Abreu Advogados and NOVA School of Law innovate and create Chair in Sustainability

Abreu Advogados, Abreu’s Knowledge Institute and NOVA School of Law signed a cooperation protocol in the Sustainability area, which creates the “Abreu Chair in ESG Impact” and establishes a partnership in the scope of NOVA Green Lab.

The Abreu Chair in ESG Impact is an innovative chair, dedicated to environmental, social and governance dimensions, and will contribute to the specialized training of law students in one of the most important areas for the future of organizations. In this context, NOVA will hire, through international tender, the academic who will lead this project. The NOVA Green Lab, the Faculty’s knowledge center dedicated to Environmental, Urban Planning, Energy and Climate Change Law, will also have the collaboration and partnership of Abreu.

The signing took place at the Law Faculty of NOVA University, in a ceremony attended by Mariana França Gouveia, Dean at NOVA School of Law, Inês Sequeira Mendes, Managing Partner at Abreu Advogados, and Luís Barreto Xavier, Innovation Of Counsel at Abreu Advogados and President at Knowledge Institute.

Focused in the collaboration for research development, preparation of papers and articles, sharing of knowledge and provision of services around environmental, social and governance issues, the protocol comes into force immediately, in a three-year partnership. In addition to the Chair and the joint development of several projects around this theme, several initiatives are also planned to raise awareness throughout the legal sector on one of the main issues on the world social and economic agenda.

“Innovation and sustainability are in Abreu Advogados’ DNA, so the association with NOVA School of Law is a natural step to foster the academic development of sustainability and ESG issues, which are increasingly central to the activities of companies and other organisations. To prepare legal professionals to lead the necessary changes to ensure a sustainable future for the planet is the common goal of Abreu Advogados and NOVA”, says Inês Sequeira Mendes, Managing Partner at Abreu Advogados.

Abreu Advogados has a pioneering track record in the field of sustainability. In 2008, it was the first law firm to publish a sustainability report in compliance with the GRI – Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, publicly presenting its main indicators. Also in 2008, the firm became a member of the BCSD – Business Council for Sustainable Development and joined the United Nations programme for Sustainable Development- the Global Compact. Since 2015, Abreu has been the first Portuguese law firm to join the international “B Corp” movement.

NOVA School of Law Green Lab is one of the 12 knowledge centers created by the institution to face the 21st century challenges, which goes from the environment to the guarantee of human rights, values that should be associated with the teaching of Law.

“Faculties must follow the evolution of society and NOVA School of Law has taken this path like no other in Portugal. We cannot follow the present without thinking about the future, without thinking about the dignity of the human person and without thinking about the next generations. This Chair that we are now creating, in collaboration with Abreu, is another sign of the path that higher education institutions should follow. With this partnership, we want to ensure that future jurists and lawyers become professionals with greater skills to meet the great challenges ahead and for which we all should be prepared”, says Mariana França Gouveia, Dean at NOVA School of Law.

The international recruitment process for an assistant professor in the area of sustainability will begin in 2021 and will be concluded in the first semester of 2022. NOVA School of Law currently has seven professors of foreign nationality and this sharing of knowledge and experience is an added value for the institution.