Environmental
Environmental and climate disputes are increasing globally – in frequency, scale and diversity. With more than 150 experts, including world leaders across all critical fields, HKA can guide you through this shifting risk landscape.
Heightened risk demands the highest expertise
As regulators, activists and investors drive change and environmental disputes, more companies too are resorting to legal action to protect assets and financial interests. Climate-related litigation has doubled over the past decade.
HKA was first in the market to offer global expert witness services dedicated to environmental and climate matters. We have used this pioneering experience to build a comprehensive practice with the very best experts, technical knowledge and testifying capabilities.
Our specialists in air, land, water, waste, climate and governance work with clients, sharing this value and finding the best practicable solutions to environmental challenges.
Why HKA
The issues raised by climate disputes, class actions, investor-state arbitration, stranded assets and other environmental conflicts are complex. Investigating, decoding and resolving them demands deep expertise.
Our Environment & Climate practice’s know-how – and HKA-hallmark reporting and presenting skills – help to ensure that findings and opinions are communicated clearly and credibly to counsel, clients and courts.
We have been engaged around the world from Europe and the Middle East to the Americas and Australasia on significant matters involving adjudication, civil actions and international arbitration, with case values up to €700 million.
A Sample of Expertise
While confidentiality remains paramount in all dispute cases, selected anonymised disclosures highlight our involvement in complex, high-profile matters.
- Assisted a European government in a high-value dispute regarding fracking operations. We assembled a multidisciplinary team to address technical, regulatory, and societal issues, provided expert analysis and testimony, and helped the client present a robust, evidence-based case.
- Advised the seller in a dispute over undisclosed groundwater contamination at a Middle East water treatment facility. We assessed extensive environmental data, clarified the extent of contamination, and estimated remediation costs.
- Investigated claims of property blackening at a large industrial facility. Our team used spatial analysis, environmental sampling, and advanced DNA sequencing to determine cause and extent. Initial findings showed limited correlation with site emissions, and further results are pending, enabling risk management and stakeholder engagement.
- Delivered expert analysis under Energy Charter Treaty arbitration over a gas-fired power plant. We identified deficiencies in its Environmental Impact Assessment and contributed to a court decision that prevented the project, avoiding an estimated 1,306 kilotonnes of CO₂ emissions.
- Advised a client on innovative methods for encapsulating spent nuclear reactor cores. We provided expert recommendations that balanced safety, cost, and regulatory compliance for long-term nuclear decommissioning.
- Provided independent expertise for a consumer electronics retailer facing regulatory investigation over Persistent Organic Pollutants in imported products. We uncovered inconsistencies in laboratory results and environmental risk assessments, enabling confident engagement with regulators and stakeholders.
- Conducted a forensic environmental assessment for a UK industrial client after PFAS-based fire suppression foam was found in a drainage system and nearby stream. We clarified contamination pathways and supported regulatory engagement.
- Delivered multidisciplinary expertise to a former oil terminal operator managing complex contamination challenges. With no viable landfill option for hydrocarbon- and PFAS-impacted soils, we combined environmental science, regulatory insight, and commercial acumen to develop practical, defensible solutions. Our team conducted rigorous peer reviews, advised on liabilities, engaged with regulators, and assessed cost, technical feasibility, and carbon impacts. This integrated approach helped the client move towards securing regulatory approvals.
How we can help you
Our experts help clients avoid disputes as well as providing incisive support with allegations, claims or legal actions related to the environment and ESG (environment, social and governance) requirements.
Global thought leaders in their fields, our people listen and collaborate. They ensure the context is fully understood, while drawing on their professional and industry experience to make a meaningful difference to outcomes.
The range and calibre of HKA’s environmental and climate expertise is unmatched. Notable specialisms include soil, water, air, and environmental impact assessment. Emerging contaminants, such as PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, are another area of specialist expertise.
From our global network, we deploy individual experts or integrated teams where diverse skills are required – hydrogeology, toxicology, and risk assessment in land contamination cases, for example.
Global thought leaders in their fields, our people listen and collaborate. They ensure the context is fully understood, while drawing on their professional and industry experience to make a meaningful difference to outcomes.
The range and calibre of HKA’s environmental and climate expertise is unmatched. Notable specialisms include soil, water, air, and environmental impact assessment. Emerging contaminants, such as PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, are another area of specialist expertise.
From our global network, we deploy individual experts or integrated teams where diverse skills are required – hydrogeology, toxicology, and risk assessment in land contamination cases, for example.
As environmental and climate disputes grow in scale and complexity, HKA’s world-leading experts deliver clarity, credibility, and joined-up solutions—guiding clients through shifting risks and ensuring findings are communicated with authority to counsel, courts, and stakeholders.
