by Beth Salt | Mar 31, 2025 | LSA Insights
Embedding Environmental Training in Law Firms – the Freshfields story
Law firms put environmental policies in place to help them measure and reduce their emissions – but why use valuable time and resources training staff about them?
We asked Mikey Bloxham, Environment Manager at Freshfields, which is directing its colleagues to undertake a mandatory education module on environmental topics.
Over 2025, the firm will roll out a global training module that is compulsory for all staff, partners and new joiners. This will be followed by a requirement to annually update knowledge.
“We understand the need to keep colleagues informed of work we are doing across the environment function for a number of reasons. Firstly, we want to help everyone understand why they are being asked to commit to practices that will reduce our emissions – for example, adopting to paperless working, adhering to the firm’s smart travel policy, turning their computer off at the end of the day, and correctly segregating any waste, amongst other things. We were also keen to keep colleagues up to speed with our climate action (offsetting) initiative and how we ensure that the project maintains integrity. Informed people are more likely to engage and take action. Lastly but also incredibly important, our lawyers now have these great talking points with clients.
“This is not only about existing employees, many of our new joiners, work experience students and scholarship candidates are asking us what we are doing in the environmental sustainability space. This is an important topic for people.”
The firm has set itself a number of targets to achieve, including a 35% reduction in business travel-related emissions by 2027, and 100% renewable electricity supply to all offices by 2030, with these and other targets validated by SBTi. The environment team at Freshfields feel that education about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of these targets will help galvanise employees and ensure their success.
Securing buy-in from senior leadership, including all regional COOs, has been crucial to the success of this upskilling, as was the need to create a standard module that functions internationally. This was a decision which inevitably presented challenges, with climate policies impacting regions in different ways. For instance, restrictions on business travel have a markedly different effect on Freshfields offices in Asia, compared to those in the UK. However, as collaboration is a cornerstone of effective climate action, Freshfields recognized the importance of adopting a unified, firmwide approach.
Education remains our most powerful tool, and engaging, empowering and informing colleagues and clients on how and why to take climate action will be a vital ingredient in the legal sector’s transition to net zero. If you are interested in finding out more about Freshfield’s training module then please get in touch here, the firm are happy to share the details of their experience in setting this initiative up. The LSA can organise an event/webinar to explore this area further if there is interest, please let us know.
Freshfields teams perform a river clean up in Tokyo and a beach clean up in Hong Kong, steered by the global green group.
by Beth Salt | Feb 24, 2025 | LSA Insights
Empowering Action – How to start an environment and sustainability team in your law firm.
By Lauren Spencer, Manager at Fragomen.
Before diving into the steps for starting an Environment and Sustainability Team, or ‘green team’, it’s important to define what a green team is.
At Fragomen, our green team began in our UK office when a group of employees passionate about sustainability came together to explore ways to make our office more eco-friendly. That’s exactly what a green team is – a group of like-minded employees working towards a shared goal of creating a more sustainable workplace.
So, how can you start a green team in your organisation?
- Find interested team members
Start by gathering colleagues who share an interest in sustainability. Spread the word in a way that suits your workplace – send out an email, post on internal communication channels or even put up a poster (just remember to recycle it afterwards!).
If initial responses are low, you may need to take a more active approach. Speak with colleagues, bring it up in team meetings or ask managers to nominate a representative from their department. Having a diverse team with members from different areas of the company is key to making a greater impact.
Key departments to involve:
- Office Services and Facilities: They can drive change by choosing eco-friendly suppliers and improving energy efficiency
- Finance: Sustainability efforts often involve budget considerations, and having finance onboard can help secure funding for green initiatives
A well-rounded team ensures that sustainability becomes a company-wide initiative rather than a niche interest.
- Start Small
Once the team is in place, use your first meeting to brainstorm quick, achievable wins. What small changes require minimal cost and effort?
At Fragomen, our first steps involved reviewing office consumables and making eco-friendly swaps. We switched to eco-friendly toilet paper, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, ethical tea and coffee brands, recycled printer paper, and greener stationery suppliers. Once this conversation starts, you’ll find endless opportunities for improvement.
Starting with small, visible changes build momentum. When employees see the results-such as greener products in the office- it creates excitement and encourages wider engagement.
To maintain momentum, schedule regular meetings (monthly or bimonthly) and set a structured agenda. This keeps your team focused and ensures meaningful progress towards sustainability goals.
- Educate and Engage Employees
A green team’s impact grows when the wider workforce gets involved. The more employees connect with sustainability efforts, the more likely they are to adopt eco-friendly habits in their daily lives.
Interactive events and hands-on activities are among the best ways to engage colleagues.
At Fragomen, we hosted:
- Workshops on eco-friendly Christmas decorations: Teaching employees how to create sustainable Christmas decorations using recycled materials
- Clothes swap shops: Encouraging staff to refresh their wardrobe sustainably by swapping clothes instead of buying new ones
- Halloween costume swaps for colleagues’ children: Helping parents reduce waste and save money by exchanging pre-loved costumes
- Volunteering days – Giving employees opportunities to support community gardens and local woodlands
- Plants in the office: Bringing greenery into the office and promoting plant-based well-being
- Seasonal events: Consider running themed events or monthly challenges to keep employees engaged year-round. Whether it’s a ‘Plastic Free July’ challenge or a lunchtime sustainability talk, small efforts help foster an eco-friendly culture
- Engage Senior Leadership
Securing senior leadership involvement is crucial for a green team to gain traction. Leadership advocates ensure sustainability initiatives are taken seriously and integrated into broader company goals. Without top-down support, green teams often struggle to gain momentum, as great ideas risk being overlooked or deprioritised. Engaging leadership early helps teams drive meaningful change with the backing needed to turn ideas into action.
- Measure Success and Keep Growing
Track progress by setting measurable goals and celebrating achievements. Recognising success keeps motivation high and encourages long-term commitment from employees.
The Road to Green Teams
Starting a green team is a powerful way to make a difference in your workplace. With the right support, a clear vision and a team of passionate individuals, you can drive meaningful change and create a more sustainable work environment.
Fragomen is a global immigration firm with nearly 6,000 professionals and support staff across more than 60 offices worldwide.
by Beth Salt | Feb 5, 2025 | Members News
Congratulations to Ashurst LLP who now have validated science-based targets. Ashurst commits to reduce absolute scope 1, 2 and business travel emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2023 baseline year. Ashurst further commits that by 2029, 85% of its purchased goods and services emissions will come from suppliers that have set science-based targets.
This news follows publication of their inaugural Responsible Business Report in 2024.
by Beth Salt | Feb 5, 2025 | LSA Insights
The Launch of the LSA’s Nature and Biodiversity Working Group (by Jenni Ramos)
The Legal Sustainability Alliance has hosted several workshops on biodiversity and nature in recent years, with a particular focus on what it means for lawyers. Our 2024 summer event “A legal lifeline for nature” featured Clare Brook (CEO of Blue Marine) in discussion with Sharif Shivji KC (co-author of the legal opinion Nature-related risks and directors’ duties under the law of England and Wales).
Many assume that the intersection between law and nature is found primarily in litigation cases such as those pursued by Blue Marine Foundation, environmental law practice or planning law and biodiversity net gain regulations.
While these are important areas, the relevance of nature and biodiversity to many members of the LSA falls outside the sphere of environmental and planning law and emerges from the ‘business case for biodiversity’. The legal opinion described above found that nature-related risks and opportunities are highly relevant to the duties of company directors to act with care and promote the success of their company. This is due to the global recognition that biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation pose financial risks to the entire economy and the companies and financial institutions within it. This places it firmly on the agenda of lawyers who advise companies across all practice areas. It is an emerging area of law that most lawyers are either unaware of, or only just beginning to grapple with.
Nature-related risks include physical and transition (including legal) risks. They can manifest in procurement and supply chain issues, strategic nature-related litigation (including cases relating to anti-money laundering, greenwashing and financial misrepresentation), insurance risk assessment and compliance with corporate and financial sustainability reporting and due diligence frameworks.
Nature-related risk is often viewed as a future concern or merely a compliance issue with incoming reporting regimes. Whilst the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report has in recent years consistently listed biodiversity as a top five risk over the next ten years, this framing of it being a future not immediate risk is misleading. The UK legal opinion (written by leading barristers primarily specialising in corporate and financial law) emphasised that a company’s nature-related dependencies or impacts had the potential to affect a company’s short term interests as well as its long term financial success. Nature related risks can be both acute and chronic in character and have the ability to manifest in cascading and compounding chains of events which could manifest rapidly in the short term.
The LSA is launching a Nature and Biodiversity Working Group to discuss how nature-related risks and their associated reporting regimes will affect member firms and clients. Members can explore issues they are facing, discuss where nature-related risks sit on their firm’s agenda and how it integrates with existing work on climate risk, sustainability reporting and supply chain due diligence. Members will lead the group’s direction, fostering knowledge sharing, identifying practical insights and potential outcomes.
As chair of the working group, I will be facilitating the first session, provisionally on 25th February at 12.30pm. Please email [email protected] if you would like to join us.
by Beth Salt | Feb 5, 2025 | Webinar
Terms of Reference for LSA Working Groups
Terms of Reference for Working Group Members
Purpose of group: A confidential, peer to peer learning forum, operating primarily for the benefit of working group participants to help:
- the sharing of best practice
- the identification of common challenges
- support problem-solving
- create resources and recommendations for LSA members
Membership:
- Membership of the working group is exclusively for LSA members (whether exec members or not), and is included as a benefit of membership
- Members should attend as many meetings as possible, including in person meetings where possible
- Consideration should be given to sending another representative from the firm if attendance in person is not possible
- Inform [email protected] if you cannot attend a meeting
- Members are asked to contribute fully to the discussions and fulfil any actions in a timely manner
Terms of Reference for Group Leaders (Volunteers):
- To chair meetings every 6 – 8 weeks
- To be available to chair in person meetings (1 in 4)
- To liaise with the secretariat to agree an agenda, and subsequent action points
- To bring expertise and experience to the group
Terms of Reference for Group Leaders (Consultant):
- To chair meetings every 6 – 8 weeks
- To be available to chair in person meetings (1 in 4)
- To take talking and action point notes which are agreed by the group before the end of the meeting
- To liaise with the secretariat to distribute agenda and subsequent action points as required
- To bring expertise and experience to the group
Modus operandi:
- The Chatham House rule applies
- The working group aims to meet every 6 to 8 weeks, although may choose to meet more frequently initially
- The LSA secretariat can support with scheduling of meetings
- The working groups may choose to bring in guest speakers / key experts as required
- Substantial points of learning can be shared back with the wider LSA (but only as and when appropriate)
- The group does not seek to develop a large workstream, but if there is demand (e.g. for an LSA branded toolkit) or any other resource, budget approval will be sought from the LSA
