Green Guide Profile: TLT

UK law firm TLT has a leading national future energy group which advises across the project life cycle of renewable and clean energy projects. The cross-disciplinary team led by Bristol-based Maria Connolly has worked at government level to influence policies and regulations, paving the way for a sustainable future.

Of note is the team’s advice to Thrive Renewables on its investment in United Downs Geothermal Limited (UDGL) in connection with the construction and development of the UK’s first ever commercial scale geothermal power generation project. Corporate future energy lead, Kay Hobbs‘ expertise were key to the project’s success. In another recent matter, a team led by Antonia Silvestri supported Innova Renewables on a strategic partnership with funds managed by Schroders Greencoat LLP which aims to finance and develop 5GW of renewable energy generation and battery storage projects across the UK. Other key clients include Ecotricity, Low Carbon, and Green Investment Group. Hobbs and Silvestri operate from the firm’s Bristol office. 

The firm has SBTi-validated near-term and net zero targets (2030 and 2040 respectively) aligned with 1.5oC warming and including scopes 1, 2 and 3. The firm’s emissions reduction plan is being implemented with Carbon Intelligence. The Glasgow office has moved to Cadworks, Scotland’s first net zero office building, fitted with EV charging points. 

As a member of The Chancery Lane Project, the firm has contributed to its built environment project and is also driving change through written case studies in CBI’s (Confederation of British Industry) Innovation Toolkit on how to be more green and Action Net Zero’s partnership programme, to name just a few. The firm is also the first corporate partner of Belmont Estate, funding nature restoration.

Sustainability is the responsibility of everyone at TLT; we all have a role to play in reducing our negative impact and maximising our positive impact on the environment, as well as working with our clients, supply chain and other partner organisations to achieve green goals.

Key to our success has been making sustainability a core pillar of our growth strategy and appointing executive board members responsible for driving our sustainability strategy forward: Maria Connolly, head of future energy and real estate; and Helen Hodgkinson, chief people officer. They are supported by our in-house sustainability team, which includes Agnes Altmets, one of edie’s 30-under-30 sustainability leaders.

When it comes to our practice areas, we are a globally leading adviser to the future energy market and have been advising on the end-to-end project lifecycle for 25 years. Our UK-wide team is led by Maria Connolly, head of future energy and real estate.

All our teams advise their clients on green issues, but we have set up working groups to bring together different teams on shared topics such as green finance (combining financial services, future energy and real estate) and green disputes (bringing together contentious lawyers from across the firm to deliver against the Greener Litigation Pledge).

Green finance is sponsored by Andrew Lyon, head of financial services, and Maria Connolly, head of future energy and real estate.

Our Greener Disputes Committee is sponsored by Mark Routley, head of property litigation, and supported by the Litigation Forum.

We are one of the fastest growing law firms in the UK. With offices in Bristol, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast, our cross-jurisdictional team has a national reach and local market insight.  

 

Future energy

Our globally recognised future energy team has 25 years’ experience advising on innovative, market-leading future energy projects.

Our network spans the funders, investors, technologists and developers; the enlightened energy companies and the innovators who are creating change. We work hard alongside them to inform the regulatory landscape, drive developments forward and secure essential funding and investment.

TLT has been ranked second in Clean Energy Pipeline’s 2023 Clean Energy Legal League Table, which ranks the world’s top 20 law firms that acted as a legal adviser on clean energy project finance and M&A deals in 2022.

 

The green finance revolution

Green finance is driving speed, spurred on by global climate change pressures and the recognition of sustainability’s vital role in a resilient financial services sector. TLT has been leading the green finance revolution, working with clients to develop green loan and mortgage products and support sustainable investment.

 

Embedding green drafting

We are active members of The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) and have been involved in drafting several climate friendly clauses, including Hannah’s Clause and Runa’s Clause, as well as peer reviewing other clauses. We have also promoted TCLP drafting to clients and to the Bristol Law Society members and have also partnered with TCLP to launch a built environment contract solutions tool, helping those in the property industry to navigate climate-aligned drafting.

Our knowledge partner Alexandra Holsgrove Jones sits on TCLP’s advisory committee for the built environment.

 

Green regulation and accreditations

As ESG becomes a business imperative, we have supported our clients in understanding the associated regulation and the legal aspects of obtaining green accreditations such as B Corp certification.

 

Embedding sustainability at TLT

Sustainability is a core value and one of our nine strategic pillars. We think long term and work with our clients to put people, communities and the environment at the forefront. This year, we:

  • have had our targets to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 verified by the Science Based Targets initiative.  TLT was applauded in a recent article published in The Lawyer as one of just six UK Top 50 firms who have a SBTi validated net-zero target.
  • achieved ISO 14001:2015, the internationally agreed standard that sets out the criteria for an effective environmental management system.
  • won the prestigious Lloyds Bank Sustainable Business of the Year Award at the edie Awards 2023 – the UK’s largest sustainable business awards scheme that champions bold and brilliant climate leadership.

Maria Connolly | Head of future energy and real estate | TLT

Has your firm established a dedicated ESG/climate change/sustainability practice, team or task force?

We have several teams committed to driving sustainable practice, both internally and in collaboration with clients, local communities and our partner organisations.

Our Responsible Business committee, chaired by senior partner Sasha Butterworth, contributes to and guides our impact strategy, channelling the passion of our people to ensure all our stakeholders are future-ready. Our dedicated in-house team is responsible for delivering our sustainability strategy, ensuring that sustainability is embedded in all activity at TLT.   Our collaborative approach to ESG extends throughout the firm. With over 90 active members of sustainability forums across our offices, organising events and raising awareness of sustainable actions and alternatives, all our people are encouraged to take sustainable action. This extends through our thought-leadership content, sharing insights on topics from green finance and green claims to electric vehicles and land use.

What type of work do you handle in connection with “green change”?

Our main areas are in: 

Future energy: We’re a leading adviser to the global future energy sector. We are ranked second most active future energy advisers in Clean Energy Pipeline’s 2023 League Tables and are recognised in The Times Best Law Firms list 2024 for our expertise in corporate renewable energy.

Working with established and first-of-a-kind technologies, we’re involved in the ground-breaking projects and deals that move the industry forwards.

 Green finance: We advise financial services firms, including banks, building societies, pension funds and investors, and corporates on everything from green mortgages and sustainability-linked loans to private equity investments.

Green regulation and accreditation: Helping clients to comply with green laws and regulations, we enable them to move forward with their green projects with confidence. We are also acting on the CMA’s first investigation regarding its Green Claims Code.

ESG: We work with clients to progress their ESG goals in an evolving regulatory climate. Supporting clients across the full ESG spectrum, we share best practice from our own initiatives and expert sector knowledge.  

Would you like to highlight a particular area of strength?

TLT goes above and beyond other organisations to achieve net-zero targets, with transparency and best practice embedded in all activity.

TLT goes beyond standard offsetting practices setting extremely ambitious, science-based target requirements. We aligned our target with halting global temperature rise to 1.5°C, to avoid the most significant effects of climate breakdown; some companies are still only aiming for 2°C.

In early 2022 we started working with specialist sustainability consultants Carbon Intelligence, part of Accenture, to develop an industry-leading net-zero roadmap, with two key pillars:

  • A commitment to achieving true net-zero by reducing emissions (by a minimum of 90%).
  • Reaching net-zero by 2040 – a full ten years ahead of the UK Government and Paris Climate Agreement target (which is what many companies are targeting).

TLT was one of only three early adopters of the new sustainability gold standard in the legal sector (at the time of validation). And one of only two industry players to have near- and long-term sustainability and net-zero goals set to 1.5° C.  

Has your firm implemented any internal best practises?

Our ambitious sustainability strategy goes beyond what’s required and expected of us and ensures that our aims are achievable.

In 2022, SBTi validated our science-based near-term (2030) and net-zero (2040) targets, aligned with 1.5°C warming and total scope 1, 2, and 3, including supply chain. These targets are the most ambitious in our industry, and we’re now implementing our greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan. We moved our Glasgow office to Cadworks, Scotland’s first net-zero office building, have switched to 100% renewable energy across all offices, and have started embedding circularity in facilities (e.g. when refurbishing) and IT (e.g. donating old equipment).

We have a top-down, bottom-up approach to sustainability. Our employee engagement programme – winner of Best Environmental Initiative at the People in Law Awards 2022 – includes employee-led and partner-sponsored regional sustainability forums, firmwide webinars, film screenings, Active Travel Week, and regular comms to educate, inform, inspire and motivate.

For companies to foster real behaviour change, there needs to be a defined / narrow focus, underpinned by initiatives to educate and inform, and efforts to provide people with the environment needed to support change. To achieve this, we developed three sustainability pillars based on our GHG emissions and where we can have the biggest positive impact:

  • Sustainable travel
  • Sustainable purchasing
  • Sustainable community

TLT’s engagement is based on the three pillars, which are being supported by dedicated structures including hybrid working and travel policy; providing sustainable products and drinks in offices; and five volunteering days a year with varied opportunities to use them.

Has your firm joined any external ESG-related projects, networks or initiatives?

Community and collaboration are essential to foster change. We work in partnership with several groups, networks and organisations, including:

Belmont Estate – (restoring nature, climate and community) – first corporate partner

Business in the Community (creating a fair and sustainable world) – member

City of London Law Society’s energy committee (leading the debate on pending legislation, law reform and practice issues) – member

Forest Green Rovers (the world’s greenest football club) – we are their exclusive legal partner

The Green Britain Foundation (charity) – through the Green Britain Foundation, we fund and support the Ministry of Eco Education, who have developed an eco-curriculum based on action.

Greener Litigation Pledge (taking active steps to reduce, with a view to minimising, the environmental impact of litigation) – signatory; we have also launched our own Greener Disputes Committee to raise awareness and deliver against the pledge, which has achieved a phenomenal amount in a short space of time

The Chancery Lane Project (climate-aligned contract clauses) – we are active in suggesting, drafting and peer reviewing clauses and are appointed to its advisory committee for the built environment

Legal Renewables Initiative – a membership organisation that asks members to commit to switching their UK offices and premises to certified 100% renewable electricity.

What are your firm’s ESG-related goals?

  • Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040. Approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), our GHG emissions reduction targets are 1.5 °C aligned and total scope 1, 2 and 3, including supply chain.
  • We recently achieved 33% female partner representation two years ahead of our 2025 target date. We are continuing the momentum with further measures designed to support parents, carers and diversify further to ensure we are truly inclusive.
  • We have set a target of 35% ethnic minority representation across our early career roles (trainees and apprentices), to be achieved by October 2030.

Is your firm involved in any relevant pro bono work?

We currently have colleagues supporting causes including Bristol Law Centre, Will Aid 2023, clinics with Manchester and Salford Universities, the Bar Library in Belfast, and The Chancery Lane Project.

We are very active members of The Chancery Lane Project. Earlier this year, we partnered with them to launch a built environment contract solutions tool to help those in the property industry to navigate climate-aligned drafting. The tool helps drafters to find climate clauses and sustainability solutions that can be applied throughout the entire building lifecycle.

Is your firm involved in any public outreach or client education?

All our people can use their five volunteering days in local sustainability initiatives. We work with the Belmont Estate and have created a bespoke volunteering programme for nature restoration, that includes planting trees and restoring a wetland landscape. Recently, colleagues also helped clear a therapy garden project for people with dementia, and litter picked and cleared pathways at a local park.

We also run sustainability training sessions for our clients, for example covering the role of lawyers in sustainability, key sustainability issues and how climate-aligned contract clauses can be used to achieve sustainability goals including net-zero.

Have there been any recent non-confidential stand-out matters that were particularly innovative, pioneering or complex?

In the last year TLT has advised on:

When did ESG, climate change and/or sustainability become an area of focus at your firm?

Sustainability has always been a focus for us. As one of the leading advisers to the future energy market, we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact that sustainable changes can have.

Our focus on sustainability has been formalised in our latest growth strategy (2021 – 2025) and in our public commitments to achieving our net-zero targets by 2040.

What has driven your firm’s involvement in a green transition? (Client demand? Business case? Personal attitudes/beliefs/initiatives?)

Alongside the increasing client demand for certain ESG standards, and evolving regulatory requirements, our people want to be part of an organisation that is committed to doing the right thing by our clients, colleagues and communities.

Do you have any strategic plans to expand your work or your initiatives in this area in the future?

We’re always driving for sustainable change. We’re working on developing our ESG service offering, as well as continuing to advise on future energy projects. We’ll be continuing to deepen our relationships with our partner organisations and nurture further relationships with like-minded groups.

We have invested in bespoke software and implemented “TLT Emissions Capture”, which captures, reports and monitors all material GHG emissions, including supply chain. We are currently undertaking the development of a multi-faceted supply chain engagement programme that will be tailored to engaging suppliers that contribute the most to our emissions based on their different maturity levels.

By FY2030, we aim to further the supplier engagement programme by working with our top 50 suppliers in gathering activity, supplier or product level information as we expect them to account for a substantial part of our supply chain emissions. We plan to encourage them to set environmental and net-zero targets and monitor their GHG emissions. We will employ a supplier engagement platform to help map suppliers’ emission reduction progress.  In 2024, we’ll also be moving our Manchester office to the ground-breaking Eden office development in Salford, one of the UK’s most sustainable office buildings.

Where do you see the future of ESG/sustainability in the legal community (both in terms of legal offerings and firms’ best practices)?

There’s a real hunger for change across the industry, whether that’s being driven internally within firms, by individuals, or by sector-wide groups. There is increasing awareness of how we can use the law to achieve sustainability goals, like through climate-aligned contract clauses, and I think that these will continue to grow in popularity.