Dentons. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Dentons has launched a sustainable investment practice group, based in Warsaw.

The practice will advise corporations, investment funds, asset managers and financial institutions on developing and executing sustainable investment strategies, according to Dentons. It will provide due diligence based on environmental, social and governance considerations, as well as non-financial reporting according to the EU's Corporate Social Responsibility Directive. The group will also advise on the use of sustainable finance instruments and fund structures, such as green bonds.

The practice will be headed by Elżbieta Lis, a Dentons partner based in the firm's Warsaw office.

Lis told Law.com International that she had pitched the idea of a sustainable practice area to the firm's management, as she wanted to combine her interest with helping the world's poor with her professional skill in dealmaking. The practice is aimed at helping investors make money "while doing good", she said.

While sustainable investment is not yet properly defined, Lis said her team will "help investors navigate the world of investment" and advise them how to avoid projects that claim to be sustainable but turn out not to be.

Dentons is the first major international law firm to set up a practice dedicated to sustainable investment, according to Lis. And It made sense to base the practice in Europe because the EU is leading the way in regulating and defining sustainable investment and finance, she added.

The EU has set up an expert group on sustainable finance that is working on a classification system for sustainable economic activities, including a standard for an EU green bond, ways to define low-carbon technologies, and metrics for company declarations on climate impact.

"Not only is sustainable investment an exciting growing market opportunity, it is also a way in which Dentons can make a positive impact on our communities," said Tomasz Dąbrowski, CEO of Dentons Europe, who gave the green light to the practice. "We remain committed to ensuring the sustainability of our own operations, and through this new practice, given Elżbieta's leadership and experience, we can now assist our clients to incorporate environmental and social sustainability into their investment and financing decisions."

While it will be headquartered in Warsaw, the practice will draw on the expertise of the firm's more than 10,000 lawyers worldwide. Lis said that because of the global nature of sustainable investment, the practice needs to have lawyers in all continents – lawyers who have expert knowledge of the underlying issues, which can range from energy to intellectual property.