Environmental sustainability
The path to net-zero is a complex and multifaceted one, but is a journey we are actively taking. Our goal is to achieve net-zero by 2050, our people want it, our clients are asking for it and the planet needs it. Playing our part in reducing our carbon use to achieve net-zero is the right thing to do.
We had our near and long-term targets validated in 2023 by the Science Based Targets initiative and are aiming to achieve a 42% reduction in Scope 1&2 emissions and reduce our Scope 3 emissions by 2030 and achieve a 90% reduction or net-zero by 2050.
Our priority is to make sure that the way we operate has as little environmental impact as possible. We have a Sustainability Champion and a Sustainability Collaboration Group actively working on this. Sustainability is on the Board agenda too and is an active part of our decision-making process.
We track our carbon use and report on this each year to remove a percentage of the carbon we do use through carbon avoidance and removal projects, avoiding nearly 1000 tonnes so far. We plant a tree for each new matter we open and now have over 79,000 trees.
We have also undertaken a number of external submissions and commitments to validate our approach and assess our credibility in this important area including:
Emissions
We calculate and publish our emissions each year. We are working towards a 42% reduction in our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and reducing our Scope 3 emissions by 2030, on the path to a 90% reduction or net‑zero by 2050. We avoid all carbon we can and remove what we cannot avoid, guided by our net‑zero transition plan.
This year we have strengthened our approach by aligning with the Oxford Offsetting Principles and shifting to long‑term, removal‑based offsetting. Carbon removal is significantly more expensive, so we now remove 10% of our emissions the same cost as fully avoiding all of them but ensuring that the carbon we address is real, measurable and long‑lasting.
Deforestation & biodiversity
We seek to minimise the impact of deforestation and operate a paperless office so our in house printing is low. We have a no print policy for marketing materials but on the very limited occasions when we have to, we use a B Corp printer and print on sustainably sourced materials in a factory powered by renewable energy, using a 100% waterless process and sending 0% waste to landfill. The end product is always 100% recyclable. We plant a tree for every new matter we open and have over 58,000 trees in the Mewburn Ellis Forest.
Policy, monitoring & reporting
We have an environmental policy and management system in place. We have identified key performance indicators to monitor progress and enable us to continually improve environmental performance in line with our validated Science Based Targets.
We participate in annual submissions EcoVadis and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project.)
Waste
We monitor and manage our waste and produce an annual waste report. As a professional services firm we operate a paperless office and the waste we do produce is recycled where possible.
Sustainable procurement materials
We aim to work with sustainable suppliers where possible and make environmentally sound decisions in our purchasing.
Business travel
Our largest emissions come from our Scope 3 business travel. We have for the last two years operated a sustainability sense check where each business trip is assessed to consider the necessity and the carbon footprint of the trip.
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