DLA Piper's global sustainability initiative

In January 2007, DLA Piper became one of the first in the legal field to introduce a Global Sustainability Initiative Program, affirming our commitment to reduce our environmental impact and conduct our business in a responsible manner. Our approach is to develop a living strategy, which will change and adapt as we respond to the demands and challenges of creating a more environmentally responsible business.

Within the first year of launching our Global Sustainability Initiative, we were honored to become the first international legal practice to achieve global certification to ISO 14001 – the worldwide standard for environmental management that ensures we take account of our environmental impacts and live up to our commitment to operating in a responsible way. We have since maintained our global certification.

Through our Global Sustainability Initiative and the sustained commitment of our people, we will continually strive to reduce our environmental impact in four key areas: energy, waste, travel and procurement.

Energy
In all DLA Piper offices globally, we aim continually to reduce electrical energy consumption. Throughout all offices, we are promoting energy-saving actions, and we have installed movement sensors for lighting systems in many offices. In April 2009, to encourage smarter use of electricity among our global workforce, we conducted a firmwide “EnergySmart” campaign featuring communications, contests and idea sharing.

Waste and recycling
We are committed to reducing paper use globally and recycling photocopier/printer cartridges, paper and plastics. In May 2008, we conducted a campaign called “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle” in all our offices, which advanced steps already taken and further educated our people on how to produce less waste and recycle more.

Travel
We are committed to achieving carbon neutrality to offset business air travel globally. To do so, we are offsetting 100 percent of our 2007 carbon emissions by investing in a wind farm in the Jilin Province of China, as well as in a project in Nicaragua that seeks to make artisans’ brick kilns more efficient and less reliant on fuel from unsustainable forestry practices. In 2008, we reduced business air travel below 2007 figures and continued to offset the carbon emissions we generate. In 2009, we offset our 2008 carbon emissions by investing in an energy efficient stove project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the project reduced local air pollution and helped improve residents’ quality of life. Currently, we are considering several projects designed to offset our 2009 emissions.

To raise awareness about the importance of responsible business travel among all our people, we conducted a global campaign in 2008 called “TravelSmart,” which featured a variety of helpful tips and activities.

Procurement
We continue to increase the number of printers with duplex printing options throughout our offices, procure office paper made from recycled paper, ask existing contractors to use environmentally friendly options and, when negotiating new contracts, will give preference to vendors that use biodegradable products and follow sustainable practices. In October 2009, we conducted a firmwide “ProcureSmart” campaign to focus on what DLA Piper is doing to purchase supplies and materials sustainably and what our people can do to support our procurement efforts.

We invite you to learn more about our commitment to the environment by visiting the Global CSR Review microsite or US Sustainability homepage.