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 global law firm 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. Throughout 2011 and 2012, new, more energy efficient PCs and laptops are being installed in over half our offices which are expected to reduce our energy usage.

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. In October 2011 we installed printers in over half of our offices which default to double-sided print and require personal collection to print, to reduce our paper usage and enhance information security.

Travel
We are committed to offsetting our global air travel through purchasing carbon credits. Our 2007 air travel carbon emissions were offset by investing in a wind farm in the Jilin Province of China, and the Jute Mill in Howrah India, which uses biomass instead of coal to produce the steam required for to power the Howrah Mill. For 2008 we offset our air travel by investing in an energy efficient stove project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a Rice Husk Cogeneration project in Nahar India, which uses rice husk for the generation of steam power for the mills. In 2009, our travel was offset by investment in hydroelectric power plants in Columbia and Brazil, along with supporting Cenol and Telha Forte Ceramics, two small ceramic plants that produce bricks and roof tiles for the local market in Brazil, to switch from using local native firewood to using biomass to heat the plant’s kilns and cook its ceramic materials. Most recently, we offset 2010's air travel through investment in the Indonesian Gunung Salak Power plant upgrade, enabling the plant to utilise renewable geothermal energy instead of traditional fossil fuels, and the Uchindile-Mapanda Reforestation Project, which empowers small groups of subsistence farmers in Kenya to improve forest health, species diversity and resilience, through tree planting and sustainable agriculture.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gases and deforestation, the projects that DLA Piper chooses to invest in also provide benefits to the local communities themselves, from the provision of new job opportunities to improving the lives and health the local population by reducing their exposure to air pollution. We will continue to offset the carbon emissions we generate from unavoidable air travel.

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. In 2009, we became the first law firm to acquire TelePresence virtual meeting technology, which has now been implemented in over half of our offices worldwide, providing an additional method of reducing our carbon emissions.

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 US Sustainability homepage.