Harper Macleod Goes Carbon Neutral

Harper Macleod LLP, one of Scotland's leading commercial law firms has become what is believed to be the first law firm in Scotland to gain carbon neutral status.

This voluntary initiative has been undertaken by the firm as part of its continuing CSR programme, HM Community, a key element of which addresses the environmental impact of the firm's activities, including the setting of carbon emissions reduction targets, sourcing with integrity and a commitment to recycling.

This latest accreditation, which the firm gained on 1 September, was directed by Scottish carbon offsetting firm Carbon Passport, who undertook a carbon audit of the firm's activities.

The process involved the measurement of the amount of CO2 that the firm produces, during day-to-day operational activities, which is then offset by purchasing carbon credits, called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).  Harper Macleod have offset 401 tonnes of CO2 emissions which represents the firm's CO2 emissions for the financial year 2006/07.

CERs are internationally traded credits used predominantly by energy intensive organisations to offset emissions so as to meet their carbon emission caps set under the UK's Kyoto obligations.  The credits help to fund projects in the developing world which reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.  Examples include renewable energy, energy efficiency projects and methane capture. 

Harper Macleod Chief Executive Martin Darroch commented: "Through voluntarily opting to offset our CO2 emissions we have set ourselves a major benchmark moving forward.  In order to reduce the amount each year we are spending to offset our carbon usage we are going to address ways to reduce our CO2 emissions over the long term.  Obviously in addition to this, as our firm continues to grow our CO2 usage will increase, so we are taking on quite a commitment to address changing working practices.

"The firm made a significant commitment to addressing the environment in which we work (both internal and external), establishing HM Community within our current 3-year strategy, and this scheme fits our approach extremely well."

The firm was recently awarded the title Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year at the 2007 Scottish Legal Awards and has been shortlisted for the Corporate Social Responsibility Award at the National Business Awards, the winner to be announced on 13 September.

Established in 1988 by Professor Lorne Crerar and Rod McKenzie, Harper Macleod has evolved into a firm with 39 Partners, 2 Consultant, 108 Fee Earners and a complement of 225 staff.  The firm is renowned for its expertise in Real Estate, Sports, Public Sector & Housing, Employment, Banking, Recoveries, Corporate and Litigation.