Sorainen has been recognised in the second edition of The Legal 500’s EMEA Green Guide. We are the only firm in our region to earn recognition for our work in the field of ESG in all Baltic countries.
Projects with a significant impact
According to Legal500, our clients benefit from the firm’s cross-disciplinary approach to green work. ‘’The firmwide ESG team is dedicated to facilitating the green transition for clients and has become a go-to in the region for renewables projects. The team is comprised of multidisciplinary lawyers across Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania who collaborate closely on ESG matters.’’
Recent examples of notable projects in this sector include:
- Advising the book-runners (Swedbank, Nordea, and Citi) on Enefit Green’s record-breaking IPO of EUR 175 million. Proceeds of which will be used to develop 600 MW of wind and solar projects and grow production capacity by 230%.
- Advising Tomra in all stages of the implementation of a packaging deposit system in Latvia.
- Advising Taaleri SolarWind II Fund and Atsinaujinančios Energetikos Investicijos on all legal matters pertaining to their acquisition of three wind farms with a combined total capacity of 186MW.
- Assisting Šiaulių Bankas, one of the largest banks in Lithuania,with establishing a EUR 275 million modernisation fund to renovate 600 old multi-apartment buildings, expected to save an estimated 50,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
Dedicated to ESG
The firm’s commitment to sustainability is not limited to client work. All offices across the Baltic region have undergone a carbon footprint assessment and set up individual action plans based on the results. Furthermore, all offices follow green and circular economy principles to increase sustainability, including measures such as reducing waste, developing sustainable procurement and consumption patterns, and introducing guidelines for sustainable events.
Our sustainability mindset is firmly encoded in our firm’s core purpose – to grow prosperity in the region by helping clients succeed in business. Sorainen has adhered to sustainability principles since the day of its creation by keeping our impact on society front and centre in our minds and by following best-governance practices, as well as by ensuring fair, safe and engaging work conditions for our staff.
In 2021, our approach to the concept of sustainability became more streamlined and strategic, and we created a dedicated cross-functional team to monitor and improve our efforts at the regional and local levels. Our sustainability team is comprised of high-level executives, lawyers and business development specialists from across the firm who lead the internal strategy at both a regional and local scale.
Giving back
In addition to ESG focused client work, our experts are also actively advocating for the field in the media. For example, our Latvian Country Managing Partner Eva Berlaus, also the ESG lead for the country, regularly lectures on the topics of sustainability, green investment, and corporate governance. At the Baltic-scale Novatore Impact Summit 2022, Berlaus conducted a workshop highlighting business benefits associated with ESG compliance and in May 2022 she took part in the Sustainability 2022 conference in Latvia, covering the topic of sustainability compliance at the supply chain and partner level. Also of note is Berlaus’ participation in the WWF’s public discussion on the role of the finance sector in the green transition.
Giving back is an important value for Sorainen. For example, we offer all colleagues three extra vacation days a year to contribute to a charitable cause of their choice. We also invest in meaningful environmental projects, including the Let’s Do It Foundation, as well as many social impact organisations.
The Global Green Guide
The Legal 500’s Global Green Guide is the first worldwide guide to the top law firms advising on issues around climate change, governance, and sustainability, with the editorial picking out the leading practices and individuals in each jurisdiction, recognising a firm’s contribution to ‘Green Change’ and ESG. The guide sees The Legal 500 go around the world and put a global perspective on law firms that are key players in this field, i.e. firms that are in one way or another contributing to a “green transition.”
