Environmental

Key topics: carbon emissions and clean energy; climate change.

We recognise that sustainability is not just a concept, but a practice that demands action and accountability. Birketts is dedicated to reducing our ecological footprint through responsible office practices, thoughtful resource management, and continuous education on environmental issues. We are actively integrating sustainable solutions into our daily operations and advising clients with the foresight of environmental impact. Our commitment to the environment is woven into the fabric of our legal work, reflecting our belief that the pursuit of justice includes the vital cause of preserving our planet for future generations.

We are actively engaged in enhancing our environmental practices. We acknowledge the challenges and complexities of truly sustainable operations. Therefore, we are committed to continuous improvement, in our environmental and sustainability efforts. We are taking concrete steps to reduce our environmental impact and are transparent about our journey towards sustainability, recognising that it is a progressive and evolving commitment.

The objective of our environmental and sustainability pillar is to monitor and continuously improve our environmental performance to support the transition towards a net zero economy. In alignment with the UK Government’s net zero strategy and the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels (with a preference for 1.5°C), we are committed to achieving net zero emissions no later than 2050.

We comply with the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework, mandated to report scopes 1 and 2 plus limited scope 3 emissions (specifically, business travel and employee commuting) under the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018.

In accordance with these requirements, we calculate and disclose our emissions following the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, adhering to the operational control approach. We have utilised consumption data wherever available, while industry-standard benchmarks have been employed to derive estimates in the absence of precise data. The baseline year for our SECR reporting is the Financial Year 2019/2020 (1 June – 31 May), as it is deemed representative and serves as a reliable reference point against which future emission reductions can be measured.

Our SECR reporting complements our adherence to the Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (2014); we have submitted for phase 3 compliance in June 2024.

Key Achievements

We are always looking to improve our impact on the environment and adhere to sustainable practices.

These include:

• Achieving firmwide accreditation of the environmental management system ISO 14001.
• Promotion of the Green Car Scheme (electric vehicles), car share and bike to work schemes.
• Updating our travel policies, focusing on reducing our carbon impact.
• Use of renewable energy resources.
• Hybrid working scheme encouraging working from home and less travel.
• Reduction of waste to landfill through recycling schemes and training.
• Promotion of awareness and application of the waste hierarchy.

As a result, we have successfully achieved a 20% reduction in location-based carbon emissions compared to our current baseline (FY 19/20), alongside a 23% decrease in our emissions intensity ratio (tCO2e/1000m2 Floor area). To ensure the efficient management of our carbon and energy objectives, we have integrated our targets within our ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management Systems) accreditation. This comprehensive integration ensures that carbon and energy considerations are firmly embedded within our decision-making process. This is in addition to embedding carbon and energy management within the roles and responsibilities of our ESG Committee and Environmental and sustainability Sub-Committee, thereby establishing a robust framework for effective governance and implementation.

The Future

To further our commitment to carbon reduction, we are currently evaluating third-party experts to assist us in expanding our carbon footprint analysis. Our goal is to extend our operational boundary to include a broader range of Scope 3 categories, thereby creating a more comprehensive baseline. This enhanced baseline will enable us to track our progress more effectively and ensure that our carbon reduction efforts are as impactful as possible. We are also committed to setting a science-based net-zero target that is grounded on the globally recognised Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Net Zero Standard. We aim to submit our commitment letter to SBTi by 2025.