The Law Society
The Law Society Group comprises: the Law Society of England & Wales, the representative body for solicitors; the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA); and the Legal Complaints Service (LCS). The Group operates from 4 main sites and an environmental report with set targets and objectives up to 2011 can be found on the Law Society website.
The Law Society has developed an environmental management system to reduce the impact of the business on the environment.
In 2006 we had surveys completed by the Carbon Trust on our main sites and undertook energy efficiency projects to deliver the recommendations. The result was that by the end of 2007 our energy consumption fell by 18 percent. More importantly we began to realise the extent of the impact that our business has on the environment and decided to do something practical to reduce it and, of course we have the imperative to save money to reduce cost to our members.
We needed a system or framework to help us deliver the statements contained in our environmental policy and objectives. We needed to be fully aware of all the environmental legislation that would apply to the impacts of our business, from air quality to waste. We also believed that it was important to have our efforts and results objectively assessed and felt that compliance with an environmental standard would be a very positive outcome. ISO14001 is often viewed as the ultimate goal.
Initially, we tackled BS8555 (the Acorn scheme) which led us gently into the tough world of systems compliance and we completed the first 3 phases relatively quickly. In early 2009 we decided to take on ISO14001. Our Acorn work proved a good foundation (from little acorns ….) and so the system part of ISO14001 seemed straightforward.
Awareness amongst colleagues grew and we began to see the benefits of the changes we had started to put into place –
• continued energy savings,
• use of recycled or FSC paper with reduced use of paper and costs,
• reduced the number of laser printers moving to energy efficient, networked copiers,
• installed water saving devices and
• have a range of recycling services to include paper, plastic, metal and glass.
The real key to success with ISO14001 seems to be keeping everything simple; if you commit to an environmental objective, ensure it can be delivered in a reasonable and practical manner. Remember that business or commercial issues can conflict but they have to be managed too. Over complicate or over commit and you will find it tough to deliver the tangible evidence needed to demonstrate compliance. We achieved compliance for our sites in less than one year which was no mean feat.
Obtaining ISO14001 is not a final achievement; it is the beginning of our long-term, meaningful partnership with the environment.
Over a period of three years, our carbon footprint has reduced by over 15 percent and in comparing energy consumption costs for 2009 and predicted costs for 2010 there is a saving of 32 percent.