UK: Law Society publishes new guidance for in-house lawyers on managing climate change risks

On 3 August 2026, the Law Society of England and Wales published new guidance for in-house legal counsel on how climate change risks should be managed. This supplements the Law Society's earlier guidance on the impact of climate change on solicitors published in 2023. 

One of the most distinctive aspects of the new guidance is not that climate creates legal risk (which is already well understood), but that the Law Society is framing climate awareness as part of a solicitor's existing professional duties and competence obligations, and providing a practical roadmap for integrating those considerations into everyday in-house legal practice.

Key takeaways from the new guidance:

• Climate change is a mainstream legal risk that in-house lawyers should embed into governance, risk management, transactions, procurement, reporting, and corporate communications, rather than treating it as a standalone ESG issue - The guidance emphasises that in-house solicitors' existing professional duties - including the duty of care, duty to warn, duty to disclose, and duty to maintain professional competence - extend to climate-related risks. In-house lawyers are expected to understand how climate change affects regulatory compliance, contracts, litigation exposure, corporate reputation, and business resilience. Climate literacy is becoming part of normal legal competence. Understanding climate risk should be viewed in the same way as understanding digital or data/GDPR risks.
• The guidance extends beyond environmental law - The Law Society notes that relevant climate obligations can arise through corporate reporting, disclosure requirements, accounting standards, supply chain due diligence, human rights frameworks and commercial contracts. In-house lawyers therefore need to look beyond traditional environmental regulation when assessing exposure.
• Boards and senior management must actively oversee climate risks - In-house counsel should ensure that directors understand both how climate change affects the organisation and how the organisation's activities may contribute to climate-related impacts. The guidance links climate issues directly to directors' duties, governance frameworks, risk management, disclosures, and long-term business strategy. It suggests integrating climate considerations into board agendas, risk reporting, and decision-making processes.
• Greenwashing is a major legal and reputational risk - The guidance highlights increasing scrutiny from regulators such as the FCA, ASA and CMA. In-house lawyers are encouraged to review sustainability claims, marketing materials and disclosures to ensure they are accurate and substantiated. The Law Society notes the growing risk of litigation, regulatory enforcement and significant fines for misleading environmental claims and recommends training communications teams and implementing robust review processes. See also the Law Society's guide on greenwashing risks, published in 2023.
• Climate disclosures are now a significant legal responsibility - The guidance highlights the rapid evolution of reporting frameworks such as the TCFD, ISSB and EU CSRD. In-house lawyers are expected to oversee the legal aspects of climate disclosures and ensure that underlying governance and controls are robust enough to support those statements.
• Climate change is increasingly engaged through human rights frameworks - The guidance highlights the growing recognition of a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and points to frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines. These are described as increasingly influencing litigation risk, due diligence expectations and stakeholder scrutiny.
• Horizon-scanning is becoming a core legal function - The Law Society recommends structured monitoring of both existing and emerging climate risks, including reviewing impacts over different time horizons (for example, 12 months, three years and five years). For organisations operating across borders, in-house lawyers should monitor developments in jurisdictions such as the EU including the CSRD and CSDDD.
• Checklist - The guidance includes a checklist to help in-house lawyers embed climate considerations into their legal advice, contracts, policies and reporting.
• See here for other Law Society guidance and materials on climate change, including in relation to real estate. 

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