The purchase of assets and businesses can expose the buyer to potentially significant liabilities under numerous environmental laws and regulations. Undertaking a comprehensive due diligence review of assets and business operations can minimize the risk of acquiring such liabilities.

This type of due diligence is often conducted in transactions, typically on behalf of a buyer, through the review of environmental documents and the tailoring of representations and warranties and indemnities, and it forms an important part of the vast majority of transactions.

Due diligence also refers to the concept of being “duly diligent” to prevent environmental noncompliance. The steps taken at the operational level or before a sale occurs may help to avoid noncompliance claims and may also provide a defense for alleged noncompliances. In this respect, an environmental compliance program can provide many benefits to the organization, not the least of which is the protection of its senior management from personal liability for the conduct of the most junior of employees. These programs can also be used by corporations to make sure that there are no outstanding environmental issues before they embark on a major new development or approach to their business.

We have significant experience across multiple jurisdictions and legal regimes in all aspects of transactional work, due diligence and risk assessment/management. It is particularly critical in multinational transactions, where contractual terms may implicate a number of domestic and international environmental standards. We work with technical and environmental advisers to provide you with comprehensive advice and practical solutions to transactional issues. We have experience:

• assisting in the preparation and implementation of environmental compliance programs
• performing regulatory compliance audits and advising clients with respect to noncompliance matters
• advising on particular environmental issues, such as contamination and site remediation, which may form an obstacle to future transactions.

Key service areas

We have developed our significant expertise through work on all kinds of transactions, including share and asset deals, property sales, and transactions dealing with oil and gas assets, waste, manufacturing, logistics, and real estate, by conducting and advising on:

• vendor’s due diligence
• purchaser’s due diligence
• environmental matters relevant to lenders and other financial agents
• due diligence on project finance transactions, particularly asset and project finance in the energy and mining sectors
• project risks
• language to allocate environmental risks in all kinds of transactions
• the nature of certain environmental risks and issues for boards of directors and executives
• innovative risk allocation mechanisms on heavily contaminated sites
• the tax treatment of environmental costs and governmental incentives and grants for environmental projects
• government relations and media management.

Recognition

Dentons secures 141 individual and 42 practice rankings in Legal 500 US 2017

June 6, 2017

Dentons earned 141 individual and 42 practice rankings in the most recent edition of Legal 500 US 2017, an annual legal directory, which catalogues the nation's best lawyers and law firms based on in-depth research and interviews.

Dentons secures 123 individual and 38 practice rankings in Chambers USA

May 26, 2017

Global law firm Dentons earned 123 individual and 38 practice rankings in the most recent edition of Chamber USA, a well-known annual legal directory that identifies the world's best lawyers and law firms based on in-depth, objective research.

Dentons Boosts Rankings in 2015 Edition of Legal 500 US

June 11, 2015

​​​The 2015 edition of The Legal 500 US recognizes 24 Dentons practices and 75 lawyers.

Insights

Climate justice is required when locating new energy sources

July 24, 2024

South Africa: When looking at the merits, or concerns around, fracking we need to consider more viewpoints than just that of lobby groups, as important as these are, because there are other socio-economic issues at play, writes Noor Kapdi, Chairman of Dentons South Africa.

A Sea Change in Environmental Law: The Supreme Court Just Up-Ended Administrative Review and Enforcement As We Knew It

July 1, 2024

United States: The Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) just handed down three blockbuster rulings and granted certiorari in a third case to be argued next term.

Climate Change Newsletter - Issue 11

July 13, 2016

Welcome to the Dentons' Climate Change Newsletter. Combining our regional practices from around the world, we intend in upcoming newsletters to provide short articles from several of our offices to present an overview of current developments globally in the climate change space. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of these authors, to any member of the Environment and Natural Resources practice or to our Energy group for information on these or other topics of interest.

View all insights for Environmental Transactional

News and Events

Recent Press Releases

Dentons advises on PLN 335 million financing of the Nozdrzec wind farm

January 18, 2024

Dentons has advised Yevulei Shemesh Renewable Energy Group Ltd as sponsor on the PLN 335 million financing extended by mBank and EBRD for the construction and operation of a 48 MW onshore wind farm in south-eastern Poland. The project consists of 16 wind turbines and is expected to generate 138 GWh of electricity per annum allowing the reduction of up to 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

Dentons advises P Capital Partners on a senior debt financing for a 167 MW portfolio of renewable energy projects in Poland

January 16, 2024

Dentons has advised P Capital Partners (PCP) on providing a Euro-denominated senior debt package to project companies controlled by SUSI Partners, a Swiss fund manager specializing in sustainable energy infrastructure investments, acting on behalf of the SUSI Energy Transition Fund (SETF), for a 167 MW portfolio of photovoltaic and wind power projects in Poland.

Dentons secures 141 individual and 42 practice rankings in Legal 500 US 2017

June 6, 2017

Dentons earned 141 individual and 42 practice rankings in the most recent edition of Legal 500 US 2017, an annual legal directory, which catalogues the nation's best lawyers and law firms based on in-depth research and interviews.

View all press releases for Environmental Transactional