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Environmental Social Governance (ESG)

  • Corporate ESG policies
  • CSRD-compliant reporting
  • Legal instruments to achieve ESG goals, such as green energy agreements
  • “Green clauses” in lease agreements
  • ESG-focused due diligence in M&A transactions
  • Addressing “greenwashing” matters
  • Audits of internal regulations, procedures and processes
  • Data protection and privacy documentation in line with ESG standards
  • Implementation of regulations and mechanisms to ensure equal treatment of employees
  • “Green loans”
Environmental Social Governance (ESG)

ESG comes with a variety of challenges, but if implemented skilfully, it also opens up business opportunities. Effective ESG implementation leads to more cost-effective and sustainable operations, helps strengthen the company’s image, facilitates access to funding, attracts new customers and strengthens corporate culture.

As a law firm, we stay up to date with these trends and are committed to helping our clients align their businesses with the demands ESG places on market players.

Our interdisciplinary team of lawyers will support you in implementing changes to ensure your business meets ESG requirements.


Legal advice

As part of our legal services regarding ESG, we support clients across a broad range of environmental (E), social (S), and governance (G) issues. This encompasses in particular matters relating to corporate governance, real estate law, employment law, data protection and competition and consumer protection.

Our services include:

  • Developing internal corporate ESG policies
  • Advising on CSRD-compliant reporting
  • Devising legal instruments to achieve ESG goals, such as green energy agreements
  • Drafting and negotiating “green clauses” in lease agreements
  • Carrying out ESG-focused due diligence in M&A transactions
  • Advising on addressing “greenwashing” matters, including reviewing an entity’s marketing communication regarding product and its components compliance with environmental regulations
  • Auditing internal regulations, procedures and processes, in particular employment and data protection documentation (including in terms of compliance with industry regulations regarding privacy, cybersecurity and GDPR)
  • Assisting in implementing regulations and mechanisms to ensure equal treatment of employees (gender equality, equal pay, access to training, inclusion of people with disabilities, prevention of undesirable behaviours)
  • Preparing data protection and privacy documentation in compliance with ESG standards, including cyber resilience
  • Providing guidance on “green loan” documentation

We regularly publish insights on ESG topics in our ESG Newsletter, where a dedicated team of JDP lawyers shares their knowledge and expertise in the ESG field.

Below is a list of past issues of the ESG Newsletter with related hyperlinks. We encourage you to explore them:

  1. Introduction to ESG
  2. ESG legal framework – where to find answers
  3. ESG reporting in a nutshell. All the reporting undertaking needs to know and more
  4. Corporate governance in ESG reporting
Find out more about ESG

What is ESG?

ESG stands for environmental, social and governance. In simple terms, it refers to a set of standards and rules related to business operations aimed to ensure sustainable development that brings social and environmental benefits. These efforts are meant to create a better world, not only for us but for future generations as well.

The concept of ESG emerged in the early 21st century but has gained more relevance thanks to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) adopted by the European Parliament in November 2022. The CSRD replaced previous legislation on non-financial reporting, i.e. the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD).

To learn more, check out our ESG Newsletter “Introduction to ESG”.

ESG goals

ESG aims to positively impact environmental protection and support the goals set by the European Union, e.g. significantly reducing CO2 emissions and achieving climate neutrality. By implementing an ESG strategy, companies are expected to reduce their consumption of natural resources, encourage recycling and protect biodiversity.

The social dimension of ESG is equally crucial. This includes respect for human rights, ensuring decent working conditions, combating discrimination and promoting equal opportunities for all employees, regardless of gender. The social aspect also encompasses corporate social responsibility, where companies engage with local communities by, for example, funding neighbourhood events, supporting tree planting and maintenance, organising employee volunteering programs, or investing in education.

ESG reporting – what is it?

ESG reporting is a mechanism that involves publicly disclosing information about an entity’s practices in terms of corporate governance, environmental impact and social responsibility. This information should cover the entity’s strategy, actions taken and their results. In simple terms, large entities operating primarily in the financial market – such as listed companies, insurance companies and banks – are required to disclose this information, however, these are not the only groups covered by this requirement. We explore this topic further in our ESG Newsletter “ESG reporting in a nutshell. All the reporting undertaking needs to know and more”.

ESG reporting requirements that apply in the European Union are defined by the CSRD and the related European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Data collected may include information on water and energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, employee diversity and assessments of the company’s environmental impact.

ESG criteria: When des ESG reporting become mandatory? Which entities are required to publish ESG reports?

The obligation of ESG reporting will extend to more entities over the coming years. Below is the timeline outlining when specific entities must begin ESG reporting.

ESG reporting for 2024 will be mandatory in 2025 for:
Large public-interest entities with over 500 employees and total assets of over PLN 85 million or net revenue of over PLN 170 million
Large parent public-interest entities meeting the above criteria taking into account consolidation exclusions or meeting higher financial criteria in the absence of such exclusions: total assets of over PLN 102 million or net revenue of over PLN 204 million.

ESG reporting for 2025 will become mandatory in 2026 for further entities, namely large entities both listed and unlisted, and parent companies of large corporate groups:

  • meeting two of the following criteria: over 250 employees, a balance sheet total of over EUR 25 million or net revenue of over EUR 50 million,
  • in the case of parent entities – large groups that in consolidated terms meet two of the above criteria.

In 2027, the new legislation will extend to further entities. Importantly, these entities will have the option to delay the reporting for up to two years. Small and medium-sized enterprises (public interest entities) listed on a regulated market, excluding micro-enterprises, will also be covered by the reporting obligation. They must meet at least two of the following three criteria: over 10 employees, a balance sheet total of over EUR 450,000, annual revenues of over EUR 900,000.

The final implementation phase will take place in 2028, when ESG reporting will also become mandatory for non-EU companies with net revenues in the EU of over EUR 150 million and at least one subsidiary or branch in the EU.