ESG Due Diligence

Opportunities and challenges for our clients

ESG due diligence in M&A deals – i.e. the assessment of a target with regard to environmental, social and governance risks – is already a key aspect of M&A transactions. At the same time, this topic shows specifically how multifaceted and not very standardized ESG advice is. Depending on the specific industry and individual corporate context, various constantly evolving regulations, standards and criteria can be used for ESG due diligence.

Due to the increasingly legally binding framework, the role of legal advice in the ESG context is increasingly coming into focus – but is still in a state of flux. Interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary, often transnational expert knowledge is required. This is because red flags that are not identified – or not identified in good time – can be costly and time-consuming. It is therefore important to provide early, pragmatic and comprehensive advice that identifies the client's needs in a precise and results-oriented manner.

Our legal service portfolio in detail

Our interdisciplinary, international team of advisors supports buyers throughout the entire M&A project, in particular with regard to:

finding a clearly defined understanding of relevant (legal) requirements and standards
project management (in particular the coordination of the various disciplines involved)
reviewing relevant legal issues
processing and assessing the relevant strategic data
integrating the relevant risks and findings into the corresponding agreements and
the negotiations between buyer and seller.