Burges Salmon celebrates its ongoing commitment to the environment and to taking positive action on climate change as part of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on 6 – 18 November 2022.
The COP27 summit will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and will be an important moment to turn the tide on climate change.
As a founding member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, Burges Salmon has been championing environmental improvements across the firm and in the legal sector for many years, taking a series of progressive actions including the pursuit of year-on-year energy reductions and efficiency gains, the adoption of renewable energy sources and investment in accredited carbon offsetting for residual emissions as a last resort. The firm has made its own commitment with best practice science-based climate targets as part of work towards Net Zero.
At the same time, the firm has continued to cement its reputation as a well-respected leader for legal advice in environmental and low-carbon projects, establishing a Net Zero Services cross-sector team to assist its clients in driving decarbonisation in the key sectors of energy, transport, the built environment and land & food.
Burges Salmon has also recently released a new rural land use report, as part of a series exploring how Net Zero ambitions can be practically achieved, in which various experts across the rural land use sector have been interviewed about the speed of change required to achieve surrounding all things related to Net Zero and the concepts that fit under its umbrella, and what those involved in rural land use can do about it. The firm interviewed a number of experts, involved across a broad spectrum of rural land use – landowning, farming, food production, investment, a charity and academia.
The firm is also soon to release a data-led research report exploring ways to support the consenting and permitting process for the anticipated growth in the number of low carbon hydrogen infrastructure projects in the UK over the coming few years. The report will be based on an industry survey of 100 respondents, in depth interviews with selected individuals and expert assessment of the results.
Burges Salmon also brings together industry leaders and key stakeholders to and facilitate the necessary joined-up thinking required to address the challenges and opportunities of achieving the government’s Net Zero 2050 target. Since 2021, Burges Salmon has also hosted eleven virtual roundtables as part of its ‘Road to Net Zero’ series, welcoming attendees from high-profile organisations such as Climate Change Committee (CCC), Innovate UK, Gravis, Yeo Valley, Severn Trent and many more.
Burges Salmon has also signed up to the Greener Litigation Pledge. The Pledge demonstrates not only an acknowledgment that litigation can have a negative environmental impact, but also a strong commitment to act on it, covering a number of issues that Burges Salmon are already committed to.
The firm has also invested in working with various external consultants as well as ‘Trees for Life’ and has nurtured a number of external collaborations including with the Legal Sustainability Alliance, the Chancery Lane Project, and joining the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance.
Find out more about our Net Zero expertise here.