“The economy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the ecology.” — Gaylord Nelson, founder of Earth Day
An Inverted Hierarchy
For decades, the law treated the environment as a resource—something to be exploited, divided, sold. Environmental regulations were exceptions to the rule of economic freedom, obstacles to overcome on the path to profit.
That paradigm is ending. The European Union compels businesses to report their carbon footprint. Banks incorporate climate risk into lending decisions. Investors demand compliance with ESG taxonomy. Environmental law has ceased to be a niche specialty—it has become a condition of doing business.
“Use your property so as not to injure that of another,” declares an ancient maxim of civil law. In an era of global supply chains and transboundary pollution, this principle acquires new dimensions. Emissions from one country fall as rain in another. Waste from one continent poisons the waters of the next.
What We Do
Permits and Decisions. We represent clients in proceedings for environmental permits. We help navigate procedures that can stall an investment for years.
Environmental Damage. We advise on liability for contamination of soil, water, and air. We help limit risk and manage consequences when damage has already occurred.
Waste Management. We support businesses in matters involving municipal, industrial, and hazardous waste. The regulations are dense, the penalties severe, and inspections increasingly frequent.
Environmental Investments. We advise on projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the circular economy.
EU Funding. We assist in obtaining resources from the Cohesion Fund and other programs supporting ecological transformation.
Contracts. We negotiate and prepare agreements with companies specializing in environmental protection and waste management.
The Strategic View
“Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.” — Kenneth Boulding
Environmental regulations are tightening at a pace that surprises even lawyers. What today is a recommendation becomes an obligation next year, and the basis for administrative penalties three years hence.
The Philippine Supreme Court in Oposa v. Factoran (1993) held that each generation owes a duty to the next—to preserve ecological balance for those not yet born. This doctrine of “intergenerational responsibility” now permeates European climate jurisprudence.
Justice William O. Douglas wrote half a century ago that a river should have standing to sue in its own name. At the time, this sounded like an eccentric peculiarity. Today Ecuador has enshrined the rights of nature in its constitution, and New Zealand has granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River.
“The earth is what we all have in common,” Wendell Berry observed. Environmental law is, at its core, the law of managing what is shared. And managing a common good requires different tools than protecting private property.
Why This Is Difficult
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” — Aldo Leopold
Environmental law demands thinking on a horizon longer than a quarter or an electoral term. It requires accounting for costs that do not fit on a balance sheet. It requires anticipating consequences that will manifest a generation hence.
For business owners, this poses a challenge. But also an opportunity—because those who adapt to new rules early will gain advantage over those who adapt under compulsion.
Skarbiec Law Firm combines knowledge of environmental regulations with an understanding of business realities. Because environmental law today is not a compliance cost—it is a strategic element.
