Sustainability for Law & Professional Services

Does your firm have a sustainability management plan?

Having a sustainability plan will reduce your firm's costs, result in higher retention of valuable knowledge capital, and it is the right thing to do—not to mention that your clients are increasingly including sustainability in their mission statements.

For any professional services firm, and in the law specifically, the largest area for improvement is with paper. A study by the EPA estimates that one lawyer uses anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 sheets of paper per year. That is the equivalent of one-half ton of paper! A firm can reduce the impact of this paper usage through the purchase of recycled paper, implementation of double-sided printing capabilities, and a variety of other means.

Additionally, the holistic nature of sustainability facilitates the consideration of the social and financial perspectives of the firm's operation. What can the firm do to be more profitable? How can the firm retain top talent through innovative human resources policies? What can the firm do to become valuable community members?

Whether the decision makers in your firm want to develop sustainability policies because they believe it is the right thing to do, or because of the positive bottom-line impacts—Stellar Systems can help. We work to customize solutions that fit and work.

Law Firm Resources

The EPA has partnered with the American Bar Association to develop a Law Office Climate Challenge that allows firms who commit to specific practices to be recognized for their effort. The following link will take you to the ABA site for this initiative:

ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge

This program has existed for two years and there are only 200 law firms that have committed to the challenge. Of the thousands of firms in operation, there is significant room for growth. Be one of the first-movers in your state or city to develop a sustainability plan.

Please contact us if you have specfic questions or need help with your firm's initiatives.