable energy group. It also advised Kobus Renewable Energy on the acquisition of three greenfield photovoltaic projects from Esparity Solar, with a total power of 250 MW. In another recent highlight, the firm represented Baywa in the acquisition of a portfolio of 11 PV development projects with a capacity of over 700 MW in Spain, representing one of the largest portfolios available in the Spanish market.

In 2022, the Spanish office approved its local WorldClimate strategy, streamlining different actions to be taken by the firm’s offices globally, in order to achieve its net-zero objectives, namely, reducing the firm’s scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% and achieving 100% energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030. Internally, the firm has implemented a number of sustainable measures, such as the withdrawal of all single-use plastic cups across its Spanish offices, providing staff with reusable cups and bottles instead.

ECIJA

Multi-jurisdictional firm ECIJA works across a range of areas including energy and natural resources, and environment and sustainability. The firm has advised regional governments in Spain on environmental matters, as well as multinationals on how to comply with circular economy laws.

Madrid-based key contact Victor Moralo continues to lead the advice to Greenpeace on a case brought by the NGO and other Spanish ecological groups before the European Commission against the Spanish state for failure to meet the EU’s reuse and recycling targets. In another ongoing highlight, Moralo is advising the citizens’ platform ILP Mar Menor on the parliamentary processing of the proposition of law for the recognition of Mar Menor lagoon, one of the largest coastal lagoons in the western Mediterranean, as legal personality. This decision could represent a milestone for environmental law in the European Union, as it would recognise the fundamental and inalienable rights of nature to exist and develop as an ecosystem worthy of protection in itself.

The firm also demonstrates its commitment to sustainability through a number of internal and external initiatives: All of the firm’s offices collaborate with recycling companies in the purchase of office supplies and maintain active recycling and waste management policies. Aditionally, the firm’s Las Palmas de Gran Canarias office collaborates with Terra Incognita Docs, a company which produces documentaries about the environment to raise awareness among viewers.

GOMEZ-ACEBO & POMBO

Leading multi-service Spanish firm Gómez-Acebo & Pombo has advised clients on environmental and climate change matters for over two decades, standing out in areas such as circular economy and water management. In 2021 the firm launched its GAP Sustainability Group, an initiative to support clients in the implementation of the Agenda 2030 in their businesses. The group provides advice on subjects including green taxation, sustainable mobility, environmental protection, renewable energy, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The firm continues to advise some of Spain’s main recycling and waste management systems, supporting them in the formulation of draft legislation. These include Ecoembes, an environmental organisation engaged in the recycling and eco-design of containers; Ecovidrio, a non-profit responsible for managing glass recycling waste; and Sigaus, a CSR body active in the recycling of electronic, electrical, and non-ferrous metal waste. Additionally, the firm is currently developing a draft regulatory framework for the incorporation of new EU regulation on water reuse.

Head of environment Pedro Poveda has previous experience in the public sector; he was General Subdirector of Regulations in the Ministry of the Environment until 2022. He was also the director of the Instituto Nacional de Administracion Publica (INAP)’s advanced course in environmental law aimed at civil servants in Spain, and is currently finalising his PhD with his thesis on the legal regime of integrated packaging waste management systems.

Eduardo Orteu, who specialises in water law and sustainable development, also seved at the Ministry of Environment for more than 19 years, with an additional seven years’ experience at the Spanish Water Directorate.

Another key team member is Santiago Garrido, who specialises in environment, energy, and climate change.

Garrigues

Leading Spanish multi-national and multi-service firm Garrigues has integrated sustainability as one of its key strategic pillars. The firm demonstrated its commitment early on: It established its environmental practice group in the 90s, signed the UN Global Compact in 2002, and has drawn up its annual carbon emissions since 2004. The firm is active in areas including environment, project finance for renewable energy, sustainable mobility, green transition, and sustainable financing.

Key contacts José Miguel Pinillos and Raúl Suárez Pascual recently co-led the advice to FCC Aqualia regarding a €1.1bn syndicated green corporate loan, which will be used to finance and refinance eligible green projects, such as water and waste treatment, water distribution and storage, renewable energy and sustainable transport. In another recent highlight, Pinillos and Javier Marzo assisted Idalia Capital with a €750m fund compliant with article 9 under the SFDR, which will focus on energy transition assets, specifically those that clearly contribute to the achievement of the energy transition objectives in Spain and the EU.

Internally, the firm’s Eco-Efficiency Plan is a roadmap to more responsible consumption, more sustainable spaces, and a lower carbon footprint. In 2022 the firm compensated for all its emissions of scopes 1 and 2. Additionally, all its paper comes from responsibly managed forests (FSC and PEFC certified), and 100% of the energy it consumes in the EU is guaranteed to be from renewable energy.

The firm is a part of the Climate Ambition Accelerator, an educational programme run by the UN on emissions reduction and science-based goals. It also regularly publishes articles discussing environmental matters as well as monthly newsletters focusing on the most relevant legal news on ESG matters in Spain.

Latham & Watkins LLP

In Madrid, Latham & Watkins LLP has demonstrable experience handling transactions for innovative, eco-friendly companies.  

For Platinum Equity, the firm asssisted with the $4.2bn acquisition of environmental services business Urbaser from China Tianying, providing Urbaser capital to support investments in its waste-to-energy, sustainable urban services, and circular economy solutions divisions. 

The firm also advised The Carlyle Group on its acquisition of a majority stake in plywood producer Garnica Group, which is focused on preserving the ecological balance by working with wood from sustainable and renewable sources. 

As part of the firm’s multinational membership of the Law Firm Sustainability Network, the Madrid office has measured the environmental impact of its operations and implemented footprint-reducing goals across energy efficiency and consumption, electronic waste, and sustainable procurement. Working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, the firm has become carbon neutral for its scopes 1 and 2 emissions through purchasing and retiring carbon credits, and is working to further reduce its carbon footprint through participation in the Science Based Targets Initiative.

Pinsent Masons LLP

Integrated in the firm’s global Climate & Sustainability Advisory practice, Pinsent Masons LLP’s team in Madrid specialises in advising clients in the energy and financial sectors on innovative renewable energy projects.

Borja Martín Ariza advised Enagás on the investment in its affiliate, biogas developer Enagás Renovable, by the clean hydrogen investment platform Hy24. The investment by Hy24’s Clean H2 Infra Fund will accelerate the development of the client’s renewable-to-gas platform, whose portfolio includes a 750 MW electrolysis-capacity green gas project. 

Assisting with an innovative approach to green project finance, senior associate Javier Alagón Serrano advised FinTech platform Fundeen, which crowdfunds investment to provide environmentally sustainable projects an alternative source of funding, on the structuring of the finance for an operational 2.45 MW solar PV installation.

The firm is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and has joined the Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Business Ambition for 1.5°C Campaign. Through the SBTi, the firm has validated its targets to be net zero by 2040 and to use only renewable electricity and have reduced its absolute global greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. These targets are supported within the firm’s Climate Change & Sustainability network, which connects and empowers employees concerned with promoting environmentally friendly attitudes and operations within the firm. 

Alongside sharing green expertise through its memberships in the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance and Legal Sustainability Aliance, the firm created the One Million Hours pledge to augment climate action within the legal community. The pledge seeks to raise one million hours of time among lawyers to provide pro bono advice on projects and initiatives which aim to prevent climate change and biodiversity loss. 

Pérez-Llorca

Spanish multi-service firm Pérez-Llorca counts with a specialised and multidisciplinary team which provides clients with comprehensive advice in relation to the application of ESG criteria and the impact of climate change management. A noteworthy field of expertise also lies in environmental regulation.

In an ongoing highlight, the team is advising LG Electronics on a range of environmental matters, including modifications to the company’s Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) management. The firm is also advising Banco Santander on the implementation of a restoration project led by environmental organisation WWF which aims to repair a protected wetland; the project is a part of the Ramsar Treaty, as well as the Natura 2000 and the Balearic Islands Hydrological plan. Another client is technological startup AirCapture concerning the regulatory environmental barriers for the implementation of its Direct Air Capture, which permits for the capture and reuse of CO2 from the emissions produced during industrial processes.

The firm’s key individuals often engage in relevant publications and events. Recently, José María de Paz spoke at The Future of Sustainable Mobility conference in Madrid, and Josefina García Pedroviejo wrote a publication discussing SFDR and sustainable funds. Additionally, directed by de Paz, over 30 individuals from the firm participated in the collective project ‘Legal Studies on Sustainability: Climate Change and ESG Criteria in Spain and the European Union’, containing an analysis of a wide range of issues related to the management of climate change, energy transition, and sustainable financing.

Internally, the firm has demonstrated its growing commitment to a green transition by publishing its first sustainability report, which includes its environmental performance.