Burges Salmon is highlighting its ongoing commitment to taking positive action on climate change and to supporting the UK’s transition to a Net Zero economy to mark Net Zero Week, a national awareness campaign taking place between 17 and 23 July 2021.
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 carbon-free energy sources and investment in accredited carbon offsetting for residual emissions as a last resort.
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 use and food production. This specialist sector expertise earned the firm the accolades of ‘Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year’ and ‘Law Firm of the Year’ at the British Legal Awards 2020.
To bring together industry leaders and key stakeholders and facilitate the necessary joined-up thinking required to address the challenges and opportunities of achieving the government’s Net Zero 2050 target, Burges Salmon has hosted eight virtual roundtables over the past 18 months 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.
The progressive actions that the firm has taken as a business have included a public commitment to be Net Zero by the end of 2026 and renewing its collaboration with conservation charity Trees for Life, a partnership which sees the firm investing in a rewilding, carbon offsetting project focused on the Scottish Highlands. In June this year, Burges Salmon also joined a coalition of law firms to launch the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance (NZLA) to reinforce, accelerate and support the implementation of internationally coherent legal frameworks and guidelines for the transition to Net Zero.
Michael Barlow, a partner in Burges Salmon’s Net Zero Services team, says: “Net Zero Week is an important opportunity for businesses to realise and accept their responsibility in the transition to Net Zero. As a firm, we’re proud of our commitment to tackling climate change, both through the specialist support and legal advice we provide to our clients and through the changes we are making as a business to ensure we meet our pledge to be Net Zero by the end of 2026.”