“We cannot be radical enough” in dealing with climate change – Sir David Attenborough
This phrase lies at the core of the Chancery Lane Project , a focused and collaborative effort of lawyers from around the world to develop new contracts and model laws to help fight climate change. The Project is an initiative founded on the belief that every lawyer can make a difference in the fight against climate change and the adoption of sustainable practices and net zero targets. The Chancery Lane Project is supported by a large number of businesses and law firms including, indicatively, Allen & Overy, Pinsent Masons, Herbert Smith Freehills, Reed Smith, Osborne Clarke, Charles Russell Speechlys, Bird & Bird, Dentons, as well as the legal departments of Goldman Sachs, Airbnb, Nestle, Morgan Stanley, Virgin Group, Vodafone and academic institutes such as Queen Mary University of London, University of Oxford Faculty of Law, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the LSE.
In addition to the Chancery Lane Project, the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA), a network of over 300 members (including law firms, independent lawyers, general counsels and related organizations), operating in the United Kingdom since 2007, invites all UK law firms to become its members by committing to taking action to improve the environmental sustainability of their operations and activities. In fact, as part of their accountability, LSA members are asked to measure and disclose, on an annual basis, their carbon emissions, while the Legal Renewables Initiative invites the participating law firms to make the pledge to be using 100% renewable energy for UK locations by 2025.
Both the Chancery Lane Project and the Legal Sustainability Alliance have shifted our focus towards a rather obvious but, at the same time, not quite wide-spread truth: sustainability is not strictly confined to oil & gas companies but very much involves all types of businesses, including law firms. It is very interesting to note that, as highlighted by Charles Russell Speechlys in its annual Responsible Business Report , the amount the law firm saved on London outbound flights alone in a year, is equivalent in energy to the electricity required to power more than 37 homes for a year!
Businesses – including Shell and other multinational oil & gas companies – are now setting sustainability criteria in their tenders, requiring law firms to meet certain environmental standards. Very interestingly, earlier this year Novartis announced that it will be withholding fees from legal advisers who miss diversity and sustainability targets.
The LAWYER “travels” to London, where sustainability is paramount to business operations, to discuss with three top-tier law firms about the strategies they implement against climate change, their demanding targets and measurable results.
Paul Rice, Partner, Head of Climate Change Advisory, Pinsent Masons
In 2015, Pinsent Masons set a sustainability target: to reduce the energy consumption of its operations in the UK by 20% by 2020 (compared to 2014). The firm admirably managed to hit this target a year earlier than planned. What led to setting this target back in 2015?
At Pinsent Masons, we set our environmental policies at least 15 years ago. Around 2015 the firm decided that we had to take up a much more focused approach to our environmental impact on the world, because it was the right thing to do. Our firm has always looked up to what we are doing and why we are doing it – we are not in business only to make money. We now have a purpose statement – a lot of lawyers don’t go into the law just to make money. They go in because they are interested in legal remedies, helping people and the world. I personally did an environmental law masters in 1992-3, at the time when the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was in negotiation.
As a matter of fact, we have been certified Carbon Neutral for business travel since 2007, by offsetting our emissions from our travel (for example, by investing in forestry or renewable energy projects)
The crossover between the environment and energy was very clear to me. The firm in 2019 decided that it would sign up to the UN Sustainable Development Goals as part of the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary initiative, whereby CEOs from over 1000 countries have agreed to adhere to certain development goals. This was completely aligned with what we were doing around business and the community, improving young lives, access to education and employment, clean water initiatives in Africa, Middle-East and Asia etc. It was at around that time when we agreed, as a firm, to set ourselves quite challenging targets for our energy and water consumption, our production of waste, the carbon footprint. As a matter of fact, we have been certified Carbon Neutral for business travel since 2007, by offsetting our emissions from our travel (for example, by investing in forestry or renewable energy projects). Most recently we offset emissions by investment in wind renewable energy projects in China and India.
What were the strategies implemented by Pinsent Masons to achieve its target?
We were already in the process of becoming an agile business whereby our people were not required to work at the office Monday to Friday. People could work from wherever they wanted and pretty much whenever they wanted. Of course, agile working was not only about the environment, it was also about our people being happy and improving their productivity. As long as people were doing their work and hitting their targets it didn’t matter where they were working from. Sometimes people would have to be in the office, go to court etc. But we find that there was a lot of wastage just by having an office – so this office, in prime Central London real estate, sometimes might be only 50% occupied.
We would have “no-travel weeks”, where we would ask everyone at the business not to travel, unless it was a pre-committed client meeting
We are open plan, we no longer have cellular offices, even the management don’t have separate offices. We have meeting rooms, video-conferencing rooms and telephone booths scattered throughout the offices and that cuts down heating, cooling. We also encourage people to work from wherever they want, thus having less wasted space at the office. Furthermore, we have automatic light monitoring, heating and cooling & monitored zones in line with our usage. Everyone has a laptop, they are portable. We invested more in our people being able to be paper free and having a lower carbon footprint. We discouraged international travel, we invested in a system called “telepresence” in our offices, we can do client meetings using telepresence and videoconferencing. We would have “no-travel weeks”, where we would ask everyone at the business not to travel, unless it was a pre-committed client meeting. We also looked at our waste and recycling footprint. We took part to “cycle to work” schemes, to enable employees to buy brand new bicycles instead of driving to work. As a matter of fact, our current London] building only has two car parking spaces to be used by clients.
What are the main challenges the law firm faced upon pursuing its sustainability goal?
For us it wasn’t so challenging. We’ve had to work with consultants and other entities, to audit and measure what we were doing. We are now auditing all our businesses globally and trying to set the same standards. In reality, we were pushing at an open door: people really wanted to change. It was a “no brainer” for us. We don’t have paper or plastic cups anywhere in the business. We don’t have plastic bottles, we have fitted water fountains with hot & cold water. Eradicating all that was really easy. We just had to make sure that what we put in place was as good as the alternatives.
Where we’re seeing a challenge at the moment is winning new clients – not having physical presence, not doing physical meetings for tenders
Of course, we had to invest in some technology and the no-travel weeks were quite a challenge initially. What is interesting now is that everyone knows that the sky won’t fall down if we’re working at home and not seeing clients everyday. Where we’re seeing a challenge at the moment is winning new clients – not having physical presence, not doing physical meetings for tenders. But everyone has the same problem and we will find a way around that, if the situation continues as is. We produce our own videos where we can do introductions of the whole team and video vignettes to send to clients – in other words, we are evolving to interact with our clients.
What is Pinsent Masons’ future vision on sustainability and how will the Covid-19 pandemic affect it (if at all)?
I am now head of climate change advisory across all our business and it is my role to make sure that we are driving our climate change work, that everyone in the business is up to date with the relevant law and that people are thinking about where the changes are going to be – I want them to be proactive, rather than reactive.
I have also conducted an analysis regarding our clients’ commitment in becoming net zero, because in order for them to be net zero there’s going to be a lot of legal work related to investment in carbon positive industries, new technologies, intellectual property, financing and development. All our clients, in all sectors have a (fiduciary) duty to address climate risk.
With clients changing, investors are changing, the whole world is changing. Therefore, any law firm that isn’t preparing for that or isn’t able to address that, may be missing opportunities. We are already seeing a rising litigation, a rising in different types of development (particularly in the renewable space, with transport and infrastructure changing at pace, as does real estate, financial services). We’re already seeing aviation companies and airport groups saying that they will be net zero by 2035-2040. All that change creates the requirement for new contracts, new ways of interacting etc. We therefore need to be ahead of the change.
I firmly believe that big oil & gas companies are going to be the single biggest drivers for positive change in the climate change space
I firmly believe that big oil & gas companies are going to be the single biggest drivers for positive change in the climate change space. They have the money, the people, the skills, the geographic spread required to make a positive change – and they really want to change. BP (and it is not they only one) has already committed to be net zero by 2050 and in order for an oil and gas company to be net zero by 2050, they will have to do an awful lot more of carbon positive investment.
When it comes to clients, how important is a law firm’s environmental footprint? Would it be farfetched to say that sustainability criteria will affect a client’s decision to work with a particular law firm?
Clients are now requiring a lot of the things we are already doing. We are seeing tenders, particularly big global panels, asking us about our flexible working, our diversity and inclusion policies, and, of course, our environmental performance, including energy use and carbon emissions, waste, water use, travel etc;
Legislation and regulation in relation to carbon related disclosure is being introduced in many countries – it will be coming in Greece too
A few months ago, Novartis announced that they have decided to withhold fees from legal advisers who miss diversity targets (whether that is gender, LGBT+, ethnicity). That is quite a progressive approach that will drive change.We voluntarily take part in the carbon disclosure project, where we monitor and publicly disclose our emissions. This has become a requirement for some of our clients and, increasingly, it will become a requirement of clients in general. We have a lot of businesses around the world (including our firm) that have committed publicly to the ‘science-based targets’, a global initiative whereby corporations pledge to keep their carbon emissions low enough, to ensure that the rise in global temperature stays below 1,5 degree Celsius, as set out in the Paris Agreement. We are already seeing a lot of clients being very active in this area. Legislation and regulation in relation to carbon related disclosure is being introduced in many countries – it will be coming in Greece too. I am currently helping a client draft its tender process for its supply chain and lawyers are part of this.
In terms of how can we demonstrate to a client that we are complying with their sustainability criteria: Clients have different policies and sustainability standards – we are publishing environmental metrics across different KPIs (our carbon emissions every year, our energy and water use etc.) and it really depends on what the client is measuring. It is also interesting that although Trump has said that they are pulling out of the Paris Agreement, a lot of the big American firms are very “hot” on this. Google, Apple and Microsoft have said that they will be net zero by 2030, which is a very ambitious target for them, considering the energy they use. The UK Government last year implemented an amendment to the Climate Change Act 2008, whereby the UK would be net zero by 2050. That will pre-empt a lot of regulation and reporting across different metrics. In December last year, the EU adopted Regulation 2019/2088 on Sustainability related disclosures in the Financial Services Sector that requires reporting on sustainability metrics.
Investors are requiring the companies in which they already hold a stake to measure the energy (and the type) used.. We are now at 100% renewable electricity in the UK and are considering a corporate power purchase agreement, whereby we procure all our electricity directly from a renewable energy generator It is also worth noting that we are starting to see a lot of NGO action and related litigation, which will also impact Greece, where coal is still being used. Energy is one area where a lot has been done already. The next big areas are transport and infrastructure, as well as emissions from shipping – another big issue for Greece. Legal suppliers are going to be in different stages of their journey – the key areas that a law firm should be looking at is reporting and improving incrementally year on year.
David Berry, Partner and Head of Sustainability, Charles Russell Speechlys
Thanos Karvelis, Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys
What are the strategies implemented by Charles Russell Speechlys to reduce its environmental impact?
As part of our pledge to become a truly sustainable business, we partnered with the Carbon Trust to independently and vigorously verify our carbon emissions
David Berry: Environmental performance is critical to the successful operation of our firm and we continue to take important steps to try to reduce our environmental impact as well as engaging with our clients and our people on the subject. As part of our pledge to become a truly sustainable business, we partnered with the Carbon Trust to independently and vigorously verify our carbon emissions, waste and water usage, and help us move towards a sustainable, low carbon future. The firm introduced electronic files and the roll out of new tablet based technology significantly reduces the need for hard copies of documents and facilitates agile working.
Other initiatives include the introduction of reusable water bottles and thermal keep cups, removing all single use plastic cutlery in the London office cafeteria and plasticised paper cups at tea points, and recycling all of our client area coffee grounds into advanced biofuels and biochemicals. In 2018, the Legal Sustainability Alliance’s (LSA) carbon reporting tool measured our carbon emissions for the preceding year at 1.82 tCO2e per employee — significantly below the average figure of 3.24 tCO2e per employee for all LSA reporting firms. We continue to take steps to actively reduce our environmental footprint through our environmental sustainability task force, eFORCE, and regularly engage with our clients and staff on the subject.
What are, in your opinion, the main challenges a law firm faces upon pursuing its sustainability goals?
For any law firm with an international client base, international business travel is a major contributor to its carbon footprint
David Berry: For any law firm with an international client base, international business travel is a major contributor to its carbon footprint. Yet lawyers will invariably justify travel because they prefer dealing with clients and managing relationships face to face. So, reducing the impact of travel will always be a challenge. What is often overlooked however is that most firms are significant purchasers of goods and services and that supply chain (scope 3 emissions) can be an even bigger contributor to a firm’s carbon footprint. That is why Charles Russell Speechlys is an enthusiastic advocate of The Chancery Lane Project and the free-to-use bank of precedent clauses that has been created as a means of securing carbon reduction commitments in supply (and other) contract relationships.
However, for a professional services firm, it is not enough to focus only on the three “R”s (reduce, reuse, recycle). Doing more means engaging with the firm’s diverse range of clients and contacts to spread the message that everybody needs an approach that embraces the planet and people alongside the profits. A firm can do that by talking to its stakeholders, but also by ensuring that it is ready to work with its clients to integrate sustainable thinking in their commercial relationships.
What is Charles Russell Speechlys’ future vision on sustainability and how will the Covid-19 pandemic affect it (if at all)?
David Berry: We want to keep looking ahead, ensuring we are ready and able to support our people, our clients and our communities to navigate whatever economic, social or environmental challenges the future holds. Specifically on sustainability, that must involve achieving carbon neutrality, that is working relentlessly to reduce the carbon emissions from our business activities with targets (and encouraging out clients to set similar targets) that will support the UK as a whole achieving its legally binding commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050. We acknowledge that the next 10 years are critical.
Thanos Karvelis: The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated the value of the strategies previously adopted by Charles Russell Speechlys (for example, the tablet based technology previously introduced for all lawyers enabling them to work seamlessly from home during periods of lockdown). The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of video conferencing and other remote working technologies, with a consequent reduction in travel and paper usage. But that in turn brings new challenges, not least the need to avoid simply “exporting” carbon emissions from the office into people’s homes as they work remotely and in home environments which may be less efficient in terms of electricity consumption for example.
When it comes to clients, how important is a law firm’s environmental footprint? Would it be farfetched to say that sustainability criteria will affect a client’s decision to work with a particular law firm?
It is not farfetched to say that at least in respect of certain clients sustainability criteria will affect a client’s decision to work with a particular law firm
Thanos Karvelis: The answer here does depend on the nature of law firm’s particular client base. Quoted companies, retail and other consumer-facing company clients with higher levels of regulation and reputational risk are more likely to have corporate purpose, sustainability and environmental, social and governance risk top of mind. Many traditional oil and gas and mining companies are now looking to diversify and offset the impact of their operations. Environmental, social and governance concerns will not affect all clients but such concerns are increasingly being felt. In short however, no it is not farfetched to say that at least in respect of certain clients sustainability criteria will affect a client’s decision to work with a particular law firm.
Fiona Nicholls, Head of Assurance and Environment, Gowling WLG
What are the strategies implemented by GOWLING WLG to reduce its environmental impact?
GOWLING WLG has implemented the following, regarding its UK activities:
- It has adopted a bold vision and goals , which provide a focus, a destination.
- ISO140001, a globally recognised environmental management standard, has been in place since 2013 and, in 2015, it was joined by ISO50001 (energy management), both complimenting the quality assurance system (ISO9001) already in place for 27 years.
- The law firm is just setting out its PLANET+ Phase 2 – Stepping Up 2020-2025 strategy, which will be even more ambitious than the first (Phase 1 – foundations 2017-2020).
- The objectives and plans set by GOWLING WLG support the delivery of key achievements which include, but are not restricted to:
- Reduction in building energy use between 2015/16 and 2019/2020 of 26% (on a target of 20%). A new target is being set of 45% reduction to 2025 (on the 2015/16 baseline) – we are well on our way to Net Zero Carbon by 2030.
- 10 years of carbon offsetting flights, with an award for this provided to the firm by Carbon NeutralÒ in 2019.
- A4/A3 copy paper, many millions of sheets, are now made from 100% recycled pulp, some of which is made from waste paper recycled from our London office, which is a very good example of circular.
- Segregated ‘waste’ resources are reused, recycled or composted, including: batteries, toner cartridges, plastic, paper, coffee cups, card, cans, food, lightbulbs, stationery (regular amnesties), unwanted furniture (donated to charity). There are no waste bins at desks, with several centralised recycling stations.
- Codes of practice, questionnaires and guidance on our sustainability ambitions are being enacted through our central procurement practices.
- We have signed up to the UN Global Compact, along with our Canadian counterparts, and we are currently developing a strategy to roll out activity across all our international offices.
- We have a leading (and growing) global environment services team engaging internally and externally.
We are well on our way to Net Zero Carbon by 2030
What are the main challenges a law firm faces upon pursuing its sustainability goals?
Growing understanding among everyone that the environment is, and should be, part of everything takes time, knowledge and persistence (and a very thick skin!)
- Awareness and behaviour change: Efforts need to be embedded and meaningful to ultimately be sustained. Growing understanding among everyone that the environment is, and should be, part of everything takes time, knowledge and persistence (and a very thick skin!). Gowling WLG took the decision to employ a dedicated specialist to grow internal understanding and expand ambitions.
- Leadership: Getting the buy-in of the Executive and Board is a challenge for most organisations, particularly with so many seemingly bigger and/or conflicting priorities. The firm’s Board-endorsed and bold sustainability vision, PLANET+ Ambassadors (including Partners and General Counsel), targeted engagement and strong culture of responsibility, all play a big part at Gowling WLG.
- Recognising the role of clients: The negative environmental impacts of individual law firms are relatively modest compared to many of the businesses up and down the value chain – suppliers and clients – and goes well beyond typical office impacts. Legal firms have the potential to truly influence those they serve, and in all areas of corporate law. The firm’s ‘clients engaged’ goal was developed to recognise this, as will the objectives and action that stem from it.
Legal firms have the potential to truly influence those they serve, and in all areas of corporate law
What is GOWLING’s future vision on sustainability and how will the Covid-19 pandemic affect it (if at all)?
Although COVID has, rightly so, diverted eyes to keeping the business and its people safe, the firm’s environmental commitments are unshaken. In fact, a refreshed policy, new strategy and challenging objectives are currently under preparation for 2020 to 2025.
Buildings / flights are the greatest direct sources of carbon emissions for the firm, hospitality is a big generator of waste and staff commuting/business travel is a significant contributor to pollution. All have largely ground to a halt or been mothballed as the firm successfully moved to homeworking. This will obviously impact direct environmental performance for the period since March 2020 for the better, however, there are ‘unmeasured’ impacts associated with people at home, as many impacts are simply shifted to another location. This will keep the academics busy for a long time, and we will keep an eye on what it all means in the medium to long term.
When it comes to clients, how important is a law firm’s environmental footprint? Would it be farfetched to say that sustainability criteria will affect a client’s decision to work with a particular law firm?
Demands from potential and existing clients, particularly those that are large, in high impact sectors and Government, are growing and becoming more sophisticated. In 2019, the firm was successful in being appointed exclusive Official Legal Advisers and official sponsors of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and environmental sustainability played a part in the selection process.
It may certainly be a stretch to say that many businesses will select a law firm from another on their environmental stance alone, but evidence suggests that it is playing a growing role when all else is equal.
Taking the planet and its protection evidently seriously will provide further assurance that a law firm is good in more ways than one
Business has come a long way in the last 20 years on this agenda and they understand better how to spot the difference between authenticity / true commitment and greenwash. Trust is something you build and is hard to measure. Taking the planet and its protection evidently seriously will provide further assurance that a law firm is good in more ways than one .
