DLA Piper's Environmental Law practice has significant involvement with business issues related to corporate social responsibility as local, national and international stakeholders demand environmental stewardship from the individuals and organizations they do business with.
To successfully meet these demands, companies and corporations must integrate environmental management into their business strategy and policies. This requires a preventative approach to environmental compliance and liability issues, as well as an understanding of the evolving regulatory landscape. Our group's experience supports this approach.
We have a strong presence in all areas of environmental law, including environmental litigation, defence of environmental prosecutions, real estate and lender transactions with a particular emphasis on brownfields redevelopment, compliance issues, environmental approvals and assessments, due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, waste management and disposal, recycling, waste diversion and recovery, and transportation of dangerous goods.
Our client base includes companies in the natural resources sector, energy and waste management sectors, utilities, provincial energy boards, various levels of government, and quasi-governmental agencies and other organizations.
Our comprehensive expertise includes:
- Providing regulatory compliance advice to environmentally sensitive industries
- Advising the boards of directors and senior officers of environmentally sensitive industries
- Designing and participating in environmental management systems, environmental audits and other due diligence tools
- Advising on risk-allocation mechanisms, such as insurance, indemnifications or warranty provisions in the context of mergers and acquisitions
- Restructuring a property sale or purchase so as to minimize environmental liabilities
- Advising on the applicability of insurance coverage for environmental liabilities
- Acting as counsel in the review of various projects under environmental assessment legislation
- Negotiations with regulatory officials to define permit requirements
- Conducting appeals under environmental legislation and seeking judicial review before the courts
- Acting as counsel for plaintiffs and defendants engaged in civil litigation and private arbitrations
- Defending clients charged with environmental offences under provincial and federal legislation
- Advising governmental and quasi-governmental entities on policy and legislative developments
Emerging Issues
Staying informed of legislation and regulations helps our clients remain compliant and thriving
- Pending environmental legislation will increase the demands and scrutiny on businesses that impact the environment
- Canada's international obligations under various environmental treaties and its commitments under the NAFTA Environmental Cooperation Agreement are forcing businesses to take a rigorous approach to environmental planning and remediation
- Waste management, waste disposal and recycling are pressing concerns today, and our firm has more experience than any other Canadian firm dealing with these issues
- Emissions trading, whether provincially, nationally or internationally, will have increasing significance for companies operating in Canada, as will the potential to be involved in green energy initiatives.