Sustainability focussed charities and NGOs

We protect the people protecting the planet.

Conservation. Animal welfare. Community and renewable energy. These are just a few of the areas where our clients make a huge difference. We support them all the way.

We champion local and international charities and campaign groups. We back grassroots groups and act for the Green Party. We lobby for positive change. Thanks to our work, the Charity Commission recognises sustainable development as a charitable purpose.

Our multidisciplinary team has a deep knowledge of charity and campaigning law, as we act for more top charities than any other firm in the country. We advise regulators and government organisations too – giving us the inside track on our client’s issues.

How we can help

Strategic litigation

Our litigation and public & regulatory teams are focused on helping clients on their journey to create a widespread positive impact for people and the planet. We are actively working to address business critical issues through litigation and policy action. Read more.

Impact real estate

Our real estate team help with all legal issues related to the building and development of sustainable projects, including advising on the mitigation of risk to ensure long-term positive impact throughout our clients’ portfolios. We offer advice on green leases, green loans and sustainable financing options while providing first-hand knowledge on developments via our Impact Real Estate group, a forum for organisations that want to explore and better understand how to utilise their premises to enhance their positive impact on the environment and society.

Impact investment and financing

If you’re thinking of investing for positive social and/or environmental impact, or if you’re a civil society organisation or mission-driven business raising finance, we can help. We can support you in structuring and documenting the whole spectrum of social finance and impact investing transactions and activities. This includes investments in the form of loans (secured and unsecured, senior or subordinated, syndicated and convertible), bonds, equity, quasi-equity (including revenue participation and royalties), investment funds, crowdfunding, blended finance and others.

Explore

Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 8 September

Our weekly roundup of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission Charity Commission CEO David Holdsworth has written a guest blog for New Philanthropy Capital about impact reporting for charities. The blog looks at how …
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Understanding and unlocking restricted legacies

This September, Bates Wells is joining charities, professional advisers, and other organisations across the UK to mark Remember A Charity Week (7-13 September 2026). Gifts left to charities in Wills are an important source of income for many organisations, helping to fund charitable work and services. In fact, around £3 in every £10 donated to …
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Event | Charity Legacy Conference | 6 October 2026

Maximising income is high on the agenda for many charities, whether to help navigate rocky financial waters or increase growth to reach your goals. Join us for an afternoon of legal updates to explore how charities are revitalising their legacy income streams in strategic ways. Our Charity Legacies team will be sharing legal insights and …
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Faith-based charities and regulatory engagement: prevention and response

The regulatory landscape Regulatory action by the Charity Commission is increasing. There were 18% more regulatory concern cases, 25% more statutory inquiries and just under 60% more inquiry powers used in the Commission’s most recent financial period than its previous one. Common themes for the Commission opening investigations are governance failures, safeguarding issues, conflicts of …
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Beacon CRM cybersecurity incident: what charities should do now

Many charities will have seen reports this week of a cybersecurity incident affecting Beacon CRM, a widely used customer relationship management platform in the charity sector. According to Beacon, unauthorised access to its systems resulted in copies of customer database backups being obtained by a third party, potentially affecting data held on behalf of over …
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Meet our team

Strategic litigation: We want to help you tackle the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis

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