Planet
Taking positive and joined-up climate action.
When climate change and biodiversity threaten our quality of life and the prospects of future generations, our individual actions can feel insignificant. We believe solutions to the climate crisis are a combined effort that work when each of us act.
Planet
Taking positive and joined-up climate action.
When climate change and biodiversity threaten our quality of life and the prospects of future generations, our individual actions can feel insignificant. We believe solutions to the climate crisis are a combined effort that work when each of us act.
2024 at a glance.
renewable energy across 3 office locations.
reduction in CO2e per full-time employee.
reduction in waste to landfill over the last 2 years.
out of 100 ranked Ecovadis score in top 35% for legal sector.
Measuring our emissions.
Our baseline emissions are produced and validated by Net Zero Now. We are aligned to the definition of net zero set by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This means we include all relevant emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3; report our complete greenhouse gas (GHG) calculations aligned to climate science; and commit to reducing emissions by 90% before offsetting the residual 10%.
Scope 3 is something that we absolutely have to tackle if we're going to get to where we want to be, which is net zero by 2050 at the very latest.”
Jo Ford, Partner and Planet pillar lead
Accelerating to net zero.
In 2022, we co-created the net zero law firms protocol with Net Zero Now and eight other UK law firms backed by The Law Society. This enabled us to start measuring carbon emissions across our entire value chain.
Our carbon reporting has become significantly more accurate in the past year. We have reduced our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and kept these low even as we’ve have grown our employee numbers by 38%.
Our biggest challenge is the 98% of emissions that sit in Scope 3. These come from the products and services we buy, and the way we travel to and from work. We are focusing in this area and will continue refining our reporting to ensure we have the most precise data to guide our road to net zero.
Total tCO2e emissions 2022-24.
Scope 3 emissions.
Our net zero targets.
We are committed to achieving ambitious reduction targets in line with what is required to restrict warming to less than 1.50C.
Our near-term reductions are to:
- Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to a 2022 baseline.
- Reduce Scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2027.
- Our long-term target is to achieve net zero before 2050 with offsetting as a last resort.
We are yet to have these targets validated by the SBTi and commit to doing so within the next two years.
From zero sums to positive action.
It’s the firm’s role to offer us options for reducing our footprint. It’s up to us whether we take them. When we do, we want it to feel easy and rewarding.”
Mark Cheesman, Head of Workplace
We can achieve more.
- On-going activity is needed to improve operations, reduce waste and increase renewable energy supply.
- With our head office in Kent and growth plans across the South, we need to radically reduce emissions in our employee commute.
- We will improve our net zero governance by publishing our GHG emissions on the website; getting our carbon reduction targets validated by the SBTi; and identifying a reputable carbon offsetting partner.