DLA Piper achieved an IJGlobal ESG Awards hattrick by winning the legal advisory trophy for its performance across Europe, chosen once again by the independent panel of judges.

The law firm repeats performance from previous years having won the pro bono award in 2023, the overall legal advisory award as well as in the social category for 2022, but having missed plaudits in the inaugural year of 2021.

One of the IJGlobal ESG Awards 2024 judges said: “DLA is quite clearly a law firm with ESG hard-wired to its company ethics. It has been excelling on this front for years and it has continued to do so again this year.”

The submission states: “At DLA Piper, we understand that sustainability and ESG is complex, integrated and evolving. We have extensive experience in the key thematic features of the sustainability and ESG landscape from across the globe, underpinned by our deep understanding of a wide range of sectors.”

It continues: “What makes us different from our competitors is that we do not just treat ESG as an extension of our own practice area. We join the dots across practices, countries and sectors to reflect how the transition is really affecting our clients.

“After extensive analysis of the drivers of the sustainability transition, we organise our subject-matter expertise around the overarching sustainability objectives based on planet and people, and the core levers driving change in the economy and for our clients.

“The multi-jurisdictional teams driving our service offering are also supported by complementary services from our consulting and innovation arm.

“Climate change continues to be one of our key focus areas, and we are known for being the most impactful renewable energy advisers and our full-service renewables practice provides innovative legal advice across the entire value chain.

“As a firm, our aim is to halve our greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2019/20 and become a net-zero law firm by 2040. Approved by the Science Based Target initiative, these targets span our entire value chain, including indirect emissions, and cover our EMEA and APAC offices.”

In 2023 alone, DLA Piper played a role in more than 130 landmark energy transition deals and projects that have had a substantial impact on the renewable energy market across the world.

Corporate PPAs and their associated risks are a key component of its renewable energy practice, with its global co-head of ENR and international head of ESG and sustainability Natasha Luther-Jones being based in the UK.

The submission states: “We also stand apart from our peers in our partnerships with key ESG-related organisations and initiatives. These include our involvement with Conference of the Parties (COP) – we continue to play a key role at COP and are committed to supporting the global response to the threat of climate change and biodiversity loss.”

To support its submission for this award, DLA Piper singled out 3 impact areas ranging from PPAs with H&M, the groundbreaking project finance of a battery manufacturing plant in France, to advising electric vehicle charging network Be.EV.

DLA Piper acted as legal adviser to H&M Group in the negotiation and execution of its virtual PPAs across a number of regions, including Sweden, the UK, Spain and the US.

The law firm also advised CDC on a complex deal that contributed to the successful financing of a groundbreaking battery manufacturing plant, with significant impacts on the EV market, sustainability goals, and overall innovation in technology and hybrid solutions.

DLA Piper also advised longstanding UK-based EV charging infrastructure client Be.EV on a major debt raise to accelerate growth in the UK. As part of the process, existing investor, Octopus Energy Generation also made a further investment into Be.EV.