Responsible Business

As a business, we are very aware that we have an opportunity – and a duty – to improve the communities where we work, and to show leadership in our commitment to reducing our environmental impact.

Pro Bono 

Providing pro bono legal advice is an important part of our CSR policy and often provides our lawyers with exposure to legal work which goes beyond their day-to-day experiences. We support various organisations by providing legal advice on a pro bono basis as well as handling legal queries from Citizens Advice Bureaux clients, who would otherwise not be able to access such advice.

The firm is a member of TrustLaw, the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global pro bono legal programme and the world’s largest facilitator of free legal services. It connects social enterprises and NGOs around the world with law firms that are willing to support them.

We also work with Pilotlight, a charity established to transform the lives of disadvantaged people in the UK by offering charities and social enterprises access to the strategic business support they need to become more efficient, effective and sustainable.

Community 

We fully recognise our duty to be an active member of the communities where we work. Our CSR policy contributes to the way we run our business, by setting out how we will pursue our business objectives in a socially responsible and sustainable manner.

Responsibility for setting and monitoring the development of our CSR policy rests with our Partnership Board. We measure success through setting and reporting against annual targets, ensuring that in all significant decisions we make, we fully consider the social and environmental impact.

Environment 

We are very clear about the threat posed by climate change and our responsibility to lead by example in the fight against it. We have committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

We integrate sustainability considerations into all our business decisions. Our sustainability policy is informed by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and is aligned to those of the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, which have committed to becoming net zero by 2030, and London, which has set out its ambition to be net zero by the same date.

The policy covers three core areas – the firm’s business, our people and our clients – and commits us to comply with, and exceed where practicable, all applicable environmental legislation, regulations and codes of practice. We are focused on reducing our energy consumption, use of materials (stationery, printing, packaging and others), waste production, and travel emissions. We are also promoting, through training and engagement, a more sustainable mindset among colleagues, and are working with clients to promote sustainable decisions and practices to help mutually facilitate the transition to net zero.

Our commitment to achieving net zero by 2030 is a key strategic priority for the firm, and we report on our progress at least annually.

ESG Advisory Group

We take our sustainability commitments very seriously – and we can help you to meet yours as well.

Our Environmental, Social and Governance Advisory Group is made up of lawyers with a wide variety of expertise, all of which can help our clients with their sustainability journey. That includes environmental, workforce, social and regulatory commitments.

ESG is a Board-level issue for many organisations. It is important to consumers and employees, many of whom strongly prefer businesses that can demonstrate that they share their values. And it is increasingly a focus for governments.

Our ESG Advisory Group, led by partners Louisa Knox (Pensions) and Gordon Downie (Regulation and Markets), supports clients on all aspects of ESG. To do this we apply not just our legal expertise but also our experience of embedding ESG considerations into our own operations. This gives us a clear insight into the practicalities of the ESG journey, and a real understanding of the part we all need to play to achieve our objectives.

Obviously ESG has three key elements, and a robust ESG strategy needs to address all of them. Specifically, how an organisation lessens its impact on the environment; treats its employees; and evaluates its supply chain and governs its business.

Environmental

There are countless ways to minimise an organisation’s impact on climate and nature. Among the most important are reducing greenhouse gas emissions, managing waste and energy consumption better, and engaging with suppliers to encourage more sustainable ways of doing business. There are also many ways to gather data and measure progress. Whichever method you use, your targets should be quantifiable and aligned with your organisation’s goals.

Social

Social considerations reflect an organisation’s ethics – its values and how it conducts its business. What initiatives are in place to care for the health and welfare of its people? What actions is it taking to promote a more diverse, inclusive, and socially and ethically responsible culture? This is an area in which it can be particularly useful to get opinions from other organisations: when people share their experience of what has worked (and what hasn’t) it helps everyone to improve.

Governance

Complying with regulatory standards is vital to the success of any organisation. But that’s difficult to achieve: it’s an area of law that changes frequently, sometimes at short notice, and the overall regulatory burden tends to increase. Nevertheless, measuring and demonstrating compliance is an important part of any ESG strategy.

Our ESG Advisory Group can help you to set a direction for your organisation’s sustainability journey, and give you the support you need to progress.

Our experience includes:

• Assisting clients active in a variety of sectors in developing their ESG strategies
• Advising regulators and energy businesses on innovative energy projects and providing fundraising and corporate advice
• Supporting clients with health and safety and data protection compliance
• Working closely with clients to ensure their employment policies and their initiatives to encourage diversity and inclusion are robust
• Advising pension trustees and sponsors to ensure they meet their detailed regulatory requirements while delivering against the expectations of their schemes’ members

To find out more, contact Louisa Knox.