Sustainability Legal Catalyst Programme

WongPartnership is a market leader known for its exceptional legal expertise and ability to work across Asia and the Middle East. With dual strengths in both corporate transactions and dispute resolution, the firm delivers bespoke solutions tailored to the unique needs of clients in various sectors.

We are also at the forefront of sustainability-focused legal services, providing advice on sustainable investments and business solutions such as clean energy, waste management, green buildings, sustainable infrastructure, as well as green and sustainability-linked financing and carbon trading platforms.

WongPartnership has collaborated with Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) to provide SMEs and mid-sized enterprises improved access to legal services for sustainability and green related matters. In partnership with EnterpriseSG on the Sustainability Legal Catalyst Programme, we offer dedicated legal assistance to eligible companies seeking to run sustainability-related projects.

Under the programme, EnterpriseSG will defray up to 50% of the legal fees for eligible companies, with the incentive capped at $90,000 per eligible company, for eligible legal services provided by WongPartnership during the qualifying period of 1 February 2025 to 31 January 2027, or once the incentive is fully subscribed

Eligibility criteria:

• Business entity registered/incorporated in Singapore.
• Locally owned (i.e., minimum 30% local shareholding. Trace to the individual shareholders of ultimate corporate parent, if applicable).
• For SMEs: Group annual revenue below $100 million or group employment size of less than 200.
• For Mid-Sized Enterprises: Non-SME, and group annual revenue below $1 billion.

We can advise on the following areas:

Carbon Markets:

• Project financing, carbon market trading, and investments into carbon projects, including provision of legal due diligence on offset projects, and advising on Over the Counter (OTC) carbon credit trading and related matters (e.g., structuring purchasing arrangements).
• Setup/operation of trading platform for carbon credits and other emissions reduction allowances, renewable energy products, and derivative products linked to various green assets.
• Contract management for carbon credit transactions, encompassing negotiation, drafting, and review of agreements, including preparation and finalisation of documents related to the sale and purchase of carbon credits and other renewable energy attributes (e.g., Emission Reduction Payment Agreements).
• Regulatory classification of carbon credits and carbon credit derivatives.
• Advising on the requirements of the Carbon Pricing Act, particularly in connection with the use of eligible international carbon credits to pay carbon tax.

Sustainable Finance:

• Advising on the various sustainable financing instruments, products, and structures in accordance with applicable global and regional frameworks, taxonomies, principles, regulations and market standards, including (without limitation):

• Green, transition and sustainability-linked bonds;
• Green, transition and sustainability-linked loans;
• Catastrophe bonds (which help transfer risks associated with climate-related disasters)
• Green, transition and sustainability-focussed investment funds; and
• Other sustainability-related fund-raising exercises (e.g., by way of equity)

• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating finance and other related documents for sustainable financing instruments, products, and structures.
• Advising on financing transactions involving the use of environmental assets as security collateral (e.g., carbon credits, biodiversity credits), and the enforcement of security over such environmental assets.
• Structuring transactions that pool concessional capital from various parties with different risk and return objectives (e.g., blended finance).
• Advising on sustainability-related issues in M&A transactions.
• Advising on renewable energy projects.

Sustainability Governance and Reporting:

• Environmental disclosure requirements in annual reports and financial statements.
• Legal risks (including greenwashing) arising from sustainability-related statements including in marketing materials, sustainability reports, and other disclosures, e.g., pursuant to the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003, Singapore Code of Advertising Standards, safeguards against false and misleading claims, Environmental fund disclosure, governance in use of Environmental ratings etc.
• Other sustainability related legal risks including directors’ duties and governance, and strategy and response to activist pressures.
• Applicability of international and regional sustainability-related laws to Singapore-based companies, e.g., Environmental disclosure.

Sustainability Due Diligence and Supply Chains:

• Legal due diligence exercise focused on environmental, and governance issues in the context of investments and M&As, including supply chain due diligence.
• Compliance with environmental and governance regulatory requirements.
• Review of Supplier Code of Conduct and other sustainability-related policies.
• Review of sustainability-related contractual terms, including supply chain specific clauses.
• Other carbon-related issues including cross border carbon adjustment mechanisms