Kirkland & Ellis’ sustainability practice is a vital advisor to major global and climate-aligned funds on formation and structuring, responsible strategy and investing, and disclosure and compliance mandates.

A key client is private equity firm EQT, whom the firm advised on the formation, impact framework design, and EU SFDR and Taxonomy alignment of its €3bn EQT Future Fund, which will invest into impact objectives including climate and nature. The fund, innovative for wiring emissions reductions into its incentive structure, will implement science-based targets within its portfolio companies to promote transparent and veracious emissions reductions.

For B-Corp-certified asset manager Helios Investment Partners, sustainability strategy and regulation experts Rhys Davies and Daniel D’Ambrosio are advising on the launch of the CLEAR climate impact-focused thematic growth fund. With a target size of $400m, the fund will seek investment opportunities in African businesses across climate-smart agriculture, green transport and energy, resource efficiency, and climate enablement. Assisting in the formation and deployment of the fund, the firm provided advice across sustainable finance and climate risk management matters.

For global asset manager TPG, the firm is assisting in the formation of the Rise Climate Fund, which has a mandate to invest in climate change mitigation companies across the energy transition, green mobility, sustainable fuels, and carbon solutions segments. The team’s advice helps support the client in compliance with emerging disclosure regimes, developing a sustainability due diligence strategy, and enabling portfolio companies to bolster their sustainability performance.

The firm also makes a key contribution through its sustainability thought leadership offering, providing insights into topics including sustainability disclosure requirements, nature-related reporting, and sustainability requirements for in-house counsel. The sustainability practice is representing Invest Europe in updating its investor reporting guidelines to be aligned with the fast-moving sustainability landscape.