The Legal 500 Green Guide: EMEA

EMEA

Market overview

Welcome to the inaugural EMEA Green Guide.

The EU has been at the forefront of the global fight against climate change and an early mover on ESG-related regulatory action with various pieces of legislation having come into force over the past years, and more on the horizon.

European countries have taken a leadership role in adopting sustainable finance and establishing ESG disclosure policy, and there’s been a robust growth in clean energy across the region. Yet local markets see differences in the pace of progress. Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark take a top position in the transition to sustainable energy; others lag behind.

In the Middle East and Northern Africa, these topics have taken some time to gain recognition but some countries are now moving to emulate the regulatory action in Europe.

The advanced political ESG agenda in Europe has meant that ESG has also become a set part of law firms’ business across the region with ESG work spanning a host of practice areas, and many players realising they need to look inward too and complement their external practice with internal sustainability measures and initiatives.

We hope you find this initial guide to some of the key firms engaging with sustainability within the EMEA region useful, and look forward to continually evolving our coverage as the market develops.

Anna Baubock, Editor green.guide@legal500.com