Environmental issues on corporate transactions

Legal advice in relation to environmental issues, where it is given on a corporate transaction, will require a commercial assessment of the environmental responsibilities taken on, or to be taken on, by the client and any actual or contingent risks and liabilities that may arise from them, including:

1. •

   any potential impact on the value of assets (eg as a result of remediation in relation to environmental matters or other clean-up costs)

2. •

   any likely operational issues (eg due to the transfer, suspension or revocation of an environmental permit or other necessary licence)

3. •

   any consequential costs of compliance (eg the necessity to upgrade to plant and equipment to comply with environmental responsibilities), and

4. •

   any reputational risks (eg incidents of pollution or the perception of poor environmental or sustainability performance adversely affecting share prices)