Sector & service specialists

Sustainability and environmental issues cut across every industry sector but some more than others such as transport, chemicals, and energy. The European Union is considered to have the most extensive environmental laws of any international organisation. EU environmental policy has significant effects on those of its member states and internationally. The European Green Deal was as audacious as anything ever announced by the European Commission. Already, the European Union’s environmental legislation addresses issues such as acid rain, the thinning of the ozone layer, air quality, noise pollution, waste and water pollution, and sustainable energy. The Institute for European Environmental Policy estimates the body of EU environmental law amounts to well over 500 Directives, Regulations and Decisions.  However, a notable shift is occurring across the European Union, where voters are turning away from Green parties amid a rising tide of right-wing populism and anti-EU sentiment.  The damage to energy intensive industries by burdensome regulation is becoming ever more apparent and the pendulum with the new EU likely to take a different direction with environmental policy.

Nevertheless, the Public Affairs Council recently published research on “Trends in European Public Affairs” which clearly showed that sustainability and ESG criteria are often the key external challenge for any organization, with 97% of expressing rising public expectations and increasing regulations in the EU. A similar percentage of respondents noted that sustainability and ESG-related considerations are important when crafting external messages and/or engaging with EU external stakeholders.

The same research showed that the biggest challenges faced by public affairs teams when it comes to managing sustainability and ESG-related issues in the EU are the “difficulty to measure and communicate impact” (63%), the “excessive, incoherent or unclear EU/global regulations” (60%), and “misconceptions from external stakeholders” (51%).

As sustainability and environmental issues concern so many clients, every firm has touched on this area to a less or greater extent. However, the following firms stand out in Brussels.