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.