The Act demonstrates the UK’s renewed commitment to reaching net zero and paves the way for players in key industries to achieve their targets. By Tom Bartlett, Paul A. Davies, JP Sweny, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Samuel Burleton On 26 October 2023, the UK Energy Act 2023 (the Act) received Royal Assent. The … Continue Reading
The government published a new document outlining its existing and proposed objectives to develop the UK’s sustainable economy. By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 30 March 2023, the UK government published an updated version of its Green Finance Strategy (the Strategy), titled “Mobilising Green Investment”. The Strategy is part of the UK government’s … Continue Reading
With the recent UK “Green Day” announcements confirming the government’s support for CCUS, interest in UK CCUS projects is expected to continue to grow. While there are significant opportunities for investors, careful consideration will be needed to navigate a number of industry specific issues to achieve a successful CCUS project. By Beatrice Lo, JP Sweny, Simon … Continue Reading
The UK government has unveiled a number of measures with the overall purpose of reaching net zero by 2050 and meeting the UK’s climate targets. By Paul A. Davies, Beatrice Lo, JP Sweny, Simon Tysoe, Michael D. Green, and James Bee On 30 March 2023, on what has been called the UK’s “green day”, the … Continue Reading
A court recently found that UK authorities did not fetter their discretion by not investigating general cotton imports potentially produced by the forced labour of Uyghur people in China. By Stuart Alford KC, Clare Nida, Nathan Seltzer, Paul Davies, Michael Green, James Bee, and Esha Marwaha On 20 January 2023, the High Court ruled against … Continue Reading
The discussion paper aims to encourage industry-wide dialogue on sustainability related-governance, incentives, and competence. By Anne Mainwaring, Sara Sayma, and Dianne Bell On 10 February 2023, the FCA published DP23/1: Finance for positive sustainable change: governance, incentives and competence in regulated firms. The FCA considers that a firm’s governance, purpose, and culture are central to … Continue Reading
A new Latham & Watkins guide examines the recent increase in whistleblowing and poses self-assessment questions against which firms can benchmark themselves. By David Berman, Andrea Monks, Nell Perks, Nathan H. Seltzer, Becky Critchley, and Charlie Bowden Many sectors, including financial services, have encountered a discernible increase in whistleblows in recent times — a trend … Continue Reading
The Financial Services Skills Commission has issued an insight paper outlining how companies can collect and evaluate data on employees’ socioeconomic backgrounds. By David Berman, Nicola Higgs, Rob Moulton, and Dianne Bell Socioeconomic backgrounds of employees and socioeconomic diversity at senior levels across the UK financial services industry is beginning to feature more prominently in … Continue Reading
A recent report concluded that modern slavery considerations are still not a mainstream concern for many companies. By Clare Nida In April 2022, the Financial Reporting Council, the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and Lancaster University published a report on Modern Slavery Reporting Practices in the UK (FRC Report), which concluded that reporting on modern slavery in … Continue Reading
The new rules provide issuers with flexibility to report on representation of women by reference to either gender identity or sex. By Chris Horton, James Inness, Anna Ngo, Nicola Higgs, David Berman, Rob Moulton, and Johannes Poon On 20 April 2022, the FCA published its final policy decision on the proposals set out in CP … Continue Reading
Dealmakers should continue to weigh the impact of ESG issues on M&A deals as ESG standards evolve. By Richard Butterwick, Pierre-Louis Cléro, Paul A. Davies, Tobias Larisch, Michael D. Green, James Bee, and Catherine Campbell Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues have become increasingly important for corporates in recent years, driven initially by investor and … Continue Reading
