Category: The environment

As part of the Chancery Lane project, we’re addressing the lack of environmental safeguards in most contracts.

Given how fundamental protecting the environment is to future generations, there is a real lack of environmental safeguards in most contracts.

While lawyers or organisations have access to legal precedent banks like Lexis Nexis and Practical Law when it comes to drafting contracts, nothing exists for those that want to create more sustainable agreements that help society meet targets like Net Zero.

An international initiative

The Chancery Lane Project is an initiative to put that right. The project vision is: ‘A world where every contract and law enable solutions to climate change. A world in which legal frameworks enable and encourage businesses and communities to have a positive impact on the environment.’

The project entails a collaboration between lawyers and law firms working pro bono to draft legal precedents that will help to ‘rewire laws and contracts to create new market norms for lawyers and lawmakers to use.’

So far, over 120 UK firms have been involved in the project. And the initiative is now international.

Free for anyone to use

Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) have been involved in the work as peer reviewers for the “Climate Contract Playbook”, a collection of precedent clauses that are free to use for anyone drafting environmentally aware contracts.

Each clause or contract has been given the name of a child to help stress the significance of the initiative for future generations.

More environmentally aware contracts that shape behaviour by suppliers, partners or beneficiaries are vital to a sustainable future. We’ve started to publish ebriefings on their importance and what our clients can do to take on board these precedents and clauses.

As Natalie Barbosa, one of our contributors to the project says;

“Every client needs to have their climate glasses on. This isn’t something that can be dealt with in a silo, it should be in everything we’re interacting with.”

Natalie Barbosa, senior associate at ACS

We helped local authority and housing association clients unlock £3.5m of funds to boost energy efficiency.

The Government’s decarbonisation fund is helping local authorities and housing associations boost energy efficiency in homes. As a result, thousands of properties are becoming greener and tenants are paying significantly less to heat their homes.

Through supporting applications, the Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) team have helped several clients collectively unlock £3.5 million of public funds. And, with match funding, this has resulted in £7m of funding being invested in improvements.

Undoubtedly, this will have a huge impact for both people and the environment. All of this wouldn’t have been possible for our clients without the ACS team charting a way through public procurement rules, construction contracts and the new subsidies scheme recently introduced due to Brexit.

Small changes, big impact

Our clients are focusing on ways to improve their least efficient houses. Work will begin with contractors assessing energy efficiency of properties and making recommendations for how to retrofit tenants’ houses.

Whether it’s putting insulation in walls or installing windows with triple glazing, all of these changes will significantly reduce carbon emissions and contribute towards reducing the use of fossil fuels.

Warm homes for thousands

Thousands of people and their families will benefit from the improvements. Historically, tenants living in social housing have experienced draughty conditions and other consequences of living in an inefficient house. Now they will have warm, comfortable homes, as well as saving money spending less on gas bills.

Martin Brown, ACS solicitor, says;

“Here at Anthony Collins Solicitors, we believe everyone is entitled to a good standard of living. And we’re very aware of the ongoing climate emergency and the problems that need to be addressed. We believe in the work our clients do and know it will make a difference to many people’s lives, as well as helping to protect the environment.”

Martin Brown, solicitor at ACS