Measuring our carbon emissions

We are an international law firm with over 1,500 people operating from 17 offices across three geographical regions. To understand the extent and breakdown of our own carbon footprint, we are working with Cundall, a global multi-disciplinary consultancy firm delivering sustainability solutions, to monitor, report, and disclose our annual global energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. 

The first aim of our Low Carbon environmental sustainability objective is to set and publish carbon reduction targets verified by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) by the end of 2024.

The SBTi sets a clearly defined pathway to help companies reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the latest science and the goals of the Paris Agreement. This requires robust carbon footprint reporting and so we intend to measure our annual carbon footprint for a third year to set a SBT. 

Based on our carbon footprint data for 2020/21, a proposed 2030 SBT has been developed to align our current reduction strategy with a 1.5-degree  

Celsius warming scenario. The SBTi recommends a 4.2% linear annual reduction which will result in an overall reduction of 35.6% from 2021 to 2030. 

In terms of progress, we are delighted to have achieved Plant Mark Business Certification for our London office in 2022 and we are planning to be certified in all our offices from 2024 onwards.  

We are members of the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA) and actively collaborate with other law firms to share sustainability advice, information and resources to support the legal community on their journey to net zero.