The Sustainable Law Podcast

Historically, the UK has been a global leader on climate action, setting ambitious targets and building momentum for the action needed to tackle the climate crisis. Yet the UK remains the second-largest producer of oil and gas in Europe. With the development of the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields under consideration, yet widely contested, the UK stands at a crossroads.

Why is the energy transition so critical to meeting our climate goals? What would a fair energy transition look like — and how can we avoid the long-lasting social and economic impacts experienced during the transition away from coal? Who should bear the costs of the transition?

Can the shift renewable energy reinvigorate the UK’s manufacturing industry while avoiding rises in costs? And what can lawyers do to support this transition, even if they are not directly involved in relevant litigation or ESG practices?

Join us for a deep dive into the future of energy in the UK.

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We spoke to Hayley Fowler, Professor of Climate Change at Newcastle University, about extreme weather: what is driving it and how we can respond at both government and individual level? What is El Nino and how will it impact us? Are governments doing enough in the face of expert warnings? What can we learn from other countries as they adapt to increasingly extreme weather? What are the benefits of risk mitigation in our cities? And why should the weather forecast matter to business and law firms in particular?

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We are living through the most volatile period in recent history and climate change poses an existential risk not just to our planet but to our national security. In this deep dive podcast with Lieutenant General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE, a member of the newly launched Expert Task Force on Climate Security, we ask: are the military seeing risks that the government is ignoring ? What would it take to bring climate security into joined-up thinking at ministerial level, and what are the consequences if we fail to meet the challenges ahead? Join us for this wide ranging conversation in which we explore the threats, how prepared we really are, and why and how climate change should be at the heart of the national security conversation.

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Why did two brothers spend their personal fortune briefing MPs and industry leaders about climate change?

In this first episode, we speak to Simon Oldridge, who, together with his brother Nick, founded and funded the National Emergency Briefing, which brought more than 1,200 politicians and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media together in Westminster to hear ten leading experts present evidence on climate and nature risks across health, food, national security, the economy, extreme weather and energy.

The concept communicated how climate and nature breakdown affects almost every aspect of British life — from food and health to the economy and national security — and challenged decision-makers to respond at the scale the evidence demands. The accompanying film has reached audiences across the country, with more than 2,000 community, workplace and cinema screenings.

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Six months on from the landmark ruling by International Court of Justice which declared climate change “an urgent and existential threat” has anything changed for lawyers, law makers and businesses?

Has this opinion influenced corporate legal practice or shaped decision-making for firms or their clients? What are the due diligence obligations businesses need to know about, and if the 1.5°C target is increasingly seen as unachievable, how relevant does it remain as a legal and policy benchmark?

In this episode Amanda Carpenter does a dive on the impact of the ruling with guests from both sides of the profession: Estelle Dehon KC, Cornerstone Barristers and Shane Gleghorn, UK Managing Partner at Taylor Wessing.

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Ocean with David Attenborough (2025) was a powerful and unflinching wakeup call exploring the vital importance of Earth’s oceans and the growing threats they face, featuring shocking footage revealing the devastation caused by bottom trawling.

For this podcast, Amanda Carpenter spoke to Olly Scholey, Field Producer on Ocean, and Dr Tom Appleby, Chief of Legal Affairs at Blue Marine Foundation, to gain insight into the making of the film and examine how the law can—and should—be used to better protect our seas.

How did the production team capture such dramatic footage oftrawling? Why is bottom trawling still permitted in Marine Protected Areas? How has the trawler fishing community responded to the film? How do government policies permit this destruction — and in some cases, actively subsidise it? Considering the fact that the UK fishery and seabed are owned by the Crown on behalf of the public; and the international fishery belongs to all people of all nations, how can lawyers protect ocean health? We explore all this and more.

Questions for this podcast were based on the audience participation at the Legal Sustainability Alliance’s and Blue Marine Foundation’s event, a screening of Ocean and panel discussion.

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In this episode, Sophia Adams Bhatti is joined by Bhargav Srinivasa Desikan for a deep dive into the carbon cost of AI—from the energy demands of large models to the hidden environmental impacts of everyday digital tools. Bhargav unpacks the origins of AI, what organisations can do to reduce their digital footprint, the innovations and policy that could make AI more sustainable and what law firms in particular need to understand as they adopt these technologies. An essential conversation for anyone navigating the future of AI in a responsible law firm.

Bhargav Srinivasa Desikan is currently the AI and Tech lead at the Autonomy Institute, and a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Oxford. His research spans the intersection of AI and society, and has been published at Nature, Cognition, Organisation Studies, and leading annual computer science conferences. He also holds research affiliate positions at the University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, and Stanford University.

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For this special episode Amanda Carpenter returns to the studio to talk to Wangui Kaniaru, Partner at ALN, Kenya. Early on in her career, Wangui was told that rather than justice, law is about trade-offs, incentives and outcomes. Realising that this is a mischaracterisation of the role law can play, Wangui put her head above the parapet to ask questions about climate justice and the role of lawyers and rule of law in a society facing the devastating impacts of the climate crisis.

How can questions of justice serve your clients and lead to more innovative, creative, and durable outcomes? Amanda and Wangui reflect on how to be a thoughtful lawyer, the implications of the ICJ ruling and nurturing hope for future generations.

"Hope has two beautiful daughters; their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are." St Augustine of Hippo

Wangui Kaniaru

Wangui Kaniaru is a Partner at ALN Kenya. She advises on complex cross-border transactions, restructurings, and regulatory matters and has lived and worked in the United States, Asia and Africa. An Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, she is also deeply engaged in climate change policy and sustainability, examining how corporate law can advance investment in sustainable and ethical business practices and planetary stewardship. Beyond her practice, she explores the intersection of law, governance, and creative expression, using poetry to explore memory, resilience, and belonging.

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We spoke to Debra Sobel, Co-Founder of The Purpose Hub, to take a deep dive into ‘purpose’ and its evolving role in a responsible business. What is purpose in a corporate environment? Why is purpose relevant today? How do we articulate purpose to drive responsible growth and profitability, impact and behaviour change? Including advice on how to be purposeful, how to avoid greenwashing and how to protect yourself from ‘ESG whiplash’. This episode is hosted by Sophia Adams Bhatti.

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AI, climate change, geopolitics, the rule of law – the landscape of lawyering is changing. Amanda Carpenter and Sophia Adams Bhatti, public policy expert with over 20 years’ experience working across law, financial services, tech, consumer affairs, healthcare, and immigration and asylum, explore the ‘elephants on the horizon’ for law firms and how individuals can have an impact. Also in this episode, Amanda hands the mic over to Sophia, who is taking on the mantle of the new host of the Sustainable Law Podcast.

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What does the future hold for law firms? How can legal professionals navigate the rapidly evolving world of ESG? We talked to the outgoing and incoming co-chairs of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, the biggest sustainability network in the UK’s legal sector about the network and the evolving landscape in which it operates. From pushback on ESG to developing client expectations, mitigating climate risk to regulatory requirements, we explore what has changed for law firms over the last decade and what the is coming on the horizon. With Paddy Linighan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Clyde & Co, Caroline May, Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, Becky Clissmann, Counsel at Ashurst and Matt Sparkes, Sustainability Director at Linklaters.

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In this episode of the Sustainable Law Podcast we unpack the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and its implications for law firms. As the EU's ambitious ESG reporting framework reshapes compliance landscapes, we explore how law firms can support clients in navigating these changes and address the needs of their own practices. Join us for expert insights, practical advice and strategies to stay ahead. With Rebecca Ward, Sustainability Strategist at Radley Yeldar, who has experience delivering CSRD-aligned double materiality assessments, as well as providing strategic advice on CSRD reports for organisations that will fall in scope of the first wave of CSRD reporting, and Maria Mana, a Sustainability Project Manager at Linklaters, who has over 15 years’ experience delivering projects and programmes and is currently laying the groundwork for Linklaters' upcoming CSRD report.

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TCFD offers a multi-layered framework of climate-related disclosures - governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets. How do you start? Why start now if it is not mandatory for your firm? What benefits might the process bring? We talked to Independent Consultant Stephen Farrant and Becky Clissmann, an Environmental Lawyer who specialises in ESG and transition to net zero at Ashurst about their experience with TCFD and why making a start now might evoke the change in mindset needed to thrive in an uncertain and evolving climate.

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In this series the Sustainable Law Podcast explores the frameworks and reporting systems that law firms will be considering on their journey to net zero. This episode explores the nuts and bolts of ISO certification; the internationally agreed standards that set out the requirements for an environmental management system. What are ISO14001 and ISO50001? How and when do you make a start? What challenges might you face? How can you engage the firm with the process? What will you gain? Our experts answer all this and more.

Amanda Carpenter spoke to Stan Rayfield, Sustainability Consultant, Paul Mullis, Workplace Compliance Manager at Travers Smith and Tom Coulter, a partner in Travers Smith’s Corporate M&A and ECM Group.

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Leading UK and international law firms continue to earn millions from fossil fuel related transactions. Meanwhile law students are calling for action– will the student spotlight cause firms to think again or is it hopelessly naive to think anything will change? Do firms care? Episode 3 of the Sustainable Law Podcast explores the tricky issue of law firms who work with the fossil fuel industry and how that is affecting student recruitment and retention. We spoke to Sophia Adams Bhatti, Head of Purpose and Impact at global law firm Simmons and Simmons and Haley Czarnek, National Director of Law Students for Climate Accountability.

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Banks that ‘care about the climate’ but finance fossil fuel, fashion houses and supermarkets who shout about sustainability while the food and plastic waste piles up. Are we drowning in a tidal wave of greenwashing and does it matter? We talked to two experts to help us navigate the murky waters of greenwashing. Tom Parsons is Director of Sales and Origination at Good Energy and George Harding Rolls, Director of Policy & Advocacy for Eco-Age.

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The first episode of the Sustainable Law Podcast explores what it is like to be facing twinned climate and nature crises as a young corporate lawyer. What did it feel like to be a young professional at COP28? Was it a game changer? Or a fudge hijacked by fossil fuels?

COP28 attracted over 97,000 people, including nearly 2,500 fossil-fuel lobbyists who out-numbered nearly all individual country delegations. Can meaningful change be accomplished in such an environment or is the COP process broken? Is COP finally taking the youth voice seriously? Do young people need to be more radical?

With Sarah Hill Smith – Associate, Clyde & Co specialising in complex international arbitration and commercial litigation, with a strong interest in climate law and Charlie Bevis – Trainee Solicitor at Norton Rose Fulbright, G20 (Youth) UK Head Delegate & Climate Delegate, COP26 ’27 ’28 Delegate, Stop Ecocide UK Ambassador.

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