Restoring waterways under significant environmental pressures.
Rivers across England and Northern Ireland need urgent, shared action. The Rivers Trust’s State of Our Rivers Report found that no river in England or Northern Ireland is in good overall health, and only 15 percent of rivers in England and 31 percent in Northern Ireland meet ecological standards.
“Our rivers and waterways are a vital part of our ecosystem, and given current levels of pollution from sewage, chemicals, and rubbish, action must be taken now to protect the environment we live in.” said Elaine Penrose, partner and charity partnerships co chair at Hogan Lovells.
Driving meaningful impact through collaboration.
We’re committed to helping build communities that thrive. In 2024, our people came together to select The Rivers Trust as our UK Responsible Business charity partner – launching a three year collaboration centered on a shared goal: restoring and protecting wild, healthy, and valued natural rivers.
Together, we’ve contributed:
- More than £263,000 in donations to The Rivers Trust, Thames21, and Trent Rivers Trust through colleague fundraising, nature based solutions grants, and matched giving.
- 4,800+ volunteering hours from over 530 colleagues.
- £1.12 million in pro bono support delivered across 26 projects, helping accelerate environmental improvement and nature based solutions at scale.
Additional projects supported through the partnership include:
- The Aire Resilience Company, unlocking long term investment for improved flood defense and climate resilience.
- London Riverbank and Thames21, supporting development of a social enterprise model that generates watercourse biodiversity units, directing profits to local environmental improvements.
- Resilient Glenderamackin Landscape Recovery, advising on a financial model that connects buyers and sellers of ecosystem services for more than 20 years.
We also advised The Rivers Trust on an intellectual property licensing arrangement with The Adventures of Scout, a set of children's books written to inspire and encourage children and parents to take small positive environmental action.
Strengthening knowledge and engagement across our firm and beyond.
Our partnership creates opportunities for colleagues and clients to learn, participate, and contribute. Initiatives such as Water Wednesday, The Big River Watch, and River Restoration Days have deepened colleagues' understanding and encouraged hands-on involvement. At Making Waves: Transforming Business with Action on Water, part of our ESG Game Changers series, The Rivers Trust shared important insights with clients on the value of water stewardship.
Building resilience for the future.
Mark Lloyd, Chief Executive of The Rivers Trust, reflects on the partnership: "The partnership with Hogan Lovells has already been a great support to our growing movement of local Trusts, helping us to raise awareness of the critical state our rivers are in and deliver sustainable solutions at a landscape scale across the UK and the island of Ireland.”
Working alongside The Rivers Trust, we're helping support nature’s recovery and contributing to long term climate resilience across the UK and Ireland. A collective effort that shows what’s possible when legal insight, community engagement, and environmental ambition come together.
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