Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

Trilegal’s market-leading ESG practice has closely worked with some of the pioneering organisations in the green energy and renewables sector, helping them navigate legal and business issues relating to the development and implementation of infrastructure initiatives in India.

Our team advises businesses on policy matters, compliance with UN sustainable development goals, waste management, carbon solutions, e-mobility, inclusive finance, affordable housing, green supply chains and climate technology. We have also worked with market-leading investors and sovereign wealth funds in setting up dedicated funds to mobilise finance for green and ESG objectives.

Some of our areas of work include

• Sustainable financing and impact investment

  • Structuring of sustainable finance vehicles and green bonds
  • Channelling corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds and formulating decarbonisation/clean energy transition and carbon management efforts

• Green energy and infrastructure

  • Advising on regulatory, transactional, and policy matters related to clean energy development and expansion projects in the renewables sector (solar, wind and hydro)
  • investments in low emission or electric mobility, batteries and charging infrastructure
  • power sector reforms and issues relating to sustainable transition policies
  • waste management and water sanitation projects
  • carbon storage and carbon trading

• ESG fund formation

  • Formation of ESG and impact-focused funds, alternate investment funds, intermediary vehicles and pooling vehicles
  • Developing and implementing sustainable investment policies and investment codes

• ESG advisory, disclosures and reporting

  • Environmental – waste management, carbon credit and footprint evaluation, energy conservation and effective resource utilisation and supply chain management
  • Social – health and safety, product liability and product regulation, conflict zone sourcing in supply chains, gender equality and equal opportunity
  • Governance – anti-bribery and corruption and other governance compliance; data privacy and cybersecurity and whistle-blower and grievance mechanisms

• ESG due diligence

  • Review of compliance with applicable legal standards on environment, safety, governance and corporate social responsibility
  • Forensic review of business operations considering specific ESG requirements

• Dispute resolution support

  • Environmental liability, risk allocation, and remediation
  • Transactional issues which do not conform to ESG requirements of foreign counterparts and parents
  • Penalties and sanctions from multi-lateral organisations

Select representative clients/matters

• Brookfield, on the establishment of an Indian domiciled fund for investment in the renewables sector
• JERA Power RN B.V., one of the existing shareholders of ReNew Power​, on the reverse merger of ReNew Power with RMG Acquisition Corp II, a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)
• IFC and the Government of Madhya Pradesh​, on the development of a 750-MW ultra-mega solar project in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This project was recognised in the prestigious Government of India’s Prime Minister’s Book of Innovation, 2017, and World Bank Group’s President award for Innovation and Excellence for its innovative PPP transaction structure
• Sprng Energy (a subsidiary of Actis), ​on aspects of establishing various wind power projects of over 500-MW capacity in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu
• Actis,​ on the proposed acquisition of 700 MW of renewable power projects of Orange Group
• Statkraft ​on the acquisition of an NSL Tidong Power Generation, under construction 100-MW hydropower project in Himachal Pradesh
• Investment Board of Nepal​ on reviewing (from an Indian law perspective) project development agreements/concession agreements for setting up large hydropower projects in Nepal for sale of power from the projects to India, including advising on issues relating to Indian regulations and market structure that may affect the arrangement for export of power to India
• Macquarie Group Services Australia Pty Ltd, on legal and regulatory requirements from Indian law perspective for carrying out trading of voluntary carbon units, assessing carbon footprint and marketing, sale and purchase of VCUs in India
• Lithium Urban Technologies Pvt Ltd, on Green Growth Equity Fund’s acquisition of a majority stake in Lithium
• Convergence Energy Services Ltd, in its role as the facilitating agency appointed by the Government of India for large-scale procurement and deployment of electric buses across nine major cities in India
• BP Technology Ventures Ltd, on Series A and Series A1 rounds of investment in e-mobility solutions
• Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, in relation to their investment in Green Growth Equity Fund (managed by EverSource Capital)
• Green Climate Fund, acted as its India counsel on its investment in Green Growth Equity Fund
• Investment Fund for Developing Countries – Denmark (IFU) and Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), on their financing to Polygenta Technologies Ltd

Our Team

• 

  Akshay Jaitly

  Projects, Environment and Climate Change, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

• 

  Kunal Gupta

  White-Collar Crime, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

• 

  Meyyappan Nagappan

  Tax, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

• 

  Neeraj Menon

  Projects, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

• 

  Rajat Jariwal

  Dispute Resolution, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), Environment and Climate Change

• 

  Upasana Rao

  Corporate, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

• 

  Yash Bansal

  Asset Management and Funds, Corporate, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)