Recognising that global warming must be addressed, UK law firms are working to reduce their environmental footprint in an economically viable way, writes Rupert White


Abnormal climate change is real, and it is almost certainly our fault, according to the most recent report by 2,500 scientists published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this month. And carbon dioxide emissions are by far the biggest man-made factor in the change.



Jonathan Shopley, chief executive of CarbonNeutral, a company engaged in what it calls carbon management, spells out why any business, including law firms, should be involved and learning about climate change.



‘Firms with a commitment to doing the right thing with the environment need to read the Stern report [on the economic impact of climate change], need to read the IPCC report, and think to themselves, “If scientists are calling for a 60% reduction in emissions over the next 30 years, that means at least a 3% reduction year on year. Can we deliver that?” That should be your starting point.’



A reduction in emissions of 60% over the next few decades sounds like a huge task, but most environment advisers say it can easily be done. So how can a law firm make these carbon emissions cuts? What are firms doing now, and how can they show us the way forward?



Slashing emissions is not about throwing money at the problem, say experts. There has been much attention focused on carbon offsetting, where organisations plant trees or perhaps buy carbon ‘credits’ from under-emitters in a global carbon market to offset their emissions. But while these methods have some value, the fastest way to make big reductions in a firm’s emissions is to look at basic policy and energy-saving changes.



Carbon-management companies say the first thing firms must do is get someone to make an assessment of how much CO2 the business emits, so it can set reduction goals.



Two law firms that have done just that are City practice Simmons & Simmons and national firm Hill Dickinson. Simmons & Simmons has undergone a comprehensive assessment of its emissions and has worked with CarbonNeutral to bring them down to zero using a combination of reductions and offsets. Hill Dickinson went to another carbon management firm, CO2Balance, to measure its carbon ‘footprint’, help plan reductions, and then plant trees to offset the remainder.



City firm Allen & Overy (A&O) is working towards the benchmark standard for environmental management, ISO 14001, but told the Gazette that measurement numbers and targets were still ‘a work in progress’.



A&O is a good example of the cost of ‘big science’ versus the reductions that can be made from small changes. The solar panels installed at its new Bishops Square offices in London cut out 23 tonnes of CO2 a year – but compare this to Hill Dickinson’s carbon footprint for 700-odd staff of 1,034 tonnes per year, and the real scale of the problem becomes apparent. The average person individually accounts for ten to 15 tonnes of carbon a year. Firms should be aiming to get their share of that down to two or three.



Where A&O scores well with the experts is with its smaller changes. Its policy is now for staff to turn off computers and screens at the end of each day and particularly at the weekends. Lights and air conditioning are linked to motion sensors and switch off if no movement is detected for 20 minutes outside standard working hours. Daylight sensors are used to reduce energy wastage, and the firm’s escalators are fitted with energy-saving devices to reduce speed when not in use. These measures, say carbon advisers, are vital.



‘Most companies which have not paid attention to this could reduce their carbon footprint by between 20% to 30% with fairly low-hanging fruit,’ says CarbonNeutral’s Mr Shopley.



Bristol-based regional practice Osborne Clarke has also picked these ‘low-hanging fruit’ by concentrating on a list of easy-to-implement directives. Its list is very similar to A&O’s: movement-sensitive lighting, low-energy light bulbs, night security staff with strict instructions to switch off lights, closing down computers at night, timers installed in staff kitchens to switch off water boilers, and the use of video conferencing rather than travel.



Starting from the ground up also means switching to renewable energy providers rather than using fossil fuel, which is the next step, say experts, to cutting emissions greatly. Because a firm’s carbon footprint is also worked out on which energy sources a firm uses, switching to ‘green’ providers can make a dramatic difference. Experts say these savings can be made by any size of firm.



UK/US firm DLA Piper announced its global sustainability initiative at the end of January, and says its emission reduction targets will be achieved generally by a combination of the methods mentioned earlier. But the firm has not published its carbon footprint, and neither has Osborne Clarke. In fact, of the eight firms that gave themselves up as examples to the Gazette, only Hill Dickinson provided its footprint and only Simmons & Simmons and DLA gave a highly detailed breakdown of target reductions.



Setting targets is as important as measurement, the experts claim. Without targets, a firm cannot make sure it is meeting its objectives, which is the only way compliance with ISO 14001, for example, is possible.



Manchester firm Pannone seems to exemplify the stage a lot of law firms must be at. It recently decided to call in the Carbon Trust to assess and advise the firm, and has set up an in-house team tasked with examining the issues. Although it has yet to be assessed, it has taken the first step – which many experts say is the hardest.



Pannone solicitor Lucy Nichol explains: ‘Addressing environmental issues makes good business sense. Many organisations now ask to see the environmental policies of suppliers. And from recruitment and marketing standpoints, the efforts we are making will help differentiate us from firms that do little or nothing.’



Chris Hodgson, head of retail and commerce at Envirowise, another government-funded venture, says the most important thing for many firms is starting out. ‘It’s about getting people to do anything,’ he says. This could be getting assessed or drawing up a strategy, as long as it leads to action that can then be tracked.



Though firms such as A&O, Bristol’s Burges Salmon and Hill Dickinson are either planning moves or have moved based on environmental factors, it is the more human element of 'engagement' that, says Mr Shopley, is perhaps the most important non-technical step.



'If [going carbon neutral] hasn't touched every single one of their staff members in some positive way, they haven't used their scheme to the full extent,' he says. This extends to vetting suppliers for their ‘green’ credentials, he adds.



Mr Hodgson agrees. ‘Quite often the biggest changes are made by making better relations between companies and landlords or facilities management, as much as getting staff to bother to put things in recycling.’



For excess emissions there is offsetting in the shape of buying credits, planting trees or investing in developing world projects. But the experts seem split on how readily firms should adopt these schemes. CarbonNeutral says going for them should be based on whether their cost is more attractive than further reductions, while the Carbon Trust suggests such tactics should be a last resort or an extra – when firms wish to move to zero emissions.



Pablo Ceppi, strategy manager at the Carbon Trust, even goes as far as to say that if a company offsets, in essence, just to look like it is doing something, there could be potentially negative impacts on its reputation. But everyone agrees that marketing and profit benefits from taking the lead on an issue that touches everyone's life are there for the taking – provided the efforts are real. Better still, law firms are in a very good position, says Mr Shopley. ‘The law sector benefits from the fact that it generates wealth without having to manufacture anything,’ he points out.



The message is that, fundamentally, because the issue seems so pressing, doing anything is better than doing nothing. But making real changes is far better than just buying a few trees.



‘If we want to move to a low-carbon economy, everyone will have to move to low emissions,’ says Mr Ceppi. ‘Just giving away those emissions to offsetting schemes is not going to be the answer. Everyone will need to reduce their own emissions to achieve the targets that we have set ourselves.’



Top energy-saving tips



l Reducing heating by just one degree can make a saving of 8-10% on an annual heating bill.

l Always switch monitors off when not in use. They account for almost half a computer’s energy use.

l Make use of natural daylight where possible. It costs nothing and can reduce lighting bills by up to 19%.

l Energy-saving light bulbs use 75% less electricity than standard bulbs, provide the same amount of light and last up to ten times longer.

l Reduce lighting in areas that don’t need bright light, such as corridors.

l Think about implementing motion-sensitive heat and light systems.

l Encourage staff to turn off lights whenever possible. Businesses can save up to 15% by implementing this policy.

l Move to a ‘green’ energy provider

Source: The Carbon Trust