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BNP Paribas, the largest bank in France, has announced today that it will no longer finance firms who produce, or buy, beef or soybeans from land in the Amazon that was cleared or converted after 2008 (and will encourage its clients not to produce or buy beef or soybeans from cleared or converted land in the Cerrado after 1 January 2020).
In late January 2021, the Court of Appeal of the Hague considered in some detail whether to hold Royal Dutch Shell (UK plc) responsible for the actions of its indirect subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, in a long-running litigation relating to a significant oil leak in Nigeria.
The evidence outlined by the UK Government includes allegations of forced sterilisation, extra-judicial detention and forced labour. The proposals are intended to "send a clear message that these violations of human rights are unacceptable, and to safeguard UK businesses and public bodies from any involvement or linkage with them".
Partner and Head of Operational Risk & Regulatory Doug Bryden recently spoke at Marsh's Hazardous Chemicals webinar to discuss the evolving regulatory, legal, and risk landscape and how legal liabilities arise.
Writing for Practical Law, Senior Counsel John Buttanshaw and Partner and Head of Risk & Operational Regulatory Doug Bryden, take a look at how environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues may arise and be addressed in transactions, with a particular focus on private equity mergers and acquisitions.
The UK Government today set out its ambitious ten point plan for the Environment, covering clean energy, transport, nature and innovative technologies.
Brexit is set to have a major impact on goods supply chains and the trade deal with the EU, though welcome, is unlikely to make a significant difference, except when it comes to tariffs. Our Q&A explains why and sets out what importers and exporters need to do in order to adapt to these changes.
The UK government and regulators have jointly announced their approach to implementing the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures within the next five years. Notable by its absence is any explicit mention of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation which comes into force in March 2021.
In September, Travers Smith Partner and Head of Risk & Operational Regulatory Doug Bryden featured as a guest speaker on KTN's webinar addressing some of the legal and regulatory issues faced by the robotics and AI community in the UK.
The EU passed a Regulation on Conflict Minerals ("the Regulation") back in 2017 and its requirements will finally begin to apply to importers of covered minerals as of 1 January 2021. Conflict minerals – usually "the 3Ts" (tantalum, tin, and tungsten) and gold ("3TG") are crucial in the components of many consumer electronic products and have applications in aerospace, automotive, medical and other sectors.
On 22 September 2020, the Prime Minister announced a change in the Government's approach to working from home, in light of the recent spike in cases recorded across the UK. In this note, we consider what effects the most recent announcement has on employers with employees who normally work in offices.
This webinar focuses on how to prepare for the major changes coming when the Brexit transition period expires at the end of the year, featuring leading international trade commentator Dmitry Grozoubinski.
Update December 2022: This article has been updated, primarily to reflect revised rules on timing of mandatory application of the CA Mark, released in November 2022.
The UK Government launched a consultation on 25 August 2020 seeking the views of stakeholders on whether they should introduce a new law aimed at preventing forests and other important natural areas globally from being illegally converted in to agricultural land, following a recommendation from the Government's independent Global Resource Initiative taskforce.
From 1st September we will have a new Use Classes Order ("UCO"). It will be significantly different from the current one, and the changes will override much of the tinkering that has gone on with the UCO over the last few years. It appears to have been designed to assist with the economic challenges arising from Covid-19 but also feeds into the Government's current 'build, build, build' philosophy.
Following an announcement by the UK Housing Secretary earlier this year, on 6th August 2020 the Government published its long-anticipated planning regulation reform proposals titled 'Planning for the Future' (the 'White Paper'). The White Paper is open for consultation until 29th October 2020 and contains the Government's proposals for a significant overhaul of the planning regime and replacement of the current model with a streamlined, rules-based system. The proposals are split into three concepts: Planning for Development; Planning for Beautiful and Sustainable Places; and Planning for Infrastructure.
The Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA")'s proposal requires UK premium listed entities to state whether they comply with the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures ("TCFD") and/or to explain any non-compliance. Although the TCFD already has more than 500 supporters (including 457 companies and 56 other organizations e.g. industry associations and governments), the proposed changes reflect the view that further active intervention is needed in order to accelerate climate change reporting.
With homeworking set to continue as the "new normal" in some shape or form, the employment team are pleased to offer a series of bite-sized webinars focusing on the key employment issues associated with homeworking on an extended basis.
With homeworking set to continue as the "new normal" in some shape or form, the employment team are pleased to offer a series of bite-sized webinars focusing on the key employment issues associated with homeworking on an extended basis.