Sustainability and Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
Sustainability & ESG related issues are increasingly becoming a top priority for businesses, companies, and public entities focused on conducting their operations responsibly and sustainably.
At ByrneWallace LLP, our dedicated and integrated Sustainability & ESG team assists clients in identifying ESG priorities across all levels of their business and organisation. We distinguish ourselves not only through our knowledge and expertise, but also through our seamless approach to service delivery. This approach is aligned with your business goals, enabling you to identify, manage, and minimise all legal risks associated with your project.
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Our Experience
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Latest Publications
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View all ESG & Sustainability publications and insights
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Our Team
 | Mona Costelloe Mona is a Partner in the ByrneWallace LLP Litigation, Disputes and Regulatory Affairs Department and is Chair of the ByrneWallace LLP Sustainability & ESG Group as well as a member of the firm’s own Sustainability Committee. She advises public body and private clients on their ESG obligations, governing regulations and EU Directives, reporting obligations, energy performance rules, green procurement requirements, the circular economy and the management of ESG risks. She also acts for a number of clients in planning and environmental disputes including complex judicial review matters. |
 | Michelle Ní Longáin SC Michelle is Head of Employment Law and Head of the Public Sector Group at ByrneWallace LLP, our Compliance Partner, and a Past President of the Law Society of Ireland. Michelle has been awarded a Patent of Precedence by the Government in 2024 and will be appointed as Senior Counsel in October 2024. She has extensive experience in all areas of employment, equality and administrative law including ESG matters, having practised in these areas in three jurisdictions and is widely recognised as a leading expert in equality law. She leads our protected disclosures advices to clients including advising on all of the Government’s protected disclosures guidances for public bodies since 2014. |
 | Alison O'Sullivan Alison is a Partner and Head of Property Department and advises both private and public sector clients in relation to all areas of commercial property law including ESG related matters. In particular, she has advised financial institutions, investors and state bodies, both as landlord and tenant, in relation to benefits and potential cost of green clauses in commercial leases. Alison is a member the Property Law Working Group in the Irish division of The Chancery Lane Project which drafted and promoted the inclusion of ESG related clauses in commercial leases in Ireland. |
 | Martin Cooney Martin is a Partner and Head of the Infrastructure, Construction and Energy Team. He is the firm’s Client Relationship Partner for a number of public bodies including the Environmental Protection Agency. He regularly advises clients in matters across a range of ESG issues including environmental law, public procurement, health and safety, renewable energy and construction law. He has advised on corporate governance and regulatory matters. He has acted for clients on wind, solar, hydrogen, waste water treatment and biomethane schemes. He has advised clients in relation to proceedings relating to environmental and planning matters, in respect of potential prosecutions under environmental, planning and building control law. Martin is a committee member of the Health and Safety Lawyers Association of Ireland, a director of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Ireland and is a member (and former Chair) of the Law Society of Ireland’s EU & International Affairs Committee and has represented Ireland at EU level. |
 | Fergal Ruane Fergal is a Partner and Head of the Projects and Infrastructure Team. He advises clients on a range of ESG related matters including construction and procurement law, renewable energy projects, planning and environmental law, commercial contracts, health and safety law and project finance. He advises clients in relation renewable energy projects including wind, solar, battery energy storage and hydrogen projects, electric vehicle charging infrastructure delivery and corporate power purchase agreements. He also advises clients on the integration of ESG criteria and requirements into public procurement competitions and circular economy initiatives. Fergal is also a member of the Law Society of Ireland Environmental and Planning Law Committee. |
 | Liam Connellan Liam Connellan is Partner and Head of the Pensions Team. He advises many leading employers, scheme trustees and individuals in relation to their pension schemes and arrangements. His expertise ranges from advising on pension scheme investment law and compliance with ESG regulations including SFDR and SRD II, the pensions aspects of corporate M&As, reorganisations and business transfers, master trust transition projects, auto-enrolment, drafting and amending pension scheme documentation, the implications of and documentation required for the implementation of IORPs II, restructuring defined benefit schemes, the application of pensions regulatory and tax legislation, trusteeship and scheme governance, to advising on pensions disputes and pensions litigation. Liam is the former chairperson, and a current member, of the Law Society’s Pensions Committee. |
 | Jonathan Lynch Jonathan is a Partner in the Corporate Department and advises clients on a full range of governance related issues including directors duties, conflicts of interests, board procedures and composition (to include matters of diversity and gender), shareholder interaction and reporting obligations and on applications for B Corp Certification (to include related changes to company constitutions) and requirements under various governance codes including those applicable to charities and state bodies. Jonathan has lectured for the Law Society of Ireland’s courses on ‘Corporate Law and Governance’ and ‘Company Secretarial Law and Practice’. Jonathan is a member of the ByrneWallace LLP Corporate Governance Group and the ESG Group. He has also acted as a legal advisor on Invent DCU’s panel of experts. |
 | Gráinne Murphy Gráinne is a Partner in the Litigation, Disputes and Regulatory Affairs Department and has acted for a diverse portfolio of clients on complex, high value, risk related mandates. She has advised public sector clients on energy efficiency standards, ESG in public procurement and ESG related legislation. She is currently acting for An Bord Pleanála in a large portfolio of judicial review challenges involving complex environmental matters including EIA Directive and Environmental Impact Assessment compliance. She holds a Diploma in Environmental Planning and Law from the Law Society of Ireland. |
.jpg) | Karen Outram Karen is a Partner in ByrneWallace LLP Banking and Finance Team and has extensive experience advising on a variety of finance transactions across a wide range of sectors, with a particular focus on green and sustainable finance and renewable energy finance. Her expertise ranges from advising on loans aligned with the Loan Market Association’s Sustainability-Linked Loan Principles, to acting for international lenders in connection with project finance for on-shore wind farms, and advising a domestic bank on ESG-related changes to their customer loan documentation. She advised a multi-national retailer in relation to one of the first green loans in Ireland which was used to finance the construction of a sustainable distribution centre. |
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GeoPura
ByrneWallace LLP advise GeoPura.
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Keppel Data Centres REIT
ByrneWallace LLP advises Keppel Data Centres REIT.
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Circle Voluntary Housing Association
ByrneWallace LLP advises Circle Voluntary Housing Association (Circle VHA).
