About us

Environment

"We regard environmental regulations, laws and codes of practice as the minimum standard that we should aim for and will actively work towards exceeding these benchmarks.

"We are committed to setting targets designed to improve our environmental performance and will perform regular audits to ensure these targets are met. Our policies will be implemented through guidelines and staff training."
Bryan Hughes, Chief Executive 

Download our environmental and sustainability policy

Download EMAS Environmental Statement.

If you require a hard copy please contact Claire Goody at clairegoody@eversheds.com

Practical steps we've taken

Recycling
In 2010, we recycled 71.7% of our waste.  Our current target is to achieve a 75% recycling rate by 2012 . The firm aims to reduce waste to landfill so far as is reasonably practicable. Non-recyclable waste from the London, Birmingham and Nottingham offices goes to incineration, and catering food waste from all of our UK offices is processed to produce a bio-fuel which in turn generates renewable electrical energy for the National Grid.

Our Carbon Footprint 
In 2006/2007 we measured our carbon footprint for the first time. This provided us with a baseline from which we could measure our energy consumption. We have measured our footprint each subsequent year, and the results are as follows:

Our carbon footprint results are as follows:

2008 - 17,606 tCO2e. This equates to 4.72 tonnes of CO2e per employee
2009 - 13,507 tCO2e. This equates to 4.65 tonnes of CO2e per employee
2010 - 11,733 tCO2e. This equates to 4.39 tonnes of CO2e per employee.

The sector range for a business such as ours is between 3 and 8 tonnes per employee each year. We aim to continually reduce our carbon emissions, in line with reductions in energy, travel and waste production.

Energy usage
We are committed to reducing our energy usage and have set a target of 20% improvement in energy efficiency by 2020 versus a 2008/09 baseline.

Eversheds' Energy Policy Statement

There is increasing pressure on firms to formally integrate sustainability into policy and practice, which reflects a wider local, national and international commitment to sustainable development. Legislative pressures, such as the Climate Change Act 2008 and the Carbon Reduction Commitment and voluntary measures such as the Carbon Disclosure Project influence the way organisations choose to manage their energy consumption.

Eversheds is committed to minimising its impact on the environment and promoting sustainability. This policy supports Eversheds' Environmental and Sustainability Policy and formalises the firm's commitment to energy management and reducing carbon emissions.

Alan Meredith
August 2011

Sustainable Travel
Our business travel policy has been developed to discourage unnecessary travel and promote environmentally friendly travel habits. Where travel is necessary we discourage travelling by car and we have succeeded in reducing business car mileage as follows:

• 2008 - 1,154,773 miles
• 2009 - 933,552 miles
• 2010 - 720, 514 miles

Each year we carry out a travel survey to determine the commuting patterns of our staff and to ascertain if there are any measures we can take to improve sustainable commuting. We actively encourage staff to cycle to work and provide extensive cycling facilities, including showers, cycle racks, lockers and cycle servicing. The number of our cycling commuters has increased annually from 3.1% in 2007 to 5.2% in 2010. For more information please read our sustainable business travel policy.

Sustainable procurement
Our procurement process ensures that our suppliers have the same environmental principles as ours and are actively reducing their environmental impact. We are developing questionnaires for our suppliers and we only work with companies with environmental principles in line with ours. Read our procurement policy.

Building a greener tomorrow
We aim to ensure that all our new offices have at least a high BREEAM (Building Research Assessment Method) rating. Our London headquarters and Leeds office have both achieved an Excellent rating.

Download our Sustainability and environmental report 2010.

Environmental best practice and leadership

The Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards
The Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards identify and celebrate organisations that strive to improve their environmental performance.

In 2010 the firm was placed 36th in the list.

In 2011 Eversheds achieved 12th place in the ratings - recognising the importance the firm place on environmental issues as well as the commiment of employees to our green agenda.

Carbon Trust Standard
The firm was awarded the Carbon Trust Standard in 2009 and recertified in 2011. The firm has reduced its carbon footprint by the equivalent of a ten hour flight for each employee which adds up to a saving of 866 tonnes of CO₂ a year.

The Carbon Trust Standard is the world's first carbon award that requires an organisation to measure, manage and reduce its carbon footprint and actually make real reductions year on year.

Bryan Hughes, chief executive designate at Eversheds said:
"Eversheds is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and taking real action on the impact the firm's facilities and operations have on the environment. Achieving the Carbon Trust Standard is a great way of showing that we have and will continue to take action on climate change and a way to communicate our environmental credentials to those that matter."

The European Travel Buyers Awards
The firm won the best CSR initiative in a Travel Programmer, 2011. The judges recognise that corporate responsibility is truly embedded within the firm and that the environment, health and safety, and business continuity processes in place havd succeeded in reducing travel, but, also focus on traveller safety.

Green 500
We are proud to be one of the launch members of the Green 500 - a carbon management service linked to a performance awards scheme for large London based businesses and organisations. In 2010, the firm achieved a Diamond badge.

Clean City Award Scheme
In January 2011, the firm received a Platinum Award at the Clean City Award ceremony. This scheme recognises best practices in waste management and waste reduction and enable firms in The City of London to share best practice (previous winners of The Chairman's Cup 2010).  

Legal Sector Alliance
The Legal Sector Alliance enables law firms work with each other to address the issues of sustainability and contribute to the climate change agenda. The aim is to develop best practice principles and working methods uniquely suited to the needs of the legal sector.

The May Day Network
Eversheds is a member of the May Day network, the UK's largest group of businesses and organisations committed to collectively tackling climate change. Visit the May Day Network website for more information.

Our offices

UK offices gain international standard for environmental management
Our UK offices have all achieved certification to ISO14001.  Attaining this international standard for environmental management shows a real commitment by the firm to corporate responsibility.  However, the hard work does not stop there, as we continue to maintain and develop our environmental practices across the firm.

Contact us

If you have any comments, queries or suggestions relating to environmental management and carbon measurement, please contact clairegoody@eversheds.com.