Burges Salmon's story
Burges Salmon is a well-established law firm, based in Bristol with offices in London and Edinburgh and subsidiary office in Dublin.
Net Zero is a key focus both in terms of the firm's operations and legal expertise. They are founding members of the New Zero Lawyers Alliance and also participate in the Chancery Lane Project which is a pro-bono legal sector initiative, encouraging collaborative working to develop new clauses and model laws which help tackle climate change.
Burges Salmon is also founding members of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, underpinning their commitment to transparency in carbon reporting and providing leadership within the legal sector. In addition to measuring, managing and reporting on the firm's Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2008, they have undertaken detailed analysis of Scope 3 emissions and are focused on tackling emissions associated with our business travel and commuting and in their supply chain – including operating a responsible procurement policy in which we seek to exert influence suppliers on many issues including environmental performance.
Since 2016, Burges Salmon has achieved a year-on-year reduction in their carbon footprint and are developing science-based targets with a commitment to limit global warming to 1.5C. In November 2021, the firm announced a net-zero target date of 2026 – which will be achieved through a combination of continued energy reductions and efficiency gains; and for unavoidable residual emissions, they will continue to invest in high-quality carbon offsetting projects.
Useful learnings from Burges Salmon
In line with taking environmental stewardship seriously and providing legal advice in support of the transition to a low-carbon economy, Burges Salmon has established a Net Zero Services cross-sector team to assist its clients in driving decarbonisation in key sectors. This team encourages further collaborative working necessary to help tackle climate change.
Burges Salmon's metrics
Client services delivered (legal advice, commercial guidance, etc).
Net Zero milestones reached.
Leadership on sustainability within the legal sector.
