Lander & Rogers commits to net zero by 2030
National law firm Lander & Rogers has signed up to the Science Based Targets initiative in order to achieve net zero emissions in the next seven years.
Lander & Rogers is the latest BigLaw firm in Australia to commit to achieving net zero emissions by 2030, having formalised its ambition through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a global body that aims to limit global temperature rise by helping organisations to halve emissions before 2030 and achieve net zero before 2050.
According to the firm’s chief executive partner, Genevieve Collins, the board-endorsed target seeks to reduce both direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions in the firm’s business operations and supply chains.
The national law firm is one of around 90 organisations in Australia, and almost 6,000 globally, that have registered a commitment or target with SBTi.
SBTi, Ms Collins said, “provides an evidence-based approach to achieving sustainable and tangible results”.
As of 30 June 2023, two years on from its financial year 2021 emissions baseline, the firm’s emissions reductions were ahead of the Australian national commitment of 2050, with Ms Collins stating that Lander & Rogers “has already reduced its carbon emissions by 35 per cent”.
Landers partner Joanna Renkin added: “We recognise that climate change poses a very real threat and will increasingly impact law firms, our clients, and the communities in which we work. We all need to play a part in reducing our collective environmental impact.”
Moreover, with financial markets and governments globally increasingly calling for improved transparency and greater regulation to minimise and manage businesses’ operational impact on the environment, we are starting to see a “rapidly decarbonising economy” that is “already impacting our clients and our firm as organisations adapt to the new business environment”, she said.
Ms Collins concluded: “We are proud to announce our commitment to the SBTi. This aligns with our values as an organisation and a law firm and enables us to show leadership in driving these standards within our profession and community.”
“We have also been using 100% renewable energy since 2021, became carbon neutral in 2022, and are on track to becoming zero-waste to landfill by 2025.”
Landers is the latest of numerous BigLaw firms to pledge net zero emissions by 2030, following similar actions taken by firms, including Herbert Smith Freehills in late 2020, Hall & Wilcox in late May 2022, Pinsent Masons in mid-2022, and King & Wood Mallesons in October 2022.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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