Our environmental footprint and commitment to being a sustainable business
We support the country’s target of net zero emissions by 2050. We are committed to managing and reducing our emissions and have developed a GHG emissions management plan and reduction targets.
Toitū certification and emissions reduction
Since 2018 we have met the requirements of Toitū’s carbonreduce certification, having measured our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in accordance with ISO 14064-1:2006 and committed to managing and reducing our operational emissions (Scope 1, 2 and material Scope 3 categories). For the 2023 financial year, we achieved Toitū carbonzero certification.
We have recorded total emissions reductions across several areas from our 2018 base year. Like many organisations, our emissions bounced back after dropping over the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure a sustainable trajectory our ongoing focus is to embed the practices that have led to the reductions to date, while identifying where further savings can be achieved. To that end, we are working toward setting science-aligned emissions reduction targets that meet our commitments as a member of the Net Zero Lawyer’s Alliance.
Our environmental impact
We are committed to encouraging our people to be mindful of our environmental impact and how we can all work in a more sustainable way. In 2024 we were ranked in the Legal 500 Green Guide Asia Pacific.
Our memberships
Sustainable Business Network
We are proud to be a member of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN). We are committed to improving our sustainability performance, working together to empower business so people and nature prosper, and supporting the restoration of New Zealand’s waterways through our membership contribution to Million Metres.
Sustainable Business Council
As part of the firm’s commitment, we have joined the Sustainable Business Council. We’ve been working towards developing and implementing a sustainability plan, which means we will aim to reduce our carbon footprint and drive sustainability through our supply chain.
The Aotearoa Circle
We are partners of The Aotearoa Circle, a leadership organisation, bringing more than 50 public and private New Zealand organisations together to restore our natural capital for future generations.
We have worked on five pro bono projects for The Aotearoa Circle, including its Sustainable Finance Forum’s interim report, which sets out why we need to shift to a sustainable economy, an expert legal opinion on whether company directors and fund (scheme) managers must consider climate change in their decision-making, a toolkit for directors intending to make climate risk manageable for boards, a legal advisory opinion on director duties to manage nature-related risk, and a report enabling government and businesses to recognise key trends that are shifting the global operating environment and pin-point specific regulations that may affect them.
