Clients
We support our clients across the full range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues - navigating change, creating opportunities and mitigating ESG risks within their businesses. Using our legal expertise is our most powerful opportunity to make progress together on the critical social and environmental issues we face today.
“We’re creating meaningful impact with our clients through a multidisciplinary approach to ESG legal expertise and forward-thinking sustainability guidance – helping organisations to lead with confidence, grow their businesses and shape their responsible business practices.”
Alison Ross Eckford, Partner, ESG Legal Services
Highlights…
Supporting the energy transition
We’re central to universities’ heat network plans to progress towards their net zero targets.
Financing green innovation
We developed sustainability funds and advised charities on green investment policies.
Governance and regulatory compliance
We completed a major board level governance review for a global climate focused non-profit organisation.
Preventing greenwashing
We're supporting farmers and workers to build a fairer and sustainable trade system.
UK Scale Centre
We're actively involved in conversations around sustainability, supply chains, productivity, resilience and innovation.
Biodiversity Net Gain
We’re advising landowners on using their estates to establish Biodiversity Net Gain and Nutrient Neutrality habitat banks.
Our progress
Helping clients achieve their ESG ambitions
Our expertise in sectors such as technology, energy, health, government, food and agribusiness and the built environment, place us in a strong position to understand the ESG risks our clients face and how they can mitigate those risks. The work of our multidisciplinary ESG legal team is incredibly broad in scope, ranging from sustainable investment and green financing to green requirements for construction programmes, from renewable energy to employment matters, and from governance and responsible supply chain policy to ESG reporting requirements.
Below is a snapshot of some recent impactful projects we have advised on, highlighting the areas where clients are turning to us most and where we’re helping organisations transform ESG ambition into meaningful action.
Supporting the energy transition
Increasing solar and energy storage, hydrogen energy, biomass and heat networks are all key parts of the transition to a low-carbon energy future. We’re proud of the part we play in helping clients achieve their energy transition goals, as well as supporting government bodies in setting the standards.
We’re central to universities’ heat network plans, for example, supporting the University of Bradford and Coventry University to progress towards their net zero targets. In Coventry, our commercial, real estate and construction specialists advised from initial strategy through to structuring the contractual arrangements as the university transitions from traditional gas boilers to a low-carbon solution.
“We’re proud of the efforts we’re making for the Group to become net zero by 2030 and this project to connect our buildings to the district energy network is an important step on our journey. Mills & Reeve has provided invaluable support to us over the past year to ensure we were able to agree a detailed and robust energy supply agreement with the local district energy company. They have also been able to provide valuable insight on the future impact of heat network zoning and the impending regulation of the market.”
Dr Clive Winters, Pro‑Vice‑Chancellor (Strategy and Governance), Coventry University
Financing green innovation
Our work in green finance is reshaping how positive change is funded. We help clients raise and deploy capital in ways that support sustainability goals while delivering strong commercial outcomes – from setting up funds and raising finance, to backing investments that can scale and make a real difference. In 2025, we advised on the development of two sustainability funds at the forefront of the market: the Elbow Beach Climate Impact Fund II, investing in game changing climate technologies, and a fund for the Bywater Group focused on future resilient sustainable property developments. This builds on our funds team’s long track record of innovation, including IQ Capital Fund V – a disruptive multi-fund structure promoting environmental and social characteristics that has attracted strong interest from investors around the world and is now being mirrored across the market. Beyond fund structuring, we support clients in deploying capital with purpose. We have advised charities on green investment policies, sustainable fund allocations and impact investments, and helped them develop commercialisation initiatives that unlock new funding sources to advance their sustainability objectives. Recent investment work includes supporting an $18 million funding round for Colorifix, helping bring its sustainable dyeing technology to market; advising on early-stage funding for a university spinout advancing battery research to support the energy transition; and advising on a $55 million investment into Ultromics, as it scales its AI enabled cardiac diagnostics across US hospitals.
“We're going to help support the next generation of founders who are driving real transformational change. The UK has a huge advantage in the development of new technologies that help to deliver better outcomes for customers through cheaper, more secure or higher performance solutions which are also decarbonising.”
Ross Upton, PhD, CEO and Founder, Ultromics
Governance, reporting and regulatory compliance
Our team has worked with a wide range of organisations to review and strengthen their governance frameworks – a critical, yet often overlooked, pillar of ESG – ensuring they’re fit for purpose and aligned with their clients’ broader ESG strategies. Central to this is robust data governance, transparent ESG reporting, and ongoing regulatory compliance. But our support goes further since we help to embed ESG principles into board structures, decision-making processes and risk management frameworks, ensuring governance is a driver of accountability, resilience, and long-term value.
Our recent work includes advising the Global Energy Alliance People & Planet – an international non-profit organisation working to end energy poverty, support a just energy transition in emerging and developing countries, and enable inclusive economic growth – on the review and refinement of its governance structures, helping ensure they are aligned with its mission and capable of supporting effective delivery.
Preventing greenwashing and managing ESG risk
We’re at a point where most organisations are keen to share information about their environmental initiatives with their clients, customers and shareholders. We help clients to make sure their communications, whether a LinkedIn post or a shareholder report, stay within the guidance of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). For example, we are advising the Fairtrade Foundation which supports farmers and workers to build more sustainable livelihoods by adopting climate-smart practices, improve crop quality, and invest in their long-term climate resilience.
“Mills & Reeve has been incredibly supportive in providing guidance and advice in relation to existing and emerging regulations that affect Fairtrade and its partners, enabling Fairtrade to deliver its projects and strategy with confidence.”
Alister Oulton, Legal and Corporate Counsel, Fairtrade Foundation
Looking ahead
ESG in 2026 – continued simplification and alignment
In the UK, 2026 represents a period of regulatory consolidation and alignment with international standards. The forthcoming UK Sustainability Reporting Standards, UK endorsed iterations of the ISSB standards, are expected to be available for voluntary adoption from early 2026, reinforcing moves toward interoperable, globally consistent reporting. The FCA’s new prospectus regime (which came into force in January 2026) similarly streamlines disclosure obligations while tightening requirements for climate related information where risks or opportunities are material. These developments reflect a wider European simplification trend, including the narrowing of the CSRD’s scope and deferral and dilution of CSDDD obligations.
Beyond reporting, UK businesses continue to face significant reform across packaging, waste and resource efficiency regulation. The Extended Producer Responsibility regime enters its next phase in 2026, increasing pressure on producers to redesign packaging and improve recyclability. The Plastic Packaging Tax rises again in 2026, and organisations are preparing for the Deposit Return Scheme scheduled for 2027, alongside broader reforms to recycling systems, waste movements and product stewardship, each of which will have operational and compliance implications across supply chains.
Greenwashing enforcement also remains a priority. From 27 September 2026, EU Member States will begin enforcing strengthened rules on consumer facing environmental claims, requiring clearer substantiation, verifiable evidence and greater accuracy in all environmental communications.
“2026 is a pivotal year for ESG, marked by regulatory simplification, sharper disclosure expectations and rising scrutiny – demanding greater diligence, data integrity and governance across all aspects of responsible business.”
Alison Ross Eckford, Partner, ESG Legal Services
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Through our ESG legal services we are proud to contribute to the following SDGs:
