As an international professional services business we are concerned about the impact of climate change both on a local and global scale. We work to reduce our environmental impacts by adopting sustainable business and we are committed to deliver challenging carbon reduction targets. And importantly we support our clients making the transition to a low carbon future.
Supporting our Environment Policy is a Global Sustainability strategy, which comprises four focus areas.
We measure, manage and report our most significant environmental impacts to internal and external audiences. Our commitment to responsible business practices recognises that sustainability is an ongoing process. It is work that we undertake with pride and care, and in a spirit of collaborative learning with our suppliers, our partners and employees, and across the legal sector.
Disclosure is an important part of how we track progress and hold ourselves accountable. This year saw our third submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for our firm’s environmental impact. We made disclosures using the EcoVadis platform, which allows us to share our performance indicators with our stakeholders. We are currently ranked Silver by EcoVadis, in the top 15% of businesses reviewed.
We have outlined our net zero commitment and how we are acting on climate change here.
Our people play a vital part in delivering against our environmental commitments. We aim to support and engage them in how they contribute towards reducing environmental impact in the workplace and also other aspects of their life.
We utilise our sustainability champions network across our global business to promote sustainability initiatives, share ideas about how to engage colleagues and make positive changes in the firm.
Partnerships are a critical tool in tackling climate change and the enormous environmental challenges we face. We work with organisations in the legal sector and beyond to advance environmental sustainability. And we participate in a number of cross-sector environmental initiatives:
- The Campaign for Greener Arbitrations raises awareness of the international arbitration community’s carbon footprint and promotes best practice in managing arbitrations sustainably.
- The Greener Litigation Pledge sets out practical changes for UK litigators to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
- The United Nations Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery.
- The Net Zero Lawyers Alliance seeks to mobilise law firms and lawyers to accelerate the transition to net zero.
- The Legal Sustainability Alliance, a not-for-profit sustainability network, has led on sustainability matters for UK-based law firms since its inception in 2007.
- The United Nations Global Compact, a strategic initiative that supports global companies that are committed to responsible business practices in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and corruption.
In addition to our own activities, we contribute to wider efforts to promote environmental sustainability by providing pro bono legal services on key initiatives and other forms of community investment.
Internationally we are a partner law firm of the Legal Response Initiative (LRI), which provides free legal support to the least developed country delegations and NGOs in relation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In the renewable energy area, we have provided pro bono advice to the Government of Sierra Leone regarding a number of solar power projects and a major hydroelectricity project designed to raise access to electricity on a national scale.
We are also proud supporters of The Earthshot Prize, a leading environmental prize to discover, spotlight and help grow innovative solutions working to repair and regenerate our planet. As part of our commitment to The Earthshot Prize's Global Alliance, we have committed to provide prize finalists with free legal support, in areas such as corporate structuring, intellectual property advice and regulatory matters, to unlock and accelerate growth. We also support on document drafting and negotiations, and referrals to local law firms to help finalists overcome local barriers in advancing their ground-breaking work.
