​A New Climate Solution for Law Firms: Lessons from the SCGV/ Legal Charter 1.5 Collaboration

Hosted by the GAIL Blended Finance Working Group

On Monday, 16 June 2025, the GAIL Blended Finance Working Group hosted an event titled “A New Climate Solution for Law Firms: Lessons from the SCGV/Legal Charter 1.5 Collaboration,” highlighting a groundbreaking climate initiative that sets a new benchmark for the legal profession. The session showcased how eight prominent UK law firms joined forces to fund a high-impact carbon offsetting project aimed at restoring soil health and improving water retention in Kenya’s Mau Forest watershed. Facilitated by Legal Charter 1.5 and implemented by SCGV, this collaborative effort marks a first for the legal sector, pooling offset budgets to amplify environmental and social benefits, including positive outcomes for children. The event explored the project’s design, the motivations that led firms to participate, the challenges they encountered, and how they addressed them, offering practical insights for legal professionals seeking credible and scalable climate solutions.

GAIL members can access the recording and digest from the session below. Please log in to your member account to see them. If you experience any issues, please contact us.

NanaAma Botchway (Moderator)

Founder and Managing Partner at N. Dowuona & Company | ALN Ghana, GAIL Africa Board Member

NanaAma Botchway is internationally ranked and recognized as a tier 1, band 1 market leader in M&A, banking, finance, and infrastructure projects. In addition to her top level rankings by Chambers and the IFLR1000, NanaAma is the only lawyer in Ghana to be named an “Elite Leading Individual” for corporate and M&A by The Legal 500.

Some of her representations include the USD 1 billion Ghana National Identification Card  PPP; the USD 200 million sale of Fan Milk International; the acquisition, development and  divestment of the USD 100 million Movenpick Ambassador Hotel; and Leapfrog Strategic  African Investment’s USD 180 million investment in the Enterprise Insurance Group.

NanaAma has served on numerous boards of directors in Ghana and other parts of Africa. She is an independent NED, chairman of the social, ethics and sustainability committee and minority shareholder representative on the board of MTN Ghana. As founder and managing partner, NanaAma has led her firm to top-rankings in Corporate & M&A, Infrastructure Projects and Banking and Finance. The firm was named Law Firm of the Year (2023) by Chambers & Partners at Chambers Africa Awards and was shortlisted for Law Firm of the Year West Africa by the African Legal Awards (2023).

Kayne Harwood

Executive Director of Climate Finance at Save the Children Global Ventures

Kayne Harwood, is the Executive Director of Climate Finance at Save the Children Global Ventures where he explores innovative solutions to fund child-focused climate projects. He led negotiations with LC1.5 and partner law firms on the financing platform and the development of the Nandi climate resilience and livelihoods project. Kayne is an ex-lawyer and management consultant and before SCGV worked in the Climate and Sustainability practice at the Boston Consulting Group.

Amanda Carpenter

Founder and Director of Achill Legal

Amanda Carpenter is CEO Achill Legal, a consultancy which provides a sustainability hub for the legal industry. She is Director and co founder of Legal Charter 1.5, as well as leading the team that support networks across the sector including Legal Sustainability Alliance, Bar Sustainability Network and One Million Hours. Her focus for the last decade has been on bringing organisations together to combine expertise, experience, and resources for the benefit of the planet. The offsetting consortium is the culmination of years of a long campaign to leverage climate finance for the benefit of the planet.

Kerry Stares

Partner & Director of Responsible Business and Pro Bono at Charles Russell Speechleys

Kerry has a mandate to focus exclusively on environmental, social and governance issues. She works closely with senior management to understand and improve our impact and to ensure we are a business that creates shared value for our clients, our people, our communities and our natural environment.

She also supports our clients to interrogate how and why these issues create risk and value for their business and investments, to understand the fast changing ESG legal and regulatory landscape and to ensure the Firm is supporting them to achieve their ESG objectives – integrating ESG into our advice and thought leadership, making referrals and connections and partnering on ESG projects.

Kerry is a senior commercial litigator and solicitor advocate. She has extensive knowledge of the non-profit sector and social justice work, having held senior legal and management roles at leading international charities.