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The ESG Litigation Guide provides detailed analysis of chosen European and international ESG litigation cases, both decided and pending. It includes details on the claims raised by the parties, the relevant legislation, public statements by interested parties, as well as links to judgements and press reports.
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The litigation landscape in Germany has shown a significant increase in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) cases over the past few years. Germany is one of the hot spots of ESG litigation, especially against the background of sustainable corporate governance. The main drivers of this rising litigation area are non-governmental organizations (NGOs), consumers and their representatives. Even though U.S.- style class actions are not available in this context, we expect the new EU-style collective actions to emerge quickly, since the EU Collective Actions Directive is now applicable and its transposition into German law is imminent. At the time being, the cases focus in particular on the automotive, transport and logistics as well as energy and natural resources sectors and require answers to complex legal and strategic questions regarding employment, consumer protection, climate change, greenwashing and the environment. Whereas some of these claims are directed against governmental institutions, we see a rise in claims against private companies. Therefore, it is essential for companies to keep up to date with current and emerging regulatory requirements and the most important ESG litigation decisions and development of German case law. On the horizon, we also see increasing cases in areas of The Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, LkSG) and shareholder activism.