Shoosmiths signs up to Green Pledge for law arbitration sector

The company has also committed to increasing its annual sourcing of renewable electricity from 74% to 100% by 2025

Shoosmiths has this week confirmed that it has signed the “Green Pledge” a global initiative from the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations, which was established in 2019. The initiative commits firms to implement practices that improve sustainability while raising awareness of the climate crisis.

Shoosmiths, which has set a net-zero emissions target for its operations by 2025, will see its arbitration practice take additional steps to reduce energy consumption and waste, avoiding unnecessary travel and using videoconferencing as an alternative, bypassing printing and being more selective over suppliers.

“The Green Pledge is an important initiative that brings together the arbitration community in its efforts to practice arbitration in a more sustainable way. With the increased use of technology in arbitration during the pandemic, we know change is possible,” Shoosmiths’ international arbitration lead Dr Johanne Cox said.

Shoosmiths’ net-zero target consists of near-term science-based emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) across the entire value chain. This includes a 50% reduction across all three scopes by 2030 compared to a 2020 baseline.

The company has also committed to increasing its annual sourcing of renewable electricity from 74% to 100% by 2025.

Shoosmiths is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact and a signatory of the Legal Renewables Initiative co-ordinated by the Legal Sustainability Alliance. The firm has also been a member of Business in the Community (BITC) since 2000 and is a supporter of the Prince of Wales’ Terra Carta initiative, which convenes businesses in a set of shared environmental goals and principles in responding to the twin climate and nature crises.

Matt Mace