Fieldfisher's ongoing carbon reporting journey

We are continuing our commitment to environmental responsibility, marking the fourth consecutive year of comprehensive carbon reporting in partnership with Planet Mark.

Emphasising transparency in our sustainability journey, we have prioritised measuring our carbon footprint with increasing detail and scope to enable us to credibly build a holistic net zero strategy that drives meaningful change and fosters a more sustainable future. Complete and accurate data collection is no easy task but through working with Planet Mark to understand our environmental impact, we are now in a strong position to set a baseline from which to focus on carbon reduction. Our net zero strategy, which is due to be published in FY 2024/2025, will clearly outline the steps we will take to achieve our sustainability objectives.

Our carbon footprint for 2022/2023 tallies at 1,880.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) – excluding purchased goods and services. This number means very little in an abstract sense, but it is important that we paint a complete picture of our environmental impact across all our offices, worldwide. For the first time, this carbon footprint figure accounts for all Fieldfisher integrated offices from the reporting period (1 May 2022 – 30 April 2023) to ensure all emissions are reported on. This symbolises a significant milestone in expanding and improving our reporting scope. None of this is to detract, however, from the fact that we, along with most other organisations, now need to grapple with what a return to business-as-usual post-pandemic looks like in the face of the climate emergency.

In a significant move, we have incorporated purchased goods and services in our Scope 3 analysis, which looks at our indirect emissions in our value chain, for the first time in our 2022/2023 report, bringing our total emissions to 10,362.1 tCO2e. Highlighting an industry trend, approximately 80% of our overall carbon footprint stems from this category, emphasising a real need to engage our supply chain in sustainability initiatives.

By doing this and incorporating new emissions categories such as employee commuting, we can capture all material emissions, extending our understanding beyond the UK borders and beyond our own operations. With this, we have been able to re-baseline our carbon footprint as it provides a better reflection of our impact and enables us to set more specific and informed carbon reduction targets for the years ahead.

This year, there are areas which have demonstrated noteworthy year-on-year carbon emission reductions when normalised to exclude new data categories for 2022/2023.

Those areas include:

• Building-related emissions – decreased by 9.5%
• Waste emissions – saw a substantial 27% reduction
• Paper procurement emissions – fell by 19%

While we acknowledge the significance of these reductions, we understand the journey that lies ahead and the need for continued progress. As with many organisations, we have seen increases in certain emissions categories, such as business travel, as we navigate a post-Covid world and a growing business. This has presented an opportunity for change at an individual and organisational level.

Therefore, the key strategic focus areas for the firm's sustainability efforts include:

• Procuring renewable energy
• Cutting business travel
• Engaging our supply chain
• Influencing commuting habits
• Reducing printing

Cognizant of our return to travelling post-Covid, our business travel policy is getting a refresh and we are publishing a set of internal 'Green Travel Guidelines' to allow our employees to make informed travel decisions and understand their individual impact on the world around us.

This comprehensive reporting journey, spanning four years and led by our dedicated ESG and Sustainability team and senior management, reflects our firm's commitment to environmental stewardship and sets the stage for continued progress towards a more sustainable future as we gear up for the launch of our net zero target and strategy in FY 2024/2025. By combining sustainability principles with operational practices, we are striving for a more environmentally and socially conscious business landscape.

Embracing ESG isn't just a talking point for us; it's one of our core Values and guides every decision we make.

To find out more about our commitment to a sustainable future, download a copy of Fieldfisher's 2023 ESG Report.