ESG: Legal Considerations for a Sustainable Built Environment at UCL
To celebrate a new partnership in construction law with Gatehouse Chambers, The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction held an event that brought together industry experts and academics.
Organised by BSSC’s The Centre for Sustainable Governance and Law in the Built Environment, the panel discussion chaired by Dr Armando Castro debated the evolving landscape of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in the Built Environment and featured guest speakers Jeremy Glover (Fenwick Elliott), Sara Ibrahim (Gatehouse Chambers) and Thomas Goodhead (Pogust Goodhead).
The sold-out event brought together multidisciplinary academic and legal expertise, fostering a deeper understanding of the current debates surrounding ESG regulation and some of the most high-profile current disputes. Industry experts and academics discussed topics with the audience including:
- Greenwashing, climate contracts and their implications
- Upcoming ESG regulations
- Human rights governance for companies
- Diversity initiatives and their impact
- Professional negligence in the context of ESG
The Centre for Sustainable Governance and Law in the Built Environment, based at The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction develops and promotes, legal, financial, and policy-focused research and debates that take into account the latest social and environmental developments in the urban environment. Its academic and practitioner members and advisors have a wide range of expertise in sustainability. Their focus lies particularly in governance, environmental science, social inclusion, finance and law.
Gatehouse Chambers has specialist construction, energy and engineering barristers with a domestic and international practice that sees them advising on complex engineering and infrastructure disputes around the world. Its barristers make regular appearances in the TCC and handle various ADR proceedings for clients involved in project disputes arising from a range of industry sectors.
Senior members of Gatehouse Chambers’ team have over 40 years of experience in this field. Paul Reed KC is author of two leading and internationally-acclaimed construction insurance textbooks (Construction All Risks Insurance and Construction Professional Indemnity Insurance, published by Sweet & Maxwell). Team members are also at the forefront of effective dispute resolution participating in the development of the new Construction and Engineering Pre-action Protocol, and writing related textbooks such as E-Disclosure: Law and Practice (Raffin and Wheater).
Gatehouse Chambers’ construction team recently celebrated three new silk appointments; Michael Wheater KC in 2024, and David Pliener KC and Catherine Piercy KC in 2023. Its Construction Team is consistently recommended in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500, and has been a recipient of the Construction & Energy Set of the Year at the Legal 500 Awards.
Amanda Illing, CEO at Gatehouse Chambers, commented:
“This new innovative relationship is one of collaboration and friendship, and of bringing the practising legal community and academia closer together. The partnership aligns perfectly with Gatehouse Chambers’ business strategy and our 2030 vision.
Our evening event on the theme of ESG and the legal considerations for a sustainable environment couldn’t be more appropriate, and it was fantastic to hear a range of insights from a panel of esteemed speakers. Thank you to the BSSC team for the warm introduction and welcome, and we are looking forward to the exciting year ahead.”
The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction’s Director, Professor Priti Parikh, said:
“Our partnership with Gatehouse is based on the shared values of being radical, supporting multidisciplinary partnerships and challenging status quo. We celebrated the partnership by focussing on the landscape of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in the Built Environment which is a rapidly growing area of research at BSSC. Given our strong connection to sustainability we are committed to expanding our research in ESG to support practitioners in built environment.”
