Climate risk is legal risk.
Green Swans helps organisations understand and implement European and global sustainability law: in strategy and governance, due diligence, contracts and the prevention of litigation.
What we do
Keijzer & Cie is an independent law firm specialising in (European) corporate law, financial law and ESG law. Under our label Green Swans®, we offer consultancy services through a network of dedicated consultants. This allows us to scale our services to the demands of each client, on a temporary or a structural basis, tailored to their needs and preferences.
We help clients understand and implement the legal frameworks of the European and global sustainability transition, such as the EU Green Deal legislation and global reporting standards.
Where we help
- Strategic business management and positioning
- Legal advice
- Regulatory change
- Corporate governance
- Due diligence
- Legal risk management
- Change management, training and instruction
Our approach
ESG matters are growing in importance and in complexity. Organisations face an expanding body of ESG legislation at EU and national level, heightened public scrutiny and litigation risk, so sustainable practice has to sit at the core of business strategy. We guide organisations in embedding new legislation, achieving their sustainability targets, refining internal policies, strengthening due diligence throughout their value chains and preventing litigation.
Our team combines experience at leading international law firms with senior in-house roles at financial institutions. We offer practical support in a legal and regulatory landscape that keeps changing, and clients trust our hands-on, pragmatic approach to complex issues. We are members of the Netherlands Bar Association and the International Bar Association.
Why green swans
- 1697Dutch explorers find black swans in Australia.
- 2007Nassim Nicholas Taleb publishes The Black Swan.
- 2020The Bank for International Settlements publishes The green swan.
A black swan is an event that is unexpected, has a major impact and is often wrongly explained in hindsight. The phrase goes back to a Roman proverb, from a time when Europeans believed that black swans did not exist, until Dutch explorers came across them in Australia in 1697. In 2007, before the financial crisis of 2008, Nassim Nicholas Taleb argued that the really big risks lie in such events: risks nobody thought possible, because everyone shared the same expectations and the same rational model. Purely quantitative methods assume probabilities, so the real tail risks are the ones no one has imagined yet.
Green swans, sometimes called climate black swans, share many of these traits, with one difference: they stem from the accumulation of atmospheric CO₂ beyond thresholds that lead to irreversible impacts. As the Bank for International Settlements recognised in 2020, their likelihood is not reflected in historical data, and extreme outcomes cannot be ruled out.
Every organisation, small or large, will sooner or later be confronted with environmental, social and governance matters. With the sheer volume of EU and national ESG legislation, litigation and public scrutiny, managing an organisation's ESG footprint has become a real challenge. That is where we help.
Publications
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2026
Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2026: Netherlands
Read online Download PDF 999 kB
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2023
ESG-impact in private markets
Download PDF 127 kB
Talk to us about your ESG questions
Marc Keijzer is your first point of contact.