Our Environment

Transitioning to net zero

As the climate emergency worsens, governments, businesses and individuals everywhere are stepping up their commitments and taking action to reduce their carbon emissions. As a Firm, we are committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

In 2020, our analysis of the top 50 UK law firms and 50 of our clients found that twice as many clients had carbon pledges compared with firms in the legal sector. Similarly, twice as many of our clients had already achieved carbon neutrality compared with the top 50 law firms – highlighting to us an urgent need, as a firm and as a profession, to do more.

As part of our 2030 pledge, we appointed sustainability consultancy Achill Management to better understand what we needed to do to get on the pathway to net zero – and the implications for the Firm.

A net zero target differs to pledging ‘carbon neutrality’ (which can be achieved solely by buying carbon credits) by requiring us to reduce our carbon emissions as much as possible and offsetting the remaining carbon through a variety of different measures that sequester it permanently. That is the approach we have taken, in line with Achill Management’s recommendations and The Oxford Offsetting Principles.

Achill Management undertook a review of the Firm’s existing carbon footprint based on 2019 data and a gap analysis, and recalculated our impact through expanded and more robust data. It has since created a set of objectives with measurable emissions reduction targets for each year. See our planned trajectory in the chart below.

Its findings highlight the need for engagement on this issue across the Firm, and as we emerge from over a year of lockdowns, we believe there is an unprecedented opportunity to pursue collective behaviour change.

“Net zero is about changing the culture of working practices. Charles Russell Speechlys has accepted that the way it does business as a law firm will be different in the future. Not just in the way its staff behave, but also through the long-term relationships it holds with clients.”

- Amanda Carpenter, CEO, Achill Management

2019 air travel emissions

In 2019, 45% of our annual baseline emissions were attributable to air travel, and therefore reducing that output will be critical to hitting our 2030 net zero target. We will not prohibit flights, but recognise that there is more to the cost of a flight than the price of the ticket, and are also aware that client expectations have changed since the COVID-19 crisis began. Against this backdrop, we are adopting a revised travel policy to better inform our decisions regarding proposals for air travel within the Firm, and aim to reduce emissions by 25% from this source by 2022.

2022 air travel emissions

Next steps

Working with Achill Management, we have a programme of delivery objectives in place to reduce carbon emissions in our offices and plan to equip our staff with a ‘Working From Home’ calculator tool. The intention is to help those working remotely to understand and track their carbon emissions with the aim of reducing them, as well as to monitor home energy usage and work in a more energy efficient way. This will also enable the Firm to gather anonymised data on the environmental impact of a hybrid-working model, as well as assess commuting emissions and further mitigate our impact.

Another current project, also with Achill Management, is to create a bespoke environmental management system over the next six months. Once this system is in place, we seek to achieve ISO 14001 – an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organisations improve their environmental performance through more efficient use of resources and reduction of waste, gaining a competitive advantage and the trust of stakeholders.

Although the Firm is not legally required to calculate and report on our supply chain emissions, other than transport usage, as part of our clients’ supply chains we must be able to provide them with the data they require and show our commitment to helping them achieve their own carbon reduction targets. “We need to be in a position to engage in a more sophisticated dialogue with clients on this issue and demonstrate best practice by sharing details of our carbon reduction targets, our action plan, our approach to measurement, and our progress,” explains David Berry, Partner and our General Counsel. As Achill Management’s Amanda Carpenter points out: “Charles Russell Speechlys understands the need to get this right. It’s a moral, human and business imperative to tackle this and there isn’t another issue that is more important."

Net zero 2030 action plan

Our current objectives and planned trajectory to net zero is shown on the chart below.

Net zero 2030 action plan

Our current objectives and planned trajectory to net zero is shown on the chart below

Net zero 2030 action plan

Our current objectives and planned trajectory to net zero is shown on the chart below

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