Practical checklist for corporate environmental crime investigations: incident response, legal professional privilege, evidence preservation, data protection, engagement with regulators, board oversight and stakeholder communications
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Practice notes
The questions and issues below should be front of mind for an environmental lawyer managing an environmental incident and any prospective investigation. This Practice Note should be read together with Practice Note: Conducting an investigation into environmental crime.
Initial considerations
- Does the organisation’s environmental policy or permit prescribe the steps to follow when an incident occurs?
- Is there a designated incident response team to assemble, and have they been notified?
- Is there a clear chain of command for obtaining instructions on how to handle the incident response?
- Does the Board, or an appropriately constituted Board sub-committee, oversee the environmental officer’s work and any investigation report? Are they the ‘client’ for legal advice purposes?
- To preserve legal privilege, ensure third party professionals, including environmental consultants and lawyers, receive instructions from the ‘client’ group. Anyone not strictly within the client should secure the client’s authorisation before communicating with third parties about an investigation and should be advised not to create documents relating to the matter without the client’s authority...
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Web page updated on 21/05/2026
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