An LSA Update on Climate Week NYC

Matt Sparkes, co-chair of the LSA and Sustainability Director at Linklaters, spent last week at Climate Week NYC. We asked him for his thoughts…

Let’s get the irony over before we begin. Yes, there is some absurdity in travelling thousands of miles to bump into those who work just across the street and, yes, hours in a plane is, well…

Truth is, if we were not here in person, we would not find the time to talk, to listen and to learn. We wouldn’t be exposed to new developments, to get a feel for others’ progress and to strike new connections that may or may not be the partnerships of tomorrow. I would not now know – or be reflecting upon – the challenges of turning a city (Bristol) green. I would still be underplaying the importance of governance in a Just Transition. I would still be believing that everyone else knows that much more.

It has been a vibrant, eclectic and chaotic week. The United Nations Global Compact Leaders’ Summit was a platform for launches and celebrations of topics ranging from a living wage to corruption and from human rights to, of course, climate change. It was vast in range and vast in scale (and perhaps too vast for workshops, if truth be told). By contrast, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ‘Goalkeepers’ event was tightly-packed, brightly-coloured and unrelentingly moving as it showcased again and again how the SDGs really must be addressed. Alongside these was a thoughtfully curated Climate Action event which, with an eye to #COP, presented a good case as to why the bandwagon should relocate in its entirety to Dubai in a few more weeks. And that is why these things are tricky. In a virtual world where attention is hard to maintain, even without the cover of ‘camera off’, there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face and being focused and engaged throughout. Those moments where you bump into colleagues and have time to chat and those sessions where you really can follow up with questions, discussion and dates in the diary.

Perhaps we shouldn’t need to go far, far away to achieve these things but that’s the way it is and I’ll be heading home energised by conversation, reacquainted with some bright and engaging people and ready to pick up the baton once again. Bouncing from one capital’s conference centre to another (as many still seem to do) does seem an odd way of making progress but, for those of us for whom this is rather more annual, it is an injection of insight, energy and, yes, hope and we all need more of that every so often, don’t we?

About Matt Sparkes

Matt is co-chair of the LSA and Sustainability Director at Linklaters. Matt leads Linklaters work on responsible business globally, ensuring that the firm’s own ESG performance reflects all stakeholder expectations and the advice provided to clients on many related themes. Matt is active in a range of sustainability networks including as EMEA Chair of Business for Societal Impact and as co-chair of the Legal Sustainability Alliance. He is also a Board Member and Trustee of the UNGC-UK Network, is vice-chair of the Living Wage Foundation and, in his spare time, was until recently proud to act as chair of an east London employability charity.

Agents of Change

UK progress on the SDGs is weak. Are we doing enough? Do we have the right focus?

Kirsty Green-Mann reflects on how Burges Salmon are making progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in light of the Measuring Up 2.0 report.

At Burges Salmon we are advocates for the UN SDGs and have driven a largely place-based approach to our responsible business activities primarily in connection with our Bristol and Edinburgh offices. We were therefore keen to see the latest Measuring Up 2.0 report. Perhaps unsurprisingly the report makes for stark reading. Our collective aspirations for a fairer, more equitable and sustainable UK seem to be further away than ever whilst the year 2030 is not. The report shows that the UK is largely failing in terms of the pace of change and the policy framework for change and that inequalities have become exacerbated particularly in terms of food security, health, education, and housing.

In light of this it confirms that we at Burges Salmon have correctly prioritised our focus on wellbeing, fundraising in respect of food security, delivering an award-winning working with schools programme, and supporting a number of charities tackling homelessness with our community portfolio.

It’s clear there have been disrupting factors on a national scale with the challenges of Brexit, Covid-19, political instability, economic turbulence, and climate-related events, we do however remain one of the richest countries in the world with notable pockets of progress. This was highlighted in the report, particularly in terms of sustainable land use, decarbonisation of electricity supply, ambitions for Net Zero, employment, sustainable consumption, and reductions in food waste.

Burges Salmon have made strides along these lines too particularly determining our own science-based climate targets whilst working with a number of clients on the transition to Net Zero.

The report calls for stakeholders to work together and for business to integrate the SDGs into core strategy. This along with the findings and recommendations largely resonate with our work and priorities at Burges Salmon where we have taken steps to weave the SDGs into our responsible business plan and our wider strategic aims and purpose.

Integrating the SDGs has guided us in terms of our internal priorities and focus areas, the external charitable and not-for-profit partnerships which we nurture, and how our legal expertise contributes more broadly. This makes sense in terms of the good we can do and in terms of making our firm more successful and sustainable from a commercial perspective. The SDGs are a roadmap for what the world needs more of, and what the world needs less of, simply matching supply to demand makes sense.

In the legal sector we are also collaborating. In respect of the environment, we are co-founding members of the Legal Sustainability Alliance and the Net Zero Lawyers Alliance, and in respect of greater equality we are active contributors to the PRIME Commitment, the Social Mobility Business Partnership, and the Law Society Diversity and Inclusion Charter.

Whilst it is evident that the legal sector has a key role to play with SDG 16 ‘Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions’, like many law firms and through our legal sector collaborations we are embracing the Goals more generally. The legal sector can also play an important role recognising that other businesses are our clients and therefore we have an opportunity to encourage and support others coming on board and adopting the SDGs as an accelerator for positive change.

In our experience collaboration and partnerships are a fantastic way to amplify impact and to learn and be challenged. If you are not already partnering with relevant not-for-profits aligned to your responsible business priorities, I’d encourage you to do so. Whilst budgets can be under pressure, be creative in terms of what non-financial support may look like perhaps with volunteers, donations of goods and services, and / or use of your facilities.

The more we can do the better. Time is of the essence.

Kirsty Green-Mann is Head of Corporate Responsibility at the independent commercial UK law firm Burges Salmon LLP. Kirsty leads on the firm’s responsible business strategy, helping to drive forward positive actions for the respect of human rights, social impact, inclusivity and progress towards Net Zero. She is a senior sustainability professional, a pension trustee and held positions on a number of not-for-profit boards. Kirsty has over 20-years international business experience, holds a MBA from the Cranfield School of Management and is a Fellow of both the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment and the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. She was named ESG Officer of the Year at the Women in Governance, Risk and Compliance Awards 2021 and is one of the UN Global Compact Network UK’s SDG Pioneer Finalists for 2022.

Read more about Burges Salmon’s work towards the SDGs here: https://www.burges-salmon.com/about-us/responsible-business

The Elephant in the Room Full of Fossil Fuel States

We had our hopes pinned on COP27, billed as Africa’s COP, for many reasons.

For starters; climate finance. In 2009 rich nations had pledged a fund of US$100 billion a year to help less wealthy nations adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. In the face of the projected cost of trillions of dollars every year to meet the 2015 Paris agreement goal of 1.5 this fund was a drop in the ocean. The promise has been broken at every COP since, including COP27.

The second issue, the big one… global decarbonisation; the phasing out of all fossil fuels. The elephant in a room full of fossil fuel states. Note – COP28 will be held in petrostate Dubai.

The third major issue was the recognition of the responsibility of developed nations to compensate developing nations for ‘loss and damage’ – the devastation that climate change wreaks across the globe, so profoundly and increasingly felt by the nations who have benefited so little from industrialisation’s profit.

As we now know, real progress was seen in only one of these areas. What was the reason for this limited success?

There is an argument that the tumultuous state of geopolitics did not offer delegates the space to negotiate freely. Russia’s war in Ukraine cast a shadow over the conference. The G20 summit in Bali caused a diversion as did preparations for the World Cup in Qatar. US midterm elections and domestic chaos in British politics, which at one point saw PM Rishi Sunak shelving his trip to Sharm el-Sheikh to concentrate on the crises at home, will not have helped. Added to this, perhaps the volatile nature of the energy markets and cost of living crises within the context of rising populism meant that leaders were not too keen to act boldly on phasing out fossil fuels at any given price.

Perhaps the location of the event, with its strict controls on public order and restrictions on the media, meant that the pressure was off the delegates and hosts to properly consider public opinion.

So will COP27 be remembered as ‘the one in which the 1.5-degree goal died?’ Where irreversible climate breakdown became inevitable? Has it been a failure, and if so – what can we take away to ensure COP28 in Dubai gets us back on track? What is the secret of a successful COP?

A contributing factor must be the groundwork; the host nation’s efforts during the year leading up to the conference to ensure that all delegates enter negotiations with a clear idea of what will be expected of them and why. Almost certainly, it is also in the effort to rebuild trust destroyed by the broken promises of 2009, which must see the loss and damage fund pledged at COP27 fully implemented with an agreement on who provides the funds and controls set out in a transparent way.

Or is the COP process simply broken?

Maybe it is up to us, the people, to make COP more relevant. The LSA is one of many law sector initiatives that are supporting firms to rise to the challenge to transition to 1.5 both in their own practices but also in partnership with their clients. This is not easy, but collective endeavours across the sector offer the best chance of success. If we put the climate at the centre of our practice then we will be better placed to demand change. Law is central to the transition to net zero, permeating the process at every level.

How can lawyers reinvent COP, forming a process which delivers on its promises and impacts global policy? What is the relationship between law and the environment? Is, in fact, law that holds the key to a successful and just transition? These are key issues we plan to explore in 2023.

A thought from the LSA’s Jim Haywood.

“I feel like COP27 has sent the message that we have lost the battle to limit global temperature rise to 1.5oC or less above preindustrial levels. That’s the ‘red alert’ level of warming which the IPCC warned us about. There’s good news that the most affected countries will have more funding to help deal with the impacts of climate change but bad news that there was no commitment to wind down all fossil fuel use. It’s a bit like being given more money to put the house straight after the party but a reluctance to ask our rowdy guests to leave!”

Boosting Biodiversity in London, Leeds and Manchester with Addleshaw Goddard

City centre canals in London, Leeds and Manchester have been given a great green biodiversity boost due to a nature project implemented by Addleshaw Goddard in partnership with the Canal and River Trust. Addleshaw Goddard have adopted 1 mile stretches of neglected canal in 3 major UK city’s in an effort to green and clear up city corridors, increase biodiversity and create welcoming areas for all to utilise. Due to the efforts put in by Addleshaw Goddard employees, visitors to the canals can now expect to enjoy more wild flowers and shrubs as well as litter free paths and refreshed lock sides.

A Hive of Activity – A new initiative for Burges Salmon and LWCF

For the last 5 years, Burges Salmon have partnered with Lawrence Weston Community Farm (LWCF) charity. This exciting new initiative will see a Burges Salmon beehive installed at the farm. Employees will be learning about biodiversity and engaging in bee-related volunteering activities, including assembling the hive, maintaining it regularly from Spring to Autumn, extracting honey and more.

Two employees visited last month to learn about honey extraction. Next month, members of the Construction & Engineering legal team will be volunteering at the farm alongside one of their clients. Part of their job will be to build the hive, which is made from British Western Red Cedar. Furthermore, during October beekeepers will visit Burges Salmon to give a talk about biodiversity, bee keeping, etc. All this follows a successful project in 2021, when the firm installed two beehives on the roof of the Edinburgh office, recognising that honeybees play a vital role in our ecosystem, pollinating flowering plants, trees and crops.

Simmons & Simmons hosts LCAW Schools Climate Summit Reception

The London office of Simmons & Simmons hosted the Schools Climate Summit Reception event as part of the London Climate Action Week 2022.

The Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE) – one of the partners and organisers of the LCAW Schools Climate Summit and their partner organisations including YOUNGO (Youth Constituency of the UN FCCC), Save the Children, Protecting Our Planet Day 22, National Lottery Community Fund, Just One Tree, Ashden, Studio2909, the Greater London Authority – were amongst some organisations taking part in the event as the external guests.

The London Schools Climate Summit (LSCS) is one of London Climate Action Week‘s Flagships events. The Summit, an annual LCAW event, seeks to harness mobilise London’s 3500 schools to act on the climate emergency. “Thinking like a system, acting as a sector” and “bending the curve towards Net Zero London by 2030”. The Summit addresses – Campus, Curriculum, Careers, Community and Finance.

The occasion was also an introduction to YOUNGO, the UN’s Focal Point for the Global Youth Constituency, who joined LCAW this year and are partnering with GLOBE in the lead up to COP27 in Egypt.

Following introductory speeches from The Global Legislators Organisation (GLOBE), the LCAW Schools Climate Summit and S&S, the event was an opportunity for LSCS’s attendees to share their work with us and network over drinks and refreshments. Ariadna Andrino provided an insight into our work on the environment, including the green room, our firmwide environmental sustainability network which attracts members from all our international offices, all departments and roles – including trainees and paralegals.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »