Environmental commitments worldwide

We have recently reviewed and updated both our EMEAA Environmental policy and our Global Procurement policy. Our Global Procurement policy includes dedicated sections on ethics and sustainability and sets out our overarching expectations and ethos as a Firm. We have also updated our Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure that suppliers understand the high ethical standards that we expect of our business partners. 

In 2023, an external assessor undertook an environmental risk assessment of all of our UK sites. Procedures and controls to mitigate our environmental risks have been implemented in 100% of our offices in the UK. In 2024, we commenced an internal due diligence exercise to map existing procedures relating to energy consumption and waste management for 100% of our offices in the UK, EMEA and Asia. The results of these assessments are under review and will continue to inform the next steps of our environmental management framework.

Spotlight on London

We have engaged an external consultant to review our environmental management framework and the procedures and controls that form part of the framework against the ISO14001 standard.  As our largest site, this assessment focussed on our London office. 

• Across all our UK offices, 100% of our energy is on renewable tariffs, meaning ‘market-based’ Scope 2 emissions are zero. 
• We have taken a number of steps to reduce Scope 1 carbon emissions, reducing gas consumption nearly 70% since 2021.  
• To reduce Scope 2 emissions, inverter-controlled and belt-driven air handling unit (AHU) fans were replaced with fan wall technology. This initiative generated a power reduction of 40% on the AHU system. We also installed motion-detection LED lighting in back-of-house areas, reducing electrical consumption.
• In 2020 London gas consumption was 33% over ‘Good Practice’ at 129kWh/m2. In 2023 consumption is 46% better than benchmark at 32kWh/m2. Electricity consumption, at 201 kWh/m2, remains 11% better than the ‘Typical’ benchmark, despite an increase in office occupancy following lockdowns. 

• The EPC rating of our London office has improved from 361 (G Rating) to 63 (C Rating).
• Our UK sites have achieved a 280% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions between 2017 and 2023 - a reduction of over 7000 tonnes. 
• The number of onsite waste streams has been increased from 12 in 2021 to 30 in 2023 across the UK, achieving 94% recycled waste with zero to landfill. 

Spotlight on Paris

In Paris, we have deliberately chosen to set up in an Eco building that has been awarded the BREEAM Excellent, Well Gold, and WiredScore Silver.