Dentons launches Sustainable Investment practice in Europe

Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, has launched a Sustainable Investment practice in Europe to meet the growing interest in socially responsible and environmentally conscious business investment. The central focus of this innovative new group is to serve the needs of businesses, financial institutions and regulatory bodies in two core areas: sustainable investment and sustainable finance.

The Sustainable Investment group will advise global corporations, investment funds, asset managers and financial institutions on the development and execution of sustainable investment strategies. They will provide due diligence based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations, as well as non-financial reporting according to the European Union’s CSR Directive. The group will also advise on the use of sustainable finance instruments and fund structures – such as green bonds, which make financing contingent on achieving certain environmental goals, or pay-for-success instruments, which are used to fund projects with a clearly defined environmental or social benefit.

Partner Elżbieta Lis has been appointed Head of the Europe Sustainable Investment practice. Based in Warsaw, she has extensive experience in commercial transactions across Europe and Latin America. She has advised on major cross-border deals for top private equity funds, including acquisitions, joint ventures and financing. She has also advised on the listings of public companies, mergers of banks, and privatizations.

Based in Europe, the team will work closely with Dentons offices in Latin America, the US, Canada, Africa, Australia and Asia.  The core Sustainable Investment team will draw on the experience and insights of lawyers in, among others, the Banking and Finance, Infrastructure, Corporate and M&A and Capital Markets practices.

Tomasz Dąbrowski, Europe CEO at Dentons, commented, “Not only is sustainable investment an exciting growing market opportunity, it is also a way in which Dentons can make a positive impact on our communities.  We remain committed to ensuring the sustainability of our own operations, and through this new practice, given Elżbieta’s leadership and experience, we can now assist our clients to incorporate environmental and social sustainability into their investment and financing decisions.”

“Increasingly, mainstream investors are seeking asset classes that guarantee the sustainability of their investments by integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into their investment processes,” said Elżbieta Lis, Head of Dentons’ Sustainable Investment practice in Europe. “There is a significant demand for sustainable investment strategies, and we look forward to addressing that need for our clients.”

According to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, the value of sustainable investment assets reached US$30.7 trillion globally in 2018¹.

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1.    Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, Global Sustainable Investment Review 2018, page 10