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Watson & Watson Solicitors recognise that we have an impact on the environment in carrying out our day to day business. Traditionally, the legal industry has been slow to adopt change and it is our intention to be an early adopter of environmental practices and carbon neutrality.

Through recognition of this impact comes an obligation to all stakeholders that we interact with; suppliers, business consumers and individual consumers, to operate in a sustainable manner and minimises environmental impacts.

Watson & Watson Solicitors impacts on the environment directly through its operations; namely though consumption of energy, transport fuel; air transport, waste and natural resources. It also impacts indirectly through consumption of third party contractors and services.

Our objective is to leave the smallest possible carbon footprint. This is a process of internal change within the practices of our staff and requires continuous monitoring and improvement. As part of our sustainability policy, we will engage our partners in this evolving process.

Scope

This Sustainability Policy defines the scope, commitments and implementation approach and responsible parties. The creation of this scope will ensure that the objectives described above are met. This Sustainability Policy also covers all business operations and stakeholder interactions that we make through our operations, and consumption of goods and services.

To minimise our carbon footprint, Watson & Watson Solicitors:

• Ensure minimal excessive use of electricity through energy efficient lighting and switching off computers and other electrical equipment at night.
• Encourage Watson & Watson staff to use public transport for travel to and from the office.
• Encourage Watson & Watson client’s to use public transport for travel to and from the office.
• Maintaining a recycling policy.
• Engage (where possible) suppliers with similar policies of sustainability
• Use of teleconferencing and video conferencing in place of air travel

Internal Procedures

Energy efficiency: Watson & Watson has ensured that all lighting has been switched over to energy efficient lighting and also encouraged staff to switch off all electrical devices at night.

Staff: Our office is directly opposite Wynyard train station and close to the Carrington street bus terminal. This provides staff with easy access to public transport. Currently the 90% of Watson & Watson staff take public transport to work and they are reimbursed a proportion of their travel costs as an incentive.

Clients: Our clients are encouraged to use public transport when visiting our office. For Regional clients, our solicitors are also encouraged to use Video conferencing services instead of airline travel.

Suppliers: Watson & Watson have a policy of (where possible) engaging suppliers / contractors who have their own environmental policies. An example of this is FAQ Interactive – website consultants who also are accredited under the NoCO2 certification program.

Recycling: All staff are encouraged to recycle their waste and recycling bins are strategically placed in and around the Watson & Watson office.

Future Undertakings

Watson & Watson Solicitors aim to be accredited under the NoCO2 certification program as Carbon Neutral by December 31, 2009. This includes:

• Reporting all sources of emissions on a annual basis
• Quarterly reporting of airline travel
• Identifying potential methods of minimising carbon emissions from business activities
• Purchase of sufficient carbon credits to negate the impact of our carbon footprint

Carbon Neutral Certification, Reporting of Emissions & Carbon Credits

The Carbon Reduction Institute is an Australia organisation that offers Carbon Neutral accreditation for business via their NoCO2 Certification. More information about the Carbon Reduction Institute is available on their website – www.noco2.com.au

The certification process requires a thorough audit of all business activities and calculation of emissions according to the GHG protocol. This includes:

• Scope 1 emissions: Use of fossil fuels in transport
• Scope 2 emissions: Electricity consumption
• Scope 3 emissions: Embedded emissions – all GHG emissions embedded in the lifecycle of every good and service utilised in the day to day business activities. This also includes waste.

Any changes to business activities as well as all airline transport are reported quarterly with the audit conducted annually.

Once the footprint is calculated, recommendations are offered by the Carbon Reduction Institute to minimise our Carbon footprint.

Finally, to negate Watson and Watson’s impact, a volume of carbon credits are purchased. These carbon credits are Gold Standard credits produced from a Biomass project conducted in India. 

The accountability and responsibility for implementing this policy lies with:

• Richard Watson – Partner
• Shereen Da Gloria – Administration Manager
• Carbon Reduction Institute – environmental consultants overseeing the NoCO2 accreditation program

For any questions regarding our Sustainability policy, please contact Richard Watson or Shereen Da Gloria on 02 9221 6011.