Colleen Theron

Ardea International

Colleen is a tri-qualified solicitor and founder of Ardea International ( previously CLT envirolaw), a niche company that provides sustainability, modern slavery, business and human rights consultancy and expertise to enable companies to meet both their legal obligations and develop voluntary best practice standards. Prior to establishing CLT envirolaw, she worked as an environmental lawyer in the City of London and was recognised by The Legal 500 and Chambers as a leading environmental law practitioner.

Colleen’s indefatigable passion for combating human trafficking, particularly in business supply chains led her to found the not-for-profit organisation Finance Against Trafficking. She has spoken widely on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, modern slavery and sustainable business emphasising the growing overlap between best practice sustainability and the law. She is also a member of the steering group of the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS). Previously, she was an executive member and trustee of the UK Environmental Law Association for seven years. She sits on the advisory board for LexisPSL Environment. She has recently been appointed to the sustainability advisory council for Positive Luxury.

As a Lecturer in environmental law at Birkbeck University, London, she recently designed and delivered a Masters course on business and human rights and international laws as they apply to multinational corporations. She is a regular contributor to the legal and professional press and has authored numerous accredited articles and chapters in books, most recently a publication on the financial drivers for embedding sustainability in a sports organisation published by Routledge in ‘Sport Management and the Natural Environment’. Her book ‘Strategic Sustainable Procurement: law and best practice‘ has been published by Greenleaf Publishing.

Dedicated to raising awareness of modern slavery, Colleen was part of the Modern Slavery Garden team which won Gold at the Chelsea Flower Show 2016 and has been nominated for an award by the Anti Slavery Awards group. She has set up an anti trafficking hub at the Towers Convent school in West Sussex.

Colleen has a LLM (with distinction) in Environmental Law from the University of Aberdeen.

Contributed to

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Environmental management—environmental legal registers

Practice notes

This Practice Note covers environmental legal registers in the environmental management context. It was produced in partnership with Ardea International and is part of a series of notes on environmental management. It includes what an environmental legal register is, why lawyers should be aware of environmental legal registers, who should develop the register, setting the scope of a compliance process, setting the scope under environmental management systems (EMS), steps in developing an environmental legal register, what should be documented and maintaining the environmental legal register.

Environment

Environmental management—environmental management systems (EMS)

Practice notes

This Practice Note covers environmental management systems (EMS). It was produced in partnership with Ardea International and is part of a series of notes on environmental management. It covers what an EMS is, environmental management standards (eg Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), ISO 14001, British Standard BS 8555), drivers and benefits, key requirements, documentation, scope, document control, legal compliance and environmental law legal register, monitoring and measurement.

Environment

Environmental risk management—environmental policies

Practice notes

This Practice Note explains what an environmental policy is in the context of environmental risk management. It was produced in partnership with Ardea International and is part of a series of notes on environmental management. It covers what an environmental policy is, why lawyers should be aware of environmental policies, why companies should consider adopting an environmental policy, practical tips on what an environmental policy should include, and what should companies do once they have an environmental policy in place.

Environment

Other work

EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence—what do the new proposals mean for business and SMEs?

EU Law analysis: The European Commission has finally published the long-awaited proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence on 23 February 2022. The aim of this Directive is twofold—to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour and to anchor human rights and environmental considerations into companies’ operations and corporate governance. It introduces a corporate due diligence duty, requiring certain companies to undertake due diligence checks of their supply chain to identify actual and potential adverse impacts of their activities on human rights and the environment.

Water industry regulation—overview

Environment