Sustainability meaning

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. UCITS is the acronym for undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities. The expression derives from Directive (EC) 85/611 concerning the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (the Original UCITS Directive), which was adopted in 1985. The purpose of the Original UCITS Directive was to establish a single market for open-ended retail investment funds that offered enhanced protection for investors. The UCITS framework has been updated on several occasions, with the Management Company Directive 2001/107/EU adopted in 2002 and the Product Directive 2001/108/EU implemented in 2005 (together referred to as UCITS III); followed by implementation in 2011 of Directive 2009/65/EC (the UCITS Directive, also called UCITS IV), which repealed and replaced the Original UCITS Directive; and Directive 2014/91/EU (UCITS V), which was transposed into national law on 18 March 2016...

This Checklist outlines which companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) fall within the main UK and EU compulsory environmental reporting regimes. It offers a high-level overview and points to the sources for the applicable reporting rules. For fuller coverage of the binding reporting obligations, see Practice Notes: CSR, ESG and human rights reporting and initiatives and EU mandatory corporate sustainability reporting. For an overview of the voluntary disclosures many companies and LLPs follow, see Practice Notes: TCFD recommendations and other ESG reporting frameworks, standards and benchmarks [Archived] and Investor group guidance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. UK requirements Strategic report to contain description of principal risks and uncertainties. Scope: All companies (other than micro and small companies). Traded LLPs and banking LLPs. Source: Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), CA 2006, s 414C(2)(b). Applied to traded LLPs and banking LLPs by Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008, SI 2008/1911, Reg 12A. ...

Introduction Environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns sit centre stage for governments, regulators, consumers, and the workforce alike today more than ever. Firms can no longer overlook the steadily rising impetus behind ESG and the push for fuller disclosure and transparency. Yet the agenda goes further still. In shaping, executing and communicating strategy, companies increasingly recognise ESG as fundamental to generating enduring value within their strategic thinking. ESG elements are demonstrating their material influence on financial outcomes and organisational resilience. Greater transparency is enabling more profitable investment, and improved disclosure is regarded as benefitting every stakeholder overall...

Mergers The Commission approved Brookfield Corporation’s takeover of sole control of Oaktree Capital Group Holdings, LLC (M.12284) following a phase I review—see further, Midday Express The Commission received filings for: Clarios/Ecobat Germany/Ecobat Austria (M.12145) (ordinary merger procedure) JLL/PIF/FMTECH (M.12358) (simplified merger procedure) NOTE—For all active merger probes before the Commission, see further, EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker Competition policy The Commission stated that Executive Vice-President, Teresa Ribera, convened an implementation dialogue on the effects of mergers, productivity, sustainability, and the cost of living—see further, implementation dialogue and Midday Express NOTE—For all current EU competition law legislative, guidance and wider policy work, see further, EU competition horizon scanning—2026 and beyond State aid The Commission adopted a decision under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) authorising a Spanish measure (valued at €200m) to back strategic investments expanding manufacturing capacity across the electric...

In this issue: Air emissions and climate change Contamination and pollution Energy efficiency and buildings Energy for environmental lawyers Environmental information Environmental taxes, reliefs and incentives ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Water, flooding and drainage Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Air emissions and climate change Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR)-UK government publishes Business Model documentation On 27 August 2025, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) released a suite of papers on its proposed Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR) Business Model and accompanying policy. The Lexis+ Energy team, working with Navraj Singh Ghaleigh, Senior Lecturer in Climate Law at the University of Edinburgh Law School, set out the context for the GGR Business Model; its relationship with the Power BECCS Business Model; the technologies the GGR framework intends to encompass; its legal footing and principal features; and how...

In this issue: Air emissions and climate change Energy efficiency of products Energy for environmental lawyers ESG and sustainability Hazardous substances and chemicals Marine Nature, biodiversity and habitat conservation Waste Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Air emissions and climate change Defra opens consultation on industrial emissions permitting reforms The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has begun consulting on plans to modernise England’s environmental permitting regime for industrial emissions. The package aims to foster innovation, adopt agile standards, secure proportionate and coherent regulation, boost regulator effectiveness and efficiency, and deliver a transparent system. Suggested measures include a new registration route for low-risk installations, flexible site permits setting overall emissions caps, and faster approvals for time‑limited technology trials. The proposals reflect the Corry Review’s critique of regulatory inefficiency. The Environment Agency intends to roll out changes that could cut permit queues from months to days and lower...

Introduction to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement This Practice Note summarises the key features of the UK‑EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) that affect trade in goods between the UK and the EU. It covers customs and export duties and other charges, and outlines the preferential rules of origin operating between the parties. It also considers import and export restrictions and licensing, customs valuation, trade remedies and tariff rate quotas. Further topics include sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and measures on customs and trade facilitation. On 24 December 2020, UK and EU negotiators concluded an accord shaping their future relationship. The UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement is a wide‑ranging instrument arising from the UK’s departure from the EU’s internal market (Brexit) and extends beyond trade in goods and services. It also covers a range of other Brexit‑related matters, including: investment competition state aid tax transparency air and road transport energy and sustainability fisheries data...

Key terms Expressions such as ‘responsible/sustainable business’, ‘corporate responsibility’ (CR), ‘corporate social responsibility’ (CSR), and ‘environmental, social, governance’ (ESG) appear widely in multiple settings among companies, advisers and legal practitioners across sectors. Yet, broadly, they all signal an enterprise acting responsibly within its everyday operations, as part of its day-to-day activities. An increasing number of businesses recognise that meeting national, state and local rules alone may no longer adequately shield them from legal, regulatory or reputational exposure, and that missing the escalating expectations in this sphere can carry significant financial consequences. In this note, we adopt ‘sustainable business’ as the overarching label for consistency. For further terminology, see Precedent: Sustainability glossary terms (The Chancery Lane Project). What is ‘sustainability’? The word ‘sustainability’ often sits alongside phrases such as ‘environmental sustainability’ or green business in common discussion. Although there is no single, settled definition, many bodies and sources rely on the Brundtland Commission Definition of sustainable development when attempting to explain the term. However, the Brundtland Commission Definition...

Embedding sustainability This Practice Note considers supply chain sustainability through the wider lens of sustainable procurement and environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, concentrating on leading themes in UK and EU private sector practice. It offers practical direction on setting up a supplier code of conduct and building a comprehensive supply chain sustainability programme that addresses: Human rights and labour standards Environmental impacts and deforestation Corruption and litigation exposure Risk management across the supply chain Public procurement sits outside the scope of this note. For further information on supply chain sustainability in the UK, including details on UK regulations, see Practice Note: Supply chain sustainability—UK. For further information on supply chain sustainability in the EU, including details on EU regulations, see Practice Note: Supply chain sustainability—EU. For further information on sustainable public procurement in the UK, see Practice Note: A guide to sustainable public procurement. Supply chain sustainability has moved from the margins to a central business priority. Although...

Precedent presentation on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues Crafted as a training resource for employers and their HR teams, this Precedent presentation covers the essentials of ESG, why it is significant, and ways to identify the organisation’s most important issues. It explains HR’s role within the ESG agenda, highlights the importance of collaboration across functions, and sets out practical steps for building an ESG programme alongside a corresponding action plan for the organisation as a whole...

Greener and More Efficient HGVs in Road and Multimodal Transport Agreements Under this Precedent, contracting carriers must deploy energy-efficient vehicles for all road carriage within a transport agreement, or, alternatively, stipulate that a set proportion of road journeys will be carried out using green heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). The sustainability provisions were developed by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) as ‘Greener and More Efficient HGVs in Road and Multimodal Transport Agreements’ and are linked to on TCLP’s website below. For comprehensive guidance on contracting for the use of energy-efficient HGVs, please consult the TCLP clause. TCLP is the codename for a focused, collaborative endeavour by lawyers across the globe to create new contracts and model laws aimed at tackling climate change. For further details, see: chancerylaneproject.org. Lexis+® is proud to support TCLP’s work...

Supply Chain Emissions Scorecard This Precedent sets out a Supply Chain Emissions Scorecard used in commercial negotiations, framing sustainability performance as a shared endeavour, boosting visibility of a supplier’s climate action through a rigorous reporting structure, and allowing contracting parties to pinpoint how far they have progressed towards their sustainability obligations. The sustainability clauses were developed by The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) as ‘Maria’s Scorecard’ and are available via TCLP’s website below. For fuller guidance on applying supply chain emissions in commercial negotiations to prioritise sustainability, please consult the TCLP clause. TCLP is the code name for a targeted, collaborative initiative of lawyers worldwide creating new contracts and model legislation to help tackle climate change. For further details, see: chancerylaneproject.org. Lexis+® is proud to support TCLP’s work...