Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has completed its first year of carbon footprint reporting with The Planet Mark. The transatlantic law firm calculated the emissions of its eight UK offices for the year ending December 2017 and set a target to reduce emissions by 5% annually.
WBD has been working with the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA), an inclusive movement of law firms, to manage its environmental impacts since 2008. In its 2018 report with the LSA, WBD reported a reduction of 16% in carbon emissions and 14% per employee, representing the fourth consecutive reduction in carbon emissions.
Simon Richardson, UK Chair at WBD, commented:
"We're pleased to have been awarded The Planet Mark certification on the back of our firm wide efforts to reduce carbon emissions. We take our Responsible Business responsibilities very seriously and care deeply about the impact of our actions on our people, our local community and the environment.
"We are committed to enhancing our environmental performance and finding sustainable ways to improve our environmental management. We're involved in a range of initiatives to build on our progress year on year and find sustainable ways to improve our green credentials. We are also working collaboratively with other organisations as well as our suppliers to take positive action on climate change by measuring, reducing and reporting on carbon footprint and take every opportunity to align our environmental strategies, encouraging third parties to adopt environmentally sustainable practices."
This is Planet Mark's first year of verifying WBD’s carbon footprint. First year of certification to The Planet Mark is based on the commitment to continuous improvement in sustainability in business operations by measuring and reducing carbon emissions and engaging stakeholders year-on-year.
Steve Malkin, founder of The Planet Mark, commented:
“We are delighted that Womble Bond Dickinson has achieved its first certification to The Planet Mark and in doing so, committed to many new practices that will reduce their carbon emissions. They've made outstanding progress and are clearly excited about the future and what they can do next. Womble Bond Dickinson epitomises how you can make positive contributions to society and the environment and enjoy the process. We’re delighted to have them onboard.”
WBD has been measuring and reporting its carbon footprint for 10 years with the LSA. 2018 is the first time it has had its calculations verified, reflecting the firm’s seriousness about sustainability and the need to report carbon figures that are both accurate and robust.
By achieving The Planet Mark, WBD is able to directly and measurably contribute to seven of the 17 sustainable development goals .
To assist WBD in optimising its sustainability performance, The Planet Mark team has made several recommendations, such as carrying out regular energy audits and the collation of supplier evidence to support green tariff purchases. Robust processes for data collection will also be crucial, as WBD requires accurate information to help identify where wastage occurs within the business, and where efficiencies can be made.
In addition to achieving The Planet Mark Certification, WBD was recently awarded the ISO14001 accreditation, an international standard for environmental management. The firm is also an ambassador for the right Waste, right Place campaign, a national initiative aimed at raising awareness of the Duty of Care for waste amongst UK businesses.