TRW & Co · Competition, Regulatory & Investigations
Environmental Lawyers in London
Environmental lawyers in London advise on permits, waste, pollution, contaminated land, biodiversity net gain and climate obligations. With strict liability offences, turnover-linked fines, tougher water regulation and carbon pricing expanding to imports from 2027, businesses need compliance that works on site and contracts that allocate environmental risk deliberately.
Key pointA permit does not end when a site is sold or closed: the operator stays responsible until the regulator accepts surrender, which depends on evidence that the land is in a satisfactory state. Baseline data and records kept throughout operation decide the cost of exit.
At a glance
Strict liability offences
Many environmental offences, including permit breaches and pollution of controlled waters, do not require proof of intent or negligence.
Biodiversity net gain
Most development in England must deliver at least a 10% habitat gain, with significant gains secured for at least 30 years.
BNG small site change
From 6 August 2026, biodiversity net gain no longer applies to developments of 0.2 hectares or below, according to government guidance.
Scope 3 in EIA
R (Finch) v Surrey County Council [2024] UKSC 20 requires assessment of downstream combustion emissions for an oil extraction project.
Devolved regulators
The Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency apply different regimes in each part of the UK.
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What environmental law covers in England and Wales
Environmental lawyers in London advise on the rules that govern how businesses affect land, air, water, wildlife and the climate: permits to operate, waste and pollution controls, contaminated land, nature and biodiversity obligations, climate disclosure and the liabilities that follow when something goes wrong. The same rules shape the value of property, the bankability of projects and the risk allocation in corporate deals.
The law affects far more than heavy industry. A logistics operator storing fuel, a developer building on a former industrial site, a retailer making sustainability claims, a manufacturer placing packaging on the market, a water company, a data centre seeking power and planning consent, and an investor buying a portfolio of warehouses all carry environmental legal risk. For many, the question is not whether the law applies but whether they can show they are managing it.
Environmental issues become legal questions at predictable points: applying for or varying a permit, receiving an enforcement notice or a request for information from a regulator, a pollution incident, a planning objection, an acquisition or sale, a lender's due diligence questions, or a challenge to the company's green claims. Environmental lawyers London businesses instruct help them act before those moments turn into prosecutions, delays or price chips.
The legal and regulatory framework
Core statutes
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 remains central. Part 2 governs waste, including the offence of unauthorised or harmful deposit of waste and the waste duty of care in section 34, which applies to everyone who produces, imports, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste. Part 2A sets the contaminated land regime and Part 3 deals with statutory nuisance.
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 require permits for regulated facilities such as industrial installations, waste operations, water discharge and groundwater activities, radioactive substances and certain flood risk activities. Operating without a permit, or breaching permit conditions, is a criminal offence.
The Environment Act 2021 created the Office for Environmental Protection, a framework of long-term environmental targets, a statutory policy statement on environmental principles, mandatory biodiversity net gain for development, local nature recovery strategies, and powers for producer responsibility and deposit return schemes. The Climate Change Act 2008 sets the legally binding net zero target for 2050 and the carbon budget system.
Other important instruments include the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) (England) Regulations 2015, which impose remediation duties for serious environmental damage; the Water Resources Act 1991 and Water Industry Act 1991; the Control of Major Accident Hazards regime; and the Water (Special Measures) Act 2025, which strengthened regulators' powers over water companies, including rules on executive pay, pollution incident reduction plans and sanctions for impeding investigations.
Regulators
The Environment Agency regulates in England, Natural Resources Wales in Wales, SEPA in Scotland and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency in Northern Ireland. Local authorities handle contaminated land identification, statutory nuisance and some air pollution permits. Natural England advises on protected sites and species, Ofwat and the Drinking Water Inspectorate regulate water companies, and the Office for Environmental Protection holds government and public authorities to account in England and, for some matters, Northern Ireland.
Devolution
Environmental policy is largely devolved. Scotland has its own permitting framework under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 and its own environmental governance body, while Wales has its own wellbeing and environment legislation. Environmental lawyers in London advising on UK-wide operations must check which regime applies at each site.
Key decisions and how environmental lawyers in London approach them
Environmental risk can be managed through permits and operational controls, allocated by contract, priced into a transaction or insured. The right mix depends on the asset, the counterparty and the regulator's likely view. The table below summarises the main regimes a business is likely to meet.
| Regime | Who it affects | Key obligation | Main regulator (England) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental permitting | Industrial installations, waste sites, dischargers | Hold and comply with a permit; apply to vary, transfer or surrender | Environment Agency or local authority |
| Waste duty of care | Any business producing or handling waste | Keep waste secure, use authorised carriers, describe waste accurately, keep transfer records | Environment Agency, local authorities |
| Contaminated land (Part 2A) | Polluters, and owners or occupiers where no polluter can be found | Remediate land designated as contaminated | Local authority; Environment Agency for special sites |
| Biodiversity net gain | Developers of most new development | Deliver at least 10% gain, secured for at least 30 years | Local planning authority |
| Packaging extended producer responsibility | Larger producers placing packaging on the UK market | Report packaging data and pay fees towards waste management costs | Environment Agency and scheme administrator |
| Carbon pricing | Energy-intensive sites, aviation, maritime and, from 2027, importers of certain goods | Monitor, report and surrender allowances, or pay the carbon border levy | UK ETS Authority, HMRC |
Permitting strategy
A permit application is a negotiation as much as a form. Choosing between a standard rules permit and a bespoke permit, defining the site boundary and activities correctly, and anticipating the regulator's questions on emissions, monitoring and site condition can save months. Surrender is just as important: a site cannot be handed back until the regulator is satisfied that pollution risk has been dealt with, which often shapes exit plans in a sale.
Biodiversity net gain and development
Mandatory biodiversity net gain has applied to most planning applications in England since 2024. Developers must achieve at least a 10% gain in habitat value, measured with the statutory metric, and secure significant gains for at least 30 years through conservation covenants or planning obligations. Government guidance confirms that, from 6 August 2026, BNG no longer applies to developments of 0.2 hectares or below, and that the regime is due to extend to nationally significant infrastructure projects from 2 November 2026. Our planning and development team handles BNG strategy alongside consents.
Climate and environmental impact assessment
In R (Finch) v Surrey County Council [2024] UKSC 20, the Supreme Court held that the environmental impact assessment for an oil extraction project had to assess the greenhouse gas emissions from eventual combustion of the oil produced. The decision has wider implications for how fossil fuel and other projects assess indirect effects. The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 allows EIA to be replaced by environmental outcomes reports, but that depends on regulations.
Responding to an incident or investigation
Pollution incidents and regulatory investigations move quickly. Decisions taken in the first days, about notification, clean-up, preserving evidence and interviews, have a large effect on the outcome. Environmental lawyers London operators call in at that stage typically follow a structured sequence.
- Contain and notify. Stop or limit the pollution and make any notifications required by the permit or by statute. Notifying promptly is usually both a legal duty and a mitigating factor.
- Preserve evidence. Secure monitoring data, maintenance records, CCTV, emails and samples, and suspend routine deletion. Consider commissioning independent sampling under legal privilege.
- Engage with officers. Regulators may attend the site, take samples and require information. Cooperate, but understand which requests are compulsory and how answers may be used.
- Interviews under caution. If the company or individuals are invited to interview under caution, take advice first. The company's answers can be evidence in a prosecution.
- Remediation and enforcement notices. Comply with any notice while assessing grounds of appeal. Appeal deadlines are short and an appeal does not always suspend the notice.
- Enforcement outcome. The regulator may give advice, accept an enforcement undertaking, impose a civil sanction or prosecute. An enforcement undertaking offer, with restoration and a payment to an environmental cause, can sometimes avoid prosecution.
- Learn and report. Update procedures, brief the board and consider disclosure to insurers, lenders and, for listed companies, the market.
Environmental offences are often strict liability: the prosecution does not need to prove intent or negligence. Sentencing guidelines for organisations link fines to turnover and culpability, and directors and managers can be personally liable where an offence is committed with their consent, connivance or neglect. Board oversight of environmental risk is therefore a personal as well as a corporate issue.
Documents and evidence to assemble
Whether the task is a permit application, a transaction or an investigation, the same core documents recur. Gathering them early saves time and reveals gaps.
- Permits and consents. All environmental permits, discharge consents, abstraction licences, planning permissions and conditions, together with variations and correspondence with regulators.
- Compliance records. Monitoring returns, compliance assessment reports, incident logs, waste transfer and consignment notes, and maintenance records.
- Site investigations. Phase I desk studies, Phase II intrusive investigations, site condition reports and remediation verification reports.
- Corporate governance. Board papers on environmental risk, policies, training records and the environmental management system.
- Contracts. Leases, supply contracts, waste contractor terms, previous sale agreements and any environmental indemnities given or received.
- Claims and disclosures. Sustainability reports and marketing claims, with the evidence behind each.
Risks and common mistakes
Assuming contaminated land liability stays with the polluter
Under Part 2A, liability falls first on those who caused or knowingly permitted the contamination. But if no such person can be found, the current owner or occupier can become liable, and a buyer that knew of contamination and took a price reduction may in some cases be treated as having assumed responsibility. Buyers should commission appropriate site investigations, understand the exclusion tests and draft indemnities and price adjustments deliberately. Sellers should record what they disclosed. Leaving liability to the general law, without contractual allocation, often produces outcomes neither side intended.
Overlooking the waste duty of care
The duty of care applies to almost every business, not just waste companies. Using an unregistered carrier, describing waste inaccurately or failing to keep transfer notes is an offence, and a business can be liable if its waste is later fly-tipped by a contractor it did not check. Simple controls, such as verifying carrier registration, auditing contractors and keeping records for the required period, prevent most problems. Planned waste reforms, including digital waste tracking, will increase the visibility of poor practice to regulators.
Treating permit surrender as an afterthought
Businesses selling or closing a site often assume the permit simply ends. In fact, the operator remains responsible until the regulator accepts surrender, which requires evidence that the site has been returned to a satisfactory state. Baseline site condition reports and good records throughout operation are essential. In a transaction, the parties must decide who will hold the permit, whether it will be transferred, and who bears the cost of any surrender works.
Making green claims without evidence
Environmental claims in marketing are regulated by consumer protection law, and since April 2025 the CMA can impose fines directly under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Financial firms face the FCA's anti-greenwashing rule. Claims must be clear, accurate, substantiated and must not omit material information. A sustainability report written for investors can create consumer law risk if marketing teams reuse its language. See our guide to greenwashing and green claims.
Responding informally to a regulator's questions
A friendly call from an officer can become a formal investigation. Answers given informally, or emails sent in haste, may later be relied on. Businesses should know which requests are statutory and compulsory, which are voluntary, and how privilege and the privilege against self-incrimination apply. Appointing a single point of contact and taking legal advice before written responses are sent is proportionate and does not signal non-cooperation.
Most environmental liabilities are created long before anyone notices them, which is why records kept today often decide who pays tomorrow.
Transactions, finance and sustainability reporting
Environmental issues now feature in almost every significant UK transaction. Buyers and lenders want to know about permits, contamination, flood risk, energy performance, carbon exposure and any regulatory history. Environmental lawyers in London work alongside corporate, real estate and finance teams to scope due diligence, interpret technical reports and draft warranties, indemnities and conditions.
Commercial property owners also face energy efficiency rules for lettings; see our guide to MEES and EPCs. Carbon pricing is expanding: the UK ETS is widening its scope and a UK carbon border adjustment mechanism is due to start on 1 January 2027, covered in our guide to the UK CBAM and by our carbon markets team.
Listed and large companies must also consider climate-related disclosure, transition plans and the developing UK sustainability reporting standards. Our ESG and sustainability team advises on governance, disclosure and investor engagement, while our renewable energy team handles project consents and environmental conditions.
Cross-border environmental issues
Environmental obligations increasingly follow supply chains and capital across borders.
- Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act 1995 and the environmental clearance system administered by the Department of Environment govern industrial sites there. UK buyers of Bangladeshi textiles and goods face growing customer and regulatory expectations on effluent, chemicals and working conditions. TRW & Co's Dhaka office advises on local clearances; see our guide to Bangladesh supply chain due diligence.
- European Union. UK businesses selling into the EU may be affected by EU corporate sustainability due diligence rules, the EU deforestation regulation and the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism, which differ from UK rules in scope and timing.
- The Gulf. Gulf investors in UK infrastructure, energy and real estate need to understand UK permitting, BNG and planning conditions as part of their investment case.
- Singapore and China. Groups operating in Asia often run global environmental policies that must be checked against UK requirements, particularly on reporting and product rules.
Where a matter turns on foreign environmental law, we work with local counsel and keep a clear line between UK obligations and those of other jurisdictions.
How TRW & Co helps
TRW & Co's London office is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Our environmental lawyers in London combine regulatory, transactional and disputes work, and we are clear about where specialist technical consultants are needed.
Permits and compliance
We advise on permit applications, variations, transfers and surrenders, and review compliance systems so that they match the conditions the business actually operates under.
Incidents and enforcement
We guide clients through pollution incidents, regulator requests, interviews under caution, enforcement undertakings and notice appeals, and conduct defence work with specialist counsel where needed.
Transactions and finance
We scope environmental due diligence, interpret technical reports and negotiate warranties, indemnities and price mechanisms for acquisitions, disposals and financings.
Development and nature
We advise on biodiversity net gain, protected species, conservation covenants and environmental conditions for development and infrastructure projects.
Products and claims
We advise on packaging producer responsibility, product environmental rules and the substantiation of green marketing claims.
Challenges and disputes
We bring and defend judicial review and statutory challenges to environmental decisions, and handle contractual disputes over environmental liabilities.
For challenges to permits or consents, see our public law and judicial review page. The full range of services is on our practices page.
Checklist for decision-makers
Boards, general counsel and investors who instruct environmental lawyers in London can test their own position first against these questions.
- Do we hold every permit, consent and licence our operations need, and do we comply with the conditions?
- Who on the board owns environmental risk, and what information do they see?
- Have we checked our waste carriers and kept complete transfer records?
- Do we have baseline condition data for each site we operate?
- Is there an incident response plan covering notification, evidence and regulator contact?
- Are environmental liabilities allocated clearly in our leases, supply contracts and sale agreements?
- Can we substantiate every environmental claim we make to customers and investors?
- Have we assessed exposure to packaging EPR, the UK ETS and the coming UK CBAM?
- Do our overseas suppliers and subsidiaries meet the environmental standards our customers expect?
To discuss an environmental issue, contact our London office or email info@trw.co.
Frequently asked questions
01Do I need an environmental permit?
You need a permit under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 if you operate a regulated facility, such as certain industrial installations, waste operations, water discharge or groundwater activities, radioactive substances activities or flood risk activities, unless an exemption applies. Some activities can use standard rules permits with fixed conditions; others need a bespoke permit. Operating without a required permit is an offence. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate regimes, so multi-site businesses need to check each location.
02Who is liable for contaminated land?
Under Part 2A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, liability for remediating land designated as contaminated falls first on those who caused or knowingly permitted the contamination. If no such person can be found, the current owner or occupier may be liable. Exclusion tests can shift liability between parties, for example where a buyer received information about the contamination and a price reduction. In practice, much contamination is dealt with through the planning system when land is redeveloped, and contracts allocate liability between buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants.
03What happens if we have a pollution incident?
Contain the pollution, make any notifications required by your permit or the law, and preserve evidence. The regulator may visit, take samples and require information. Take advice before any interview under caution, because answers can be used in a prosecution. Outcomes range from advice and warning letters to civil sanctions, enforcement undertakings and prosecution. Prompt notification, cooperation and remediation are relevant to the regulator's decision and to any sentence, which for organisations is linked to turnover and culpability.
04Can directors be personally liable for environmental offences?
Yes. Many environmental statutes provide that where an offence by a company is committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to neglect by, a director, manager or similar officer, that person is also guilty of the offence. The Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 strengthened sanctions for impeding regulators' investigations in the water sector. Directors should ensure environmental risk is on the board agenda, that they receive meaningful information and that concerns are acted on and recorded.
05How does biodiversity net gain affect my development?
Most planning applications in England must show at least a 10% gain in biodiversity value, measured using the statutory metric, through on-site habitat, off-site units or, as a last resort, statutory credits. Significant gains must be secured for at least 30 years. Government guidance states that from 6 August 2026 the regime no longer applies to developments of 0.2 hectares or below, and that it is due to apply to nationally significant infrastructure projects from 2 November 2026. Early ecological surveys and a BNG strategy reduce planning delay.
06What should environmental due diligence cover in an acquisition?
It should cover permits and compliance history, enforcement and incidents, contamination and site investigations, waste arrangements, flood risk, energy performance, carbon exposure, producer responsibility obligations and environmental claims made to customers and investors. The scope should reflect the business: a portfolio of offices needs a different review from a chemicals site. Findings feed into price, specific indemnities, conditions and insurance. Environmental lawyers and technical consultants should work together so that legal conclusions rest on sound technical evidence.
07Are environmental rules different in Scotland?
Yes. Environmental policy is largely devolved. Scotland has its own authorisation framework under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018, regulated by SEPA, and its own environmental governance arrangements. Wales has its own regulator, Natural Resources Wales, and its own legislation in several areas. Northern Ireland has a separate regulator and, in some respects, continues to follow EU environmental rules under the Windsor Framework. Businesses operating across the UK should map obligations site by site.
Sources and official materials
- Environmental Protection Act 1990 — Waste, contaminated land and statutory nuisance
- Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 — Permits for regulated facilities
- Environment Act 2021 — OEP, targets and biodiversity net gain
- Understanding biodiversity net gain — Government guidance on BNG
- Environment Agency — England's environmental regulator
- Office for Environmental Protection — Environmental governance body
- R (Finch) v Surrey County Council — Supreme Court decision on emissions in EIA
General information only, current as at 21 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor–client relationship. It reflects the law of England and Wales unless stated otherwise; Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate legal systems, and the law changes frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.