Corporate responsibility
Our environmental policy
Climate change
We’re committed to taking action on climate change.
It's no longer just relevant to environmental lawyers. It’s already fundamentally impacting all areas of law, business and society. For solicitors, it's beginning to affect how our businesses are run and how we provide legal services.
We’ve published a climate change resolution to support both individual solicitors and the companies or firms that they work for, to develop a climate-conscious approach to legal practice.
The resolution is also our public commitment to develop plans and take rapid action to restrict global warming by adopting science-based targets for our own business operations.
The only way to achieve the goals set out by world leaders and the UK government is through collective action.
We’re also proud to be a member of the responsible business movement Business in the Community.
What we're doing
The Law Society is committed to providing professional services and products worldwide. The success depends on the way we deliver and manage our environmental performance.
Environmental management is delivered to the highest levels through an accredited ISO 14001:2015 International Management Standard for Environmental Management Systems.
We therefore place the utmost importance on ensuring a core focus on environmental management.
Commitment
- Promoting a positive environmental culture shared by all
- Providing well-trained and competent people
- Maintaining and reviewing the management system to ensure an effective framework of compliance
- Transparency in the reporting of environmental performance for continued effective management
- Providing a system that prevents pollution and damage to the environment
- Making the necessary improvements where identified for continual improvement
- Fulfilling compliance obligations
Aims
- Provide sufficient finance and support to maintain and improve performance
- Maintain our ISO 14001:2015 International Management Standard for Environmental Management Systems
- Provide an intranet on which the management system can store and display information
- Provide procedures and guidelines that are monitored and updated as necessary
- Provide all employees with the right information, instruction, supervision and training appropriate to role
- Ensure that our environmental policy is understood and followed within the business
- Set targets to promote continual improvement
- Hold people accountable at all levels for their environmental responsibilities
- Hold line management accountable for environmental performance
- Consult and communicate on environmental matters with all employees through regular meetings
- Investigate incidents and share the findings with all employees through regular meetings
- Meet with suppliers, contractors and companies that provide services to us and endeavour to ensure that their standards match our own
- Actively pursue a zero-spill standard across the business
- Ensure all employees know that everyone has a shared responsibility for environmental performance
- Periodically review the effectiveness and suitability of this policy and, where needed, ensure changes are communicated appropriately
Read our full environmental policy statement (PDF 42 KB)
Supporting our members
We’re working with the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA) and our members to improve their environmental impact.
The LSA encourages its members to:
- use sustainable development goals
- develop more sustainable ways of working
The LSA is an inclusive group of law firms and related organisations committed to working together to improve their environmental sustainability.
Membership is open to all law firms, in-house legal departments and chambers.
By joining, you make a commitment to accepting the LSA’s principles and acting on each of them. LSA members are asked to report back on what they have done at the end of each year.
The LSA also provides free access to events, resources, tools and advice.
Diversity and inclusion
We have made a commitment to eradicate unlawful discrimination and promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
We’re an equal opportunities employer and it’s our policy to treat all employees and job applicants fairly and equally.
Find out about the measures we’ve put in place to support our approach to diversity and inclusion