Sustainability initiative

DLA Piper’s Global Board has been driving our Global Sustainability Initiative (“GSI”) since January 2007. From the start we determined to become the first international legal services organization to achieve ISO 14001, the worldwide standard for environmental management, across all our operations and we achieved that – not only within the first year, but in every year since. The certification is a key part of the ongoing process of quantifying and setting concrete targets to guide our efforts and sustain momentum.

We are also inspiring our people to reduce their environmental impacts in the areas of energy, waste, travel and procurement. Through our four internal campaigns called ReduceReuseRecycle, TravelSmart, EnergySmart and ProcureSmart we have changed our own carbon footprint and culture. Our people are thinking sustainably by recycling office waste, conserving energy, using state of the art video conferencing technology and finding small ways to make a big difference.

Recruiting and keeping the best talent is enhanced by our GSI. Our people are passionate about the environment, and they expect us to take action on climate change. Our bi-annual Global CSR Survey in 2008 found that 96 per cent of respondents (over 1,600) are concerned about the environment. While it is difficult to quantify rates of retention as a direct result of introducing the GSI, it is reasonable to say that we have become more aligned with our people’s values and this has had an impact upon staff satisfaction.

Sustainability considerations are also taken into account during all staff reviews and fee earner bonuses reflect a ‘wider contribution’ criteria which includes environmental work.

Getting our own house in order has been a vital and rewarding process, but sharing our experience with outside partners and the wider public is also important. This website is a part of that. Additionally, we are proud sponsors of the May Day Business Summit on Climate Change, hosted by The Prince of Wales, in 2007, 2008 and again in 2009. As a direct result we co-founded The Legal Sector Alliance, (“LSA”) an initiative that brings more than 150 law firms who are working collaboratively to tackle climate change. We have used the LSA Carbon Footprint Protocol – developed by the sector for the sector to measure the carbon emissions of our UK operations. In 2007, our carbon emissions stood at 4.30 tonnes of carbon per employee. Our C02 emissions for 2008 have fallen to 4.13 tonnes of carbon per employee in the UK, equating to a 3.95 per cent decrease per employee or 1.19 carbon equivalent reduction in absolute emissions. While some of this may be attributable to the recession, it should be pointed out that many international law firms have had to increase their travel emissions during this period as a result of having to focus on opportunities further afield. Using the Protocol has allowed us to show leadership in the legal community as part of the process of public reporting.

We were also major contributors to the Legal Sector Alliance Climate Change Symposium in 2009 which was broadcast live to a global audience. Sir Nigel Knowles, our joint CEO and chair of the Legal Sector Alliance, presented the keynote address at the Symposium’s evening event and thanked the legal community for working in partnership on climate change issues.

Such events raise the profile of environmental issues within the business community and have given us the opportunity to show our commitment through action. We are also provided funding, facilities, legal expertise and people-hours and in 2009 our team committed to over 4,400 hours to deliver the firm’s sustainability strategy.