Can law firms become sustainability champions?

October 16, 2023

Experts in sustainability gathered at the latest Legal Office and Administration Forum (LOAF) webinar to discuss the role of law firms in championing sustainability. Special guest speakers, Jim Haywood from the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA), and Claire Goody, Head of Environmental Sustainability, Health and Safety, for Eversheds Sutherland, covered a range of topics, including the critical impact law firms can have on environmental issues, navigating through the jargon, the drivers and opportunities associated with embracing sustainability, and the role of the LSA.

Here are the top takeaways from the webinar:

Law firms must embrace sustainability for the long-term

Sustainability is no longer optional for law firms, and they need to take a long-term view and integrate it into their core business. This includes engaging partners and colleagues at all levels of the organization and being ready to change and innovate. Taking a “three-legged stool” approach (the three legs being economic, societal, and environmental factors) to sustainability is important for law firms to ensure a balanced plan that meets the environmentally focused needs of their clients and stakeholders in the present, but also considers the long-term impact of their business practices. By balancing economic, societal, and environmental impacts, law firms can create a long-standing business model focused on sustainability that will be beneficial for all.

Law firm clients care about sustainability, and are increasingly scrutinizing law firms’ ESG performance

There is increasing pressure from law firm clients to provide greater Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) related information and support. A recent LexisNexis study stated that 92% of UK and US based law firms found that ESG concerns were more important among clients than they were 12 months ago. Only a third of law firms who had reported an increase in demand for ESG related services were able to service these demands, with a further 55% reporting that they need to enhance their capabilities within this area[1]. When clients score RFPs from law firms, up to 15% of the scoring is now based on sustainability, which represents a significant driver in helping fee earners win more legal work. Clients are now asking law firms for detailed scores, science-based targets, and recognized ratings, such as EcoVadis scores, and are even threatening to end their relationships with law firms that do not show a commitment to clear sustainability goals. Clearly, protecting the environment is a major issue and one that needs to be integrated into the firm culture. Law firm leadership should be supported by sustainability champions who can help lawyers articulate that commitment intelligently and accurately if a client asks what their firm is doing to tackle climate change.

Collaboration is key: both within the firm and with other firms and stakeholders.

There is now a wide range of tools, regulations, independent organizations, and initiatives at a law firms’ disposal to help measure its impact on the environment and set out clear and realistic improvement plans. There’s the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), Scopes 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), EcoVadis, the Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and more. However, navigating through these different initiatives, and understanding the jargon is enough to make heads spin. Close collaboration across the legal sector is important, and The Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA) helps firms navigate through this. The LSA is a not-for-profit sustainability network run by law firms for law firms. The LSA encourages collaboration among law firms to drive change by providing support, resources, and networking opportunities, and is a valuable platform for like-minded individuals to share knowledge and advice on environmental sustainability. It offers resources such as a carbon calculator, business cases, guides, webinars, and access to expert advice for sustainability efforts.

Work with business support partners who share your sustainability commitments

In a recent blog, we pointed to a study from the World Economic Forum, which revealed that companies that outsource to sustainable suppliers can reduce their carbon emissions by up to 25% and are more likely to meet their sustainability goals[2]. More law firms are working closely with business support providers to create improved energy efficient and digitized operational processes. You can find out more by reading our blog post, Can professional services firms save the planet?

[1] Source: Davidson, LexisNexis, Practical ESG Guidance for law firms, 17 August 2022

[2] The World Economic Forum, Boston Consulting Group, The Net-Zero Challenge: The Supply Chain Opportunity, 2021