Environmental law

For many years now, numerous legislative approaches for protecting the environment have been adopted that go substantially beyond the simple granting or revoking of permits. Permits themselves – the granting of them, their maintenance on the sale or restructuring of a company and the consequences of their revocation – nevertheless play a very significant role for our clients. Our expertise covers the entire spectrum of environmental legislation, including the German Federal Immission Control Act (Bundesimmissionsschutzgesetz) and legal requirements relating to water supply and wastewater removal.

We also advise on liability risks and renovation requirements relating to existing contamination in the soil, groundwater or buildings.

Today, chemicals law is predominantly governed at EU level, via the REACH, CLP and Biocidal Products Regulations, for instance. Having advised leading waste-disposal and recycling companies, among others, we have also gained expertise in recycling law, which is equally increasingly being centralised at EU level.

Ultimately, environmental law plays a key role in climate protection and the German government's efforts to transform the supply of the energy market (Energiewende). We are, for instance, currently closely involved in issues relating to the trading of emission certificates, mining and nuclear law, as well as legal questions relating to all aspects of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz).