Bates Wells took an early stance regarding its ESG commitments. As of 2015 it became the first law firm to certify as a B Corp and has since advised numerous businesses on achieving B Corp status. In 2019 the firm achieved net zero on scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions whilst working with experts to further reduce its footprint. The firm is a member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance and founding member of the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance.

Co-leader of the firm’s purpose and impact group Luke Fletcher has played a key role in shaping the ESG policy landscape in the UK having authored the Better Business Act which aligns shareholder and environmental interests. Fletcher also advised the Ashden Trust and Mark Leonard Trust on the landmark High Court Butler-Sloss case; this has allowed climate change mitigation to be prioritised over financial returns in charity trusts.

Another area of expertise is ESG data acquisition and licensing: Richard Marke led the team advising CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) regarding the transfer of intellectual property and employees of its Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) to the IFRS Foundation, and Louise Harman, who co-leads the purpose and impact group, advised Carbon Tracker on the acquisition of CDP’s research division.

Other current key clients include WWF, ClientEarth and Ripple Energy.