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Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG for short) are becoming increasingly important in business life. Enterprises are now also being judged by the extent to which their actions are environmentally sound and socially sustainable. There are many reasons for this: On the one hand, new legislative requirements have emerged. Many provisions of national law are based on European legal requirements and directives. In their wake, heightened investor requirements for potential investments come to bear. The profitability and sustainability of companies are no longer determined solely by financial ratios, but increasingly by ESG performance, too. On the other hand, the discourse in society as a whole conveying this new awareness should not be neglected.

Sustainability has an impact on all aspects of business and must be actively shaped and practised by enterprises. Regardless of their size, enterprises must therefore become more professional in terms of sustainability quickly. In this context, ESG management is not just about compliance; sustainability indicators and the achievement of sustainability targets may become the basis for decisions on long-term corporate development.

Regardless of sector and legal form, every enterprise is already obliged to deal with sustainability and sustainability risks in various aspects and dimensions as part of its careful risk management. These developments also have an impact on legal advice as it deals with the plethora of related requirements.

We offer our clients comprehensive advice on all aspects of sustainability law, supporting them in setting up a system which ensures compliance with related legal requirements in this area as part of their corporate risk mitigation and development strategy.

As issues relating to sustainability are generally not limited to one area, our colleagues from several areas of legal expertise work together to ensure that our clients are given with extensive advice which seeks to consider all eventualities. Our experts are always up to date in respect of the constantly changing legal framework for sustainability. This enables us to assess what our clients can expect in the future and inform them in good time about the latest legal developments at the levels of national and European law. We assist our clients in turning the new challenges of sustainability law into opportunities for their enterprises.

The effects of climate change are forcing us to make rapid transition to renewable forms of energy materialise. The need for such efforts in business has recently been intensified by the massive impact of the war in Ukraine on the global energy market. Using renewable energies not only results in lower CO2 emissions, they can also be produced locally and independently using free resources (wind, sun, hydropower, geothermal energy etc.).

Water, solar, wind, biomass, biogas, hydrogen (H2): KWR advises you in all phases of your renewable energy projects. Our expertise ranges from the development and financing to the construction and operation of the renewable energy plant of their choice. We offer comprehensive legal support for the purchase of a power plant, the project planning of an innovative PV system and the implementation of the plant approval proceedings alike. We draft the contractual documents, such as purchase, lease and contracting agreements for the generation plant, energy supply contracts or easement agreements for rights of way required for lines. Based on our relevant industry knowledge, we will also support you in the smooth handling of grid access and co-operation with the grid operator. We also specialise in advising on subsidies and sector-specific state aid law.

With the legislative package around the Renewable Energy Expansion Act, the Renewable Energy Community (EEG) and the Citizens' Energy Community (BEG) were created as new players in the energy market. Energy communities enable extensive joint utilisation of generation plants for self-supply. Participants can now produce energy locally from renewable sources through the collective operation of PV systems, wind turbines, small hydropower plants, etc. and use such "green electricity" to directly and independently supply buildings and business premises within a locality, for example.

We will support you in all matters relating to the formation, choice of (legal) form and options for participating in an energy community. We take care of drafting contractual documents such as founding documents and accession agreements, purchase, usufructuary leases, leasing, contracting and other utilisation agreements relating to the generation plant, electricity supply contracts, etc. Based on our relevant industry knowledge, we advise you on sector-specific issues relating to the sale of excess electricity from the energy community and support you in the smooth handling of grid access and co-operation with the grid operator.

Energy efficiency and green energy generation are important aspects of the sustainable real estate industry (the buzzword being: ESG). Not only in new construction is there is an heightened awareness of this - many projects for the revitalisation of existing properties also aim to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, cut CO2 emissions and further independence from fossil fuels. This is also driven by legislative acts of the EU, which has recognised the transition of the building sector towards sustainability as an important measure to reach the European decarbonisation targets.

KWR will assist you in all matters relating to the energy-related modernisation of buildings, providing legal support in all project phases. We also furnish comprehensive advice on issues relating to tenancy and housing legislation, the Heating Cost Accounting Act (HeizKG) and the legal and regulatory framework regarding construction and energy.

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