UK law firms flick the switch in climate change awareness drive

22 March 2010

A host of UK law firms and the Law Society of England and Wales are this week joining forces with the WWF UK to raise awareness of a worldwide campaign to simultaneously switch off lights for one hour.

As part of its support for 'Earth Hour', a worldwide symbolic lights-out event, the Legal Sector Alliance [LSA] is working with WWF to highlight the threat of climate change. On Saturday 27 March 2010 at 8.30pm, WWF wants a billion people around the world to switch off their lights for sixty minutes.

The aim is to draw awareness to climate change and achieve a reduction in carbon emissions demonstrating that energy use is a key contributing factor to climate change. The global event is a chance for organisations and individuals to unite in demonstrating they care about climate change.

Legal Sector Alliance executive members are all taking part in the initiative and are calling on all LSA members, who represent well over one quarter of solicitors in private practice, to embrace the move by signing up to WWF's Earth Hour 2010 and encouraging their clients to follow suit.

The LSA is an inclusive movement of law firms and organisations committed to working collaboratively to take action on climate change by reducing their carbon footprint and adopting environmentally sustainable practices. The alliance was created in order to promote a low carbon future for the legal profession and commitment to taking collective action on climate change by changing the way it does business.

Law Society Chief Executive Desmond Hudson said, "We are delighted to support WWF's Earth Hour and promote this symbolic and dynamic initiative. Business has a key responsibility to support this fight to tackle climate change and this dramatic visual signal sends a positive message to the entire legal sector as well as firms' clients and employees. Those firms who sign up to Earth Hour are further demonstrating their commitment to reducing their carbon emissions and setting an example for the rest of the sector to follow."

The LSA has joined forces with key figures in the Australian legal sector to develop a legal sector alliance in the country based on the LSA model in the UK. The LSA has shared its skills, knowledge and experience of working collaboratively to take action on climate change in order to assist their counterparts in the Southern Hemisphere. Desmond Hudson says; "The LSA model has already demonstrated real successes in England and Wales and our members are keen to share their knowledge with other jurisdictions. I am delighted that LSA Australia is adopting the LSA model. Acting on climate change is in our collective interest and law firms commitment to working collaboratively will help to drive more effective change than the efforts of individual organisations."