What is the Chancery Lane Project?
The Chancery Lane Project (TCLP) is the name given to the group of lawyers and legal professionals helping to combat climate change with contractual clauses.
TCLP is a collaborative project comprised of 700 legal professionals across 149 participating organisations, working to aid businesses in protecting the environment, by publishing environmentally conscious model laws and clauses to be used in contracts.
Their goal is "a world where every contract and law enables solutions to climate change".[1]
What do TCLP do?
TCLP are an independent body that create new clauses for professionals to insert into their contracts, aiming to promote a client's best interests whilst keeping climate change in mind. Their clauses go through expert peer review prior to publication ensuring they are fit for purpose and provide protection to the climate and businesses alike. TCLP's work is also hugely accessible, available for free from their website for anyone to insert into their contracts.
Along with the above, TCLP offer drafting events to brainstorm new environmentally friendly clauses and workshops to help professionals implement the clauses into their legal work.
In addition to the 50 previously existing climate conscious clauses developed, TCLP have recently published an additional 21 clauses covering issues in various areas of law including commercial, employment, agricultural and rural land, and finance. TCLP are also developing a toolkit to help achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in line with the EU and UK governments' target.
New Clauses
Some examples of some of the recent clauses published by TCLP include:
- Aatmay's Clause – For use in real estate contracts, this clause encourages the use of recycled and reclaimed materials or sustainable materials, by landlords and tenants when altering or repairing the property in line with the obligations of the lease.
- Georgie's Clause – For use in relation to agricultural and rural land, this incentivises tenants of agricultural and rural land to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
- Athena's Clause – To be implemented in contracts of employment to ensure that the employer provides, and employees partake in, climate change education and training.
- Felix's Clause – For use in corporate contracts, this clause implements a net zero completion adjustment that allows for completion accounts to be adjusted, similarly to net assets.
The growing list of clauses encompassing a range of practice areas offers increasing opportunity for businesses to proactively tackle their carbon emissions.
[1] https://chancerylaneproject.org/about/
This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
