Independent UK law firm Burges Salmon has won the Sustainable Business of the Year accolade at this year’s Bristol Law Society Awards.
This win builds on the firm’s already strong environmental and responsible business commitments and working towards Net Zero.
As founding members of the Legal Sustainability Alliance and with an environmental management system accredited to ISO 14001, Burges Salmon is already familiar with determining its carbon footprint, driving continuous improvement and applying best practice.
To achieve Net Zero, the firm is taking steps to be as energy efficient as possible, targeting energy reductions, producing less waste, recycling more and engaging stakeholders particularly in the supply chain. The firm has strong foundations with BREEAM excellent rated offices and already completed the switch to 100% renewably-sourced electricity at all offices.
In July 22 the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) completed verification of the firm’s science-based targets, confirming a pathway for the reduction of (direct) Scope 1 & 2 emissions and all significant (indirect) Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2030, against a 2019 base-year.
The firm has invested in working with carbon accounting and carbon offset experts and has nurtured a number of external collaborations including participation in the Chancery Lane Project and joining the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance.
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.
Roger Bull, Burges Salmon’s Managing Partner, says: “We are delighted to have received this award at the 2022 Bristol Law Society Awards. To receive such recognition in this important category that means so much to Burges Salmon is fantastic news and very much in line with our strategic responsible business agenda.”
Head of Corporate Responsibility at Burges Salmon, Kirsty Green-Mann, comments: “Winning in this category at the Bristol Law Society Awards 2022 cements our efforts for championing environmental sustainability even further. It is fantastic to receive our Sustainable Business of the Year award – knowing that we were judged by some of the leading voices in our profession made it particularly meaningful.”
The Bristol Law Society Awards 2022, which were hosted by award-winning freelance legal affairs journalist and author Catherine Baksi, took place on Thursday 3 November 2022 at Bristol Marriott Hotel City Centre.