SUSTAINABILITY DISCLOSURES AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES
R&C: In your opinion, how pressing are the environmental compliance challenges currently facing companies?
Davies: The extent of environmental compliance challenges faced by companies very much depends on the type of business and the specific activity they engage in. Nevertheless, as awareness of and concerns relating to environmental risks escalate, companies are increasingly investing in software and services in order to better, and often more efficiently, comply with environmental obligations. Furthermore, issues associated with environmental compliance will no doubt be highlighted post-Brexit, given the potential step change in regulation.
May: How pressing environmental compliance challenges are largely depends upon the sector in which they operate. In certain areas there is increasing regulation, such as waste, chemicals, plastics and particulates. Often, the requirements are complex and require legal interpretation and assistance. Uncertainty regarding enforcement outcomes also creates difficulties over confidence issues. There are concerns about increasingly bureaucratic compliance requirements which divert time and resources away from core functions. Uncertainty of regulatory outcomes, particularly in the context of Brexit, have significant implications for investors and financiers who work on five-yearly cycles and need certainty regarding the regulatory framework in which companies will operate.
Jan-Mar 2018 Issue
Bracewell LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Uría Menéndez Abogados, S.L.P.