As an international professional services business we are concerned about the impact of climate change both on a local and global scale. We work to reduce our environmental impacts by adopting sustainable business and we are committed to deliver challenging carbon reduction targets. And importantly we support our clients making the transition to a low carbon future.
Our Global Sustainability Strategy compromises 4 focus areas;
We measure, manage and report our most significant environmental impacts to internal and external audiences. Our commitment to responsible business practices recognises that sustainability is an ongoing process. It is work that we undertake with pride and care, and in a spirit of collaborative learning with our suppliers, our partners and employees, and across the legal sector.
Disclosure is an important part of how we track progress and hold ourselves accountable. This year saw our third submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for our firm’s environmental impact. We made disclosures using the EcoVadis platform, which allows us to share our performance indicators with our stakeholders. We are currently ranked Bronze by EcoVadis, in the top 15% of businesses reviewed.
We have outlined our net zero commitment and how we are acting on climate change here.
Our people play a vital part in delivering against our environmental commitments. We aim to support and engage them in how they contribute towards reducing environmental impact in the workplace and also other aspects of their life.
We utilise our sustainability champions network across our global business to promote sustainability initiatives, share ideas about how to engage colleagues and make positive changes in the firm.
Partnerships are a critical tool in tackling climate change and the enormous environmental challenges we face. We work with organisations in the legal sector and beyond to advance environmental sustainability. And we participate in a number of cross-sector environmental initiatives:
- The Campaign for Greener Arbitrations raises awareness of the international arbitration community’s carbon footprint and promotes best practice in managing arbitrations sustainably.
- The Greener Litigation Pledge sets out practical changes for UK litigators to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
- The United Nations Race to Zero is a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery.
- The Net Zero Lawyers Alliance seeks to mobilise law firms and lawyers to accelerate the transition to net zero.
- The Legal Sustainability Alliance, a not-for-profit sustainability network, has led on sustainability matters for UK-based law firms since its inception in 2007.
- The United Nations Global Compact, a strategic initiative that supports global companies that are committed to responsible business practices in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and corruption.
Legal Response International
Legal Response International (LRI) seeks to create a more level playing field between actors in the climate change negotiations by providing free legal support to poor and particularly climate vulnerable developing countries, as well as to civil society observer organisations.
Our volunteers provide support to LRI at a number of critical junctures each year, including at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference and UNFCCC COP negotiations. Our support is provided directly through in-person attendance at such events by our volunteers, via LRI's "Situation Room" set up to provide urgent assistance around such events, and through advice on a variety of environmental law topics that we provide to LRI throughout the year.
International Lawyers Project
International Lawyers Project (ILP) advances economic justice and the rule of law through the provision of pro bono legal expertise to civil society, communities, and governments. Drawing on its specialist knowledge and experience, ILP supports partners across four closely interlinked focus areas: anti-corruption, environment and sustainable development, tax and fiscal reform, and access to information and defending the civic space.
One example of work referred to us by ILP is the extensive advice we have provided to the Green Hydrogen Organisation in connection with its Green Hydrogen Project.
The Green Hydrogen Organisation promotes the sustainable production and use of hydrogen as a fuel for the future. A multi-jurisdictional HSF team has been advising the Green Hydrogen Organisation on the formation of a "Green Hydrogen Standard" and its "Guidance and principles for good green hydrogen contracting". To date, HSF lawyers have dedicated more than 200 hours to supporting these initiatives on a pro bono basis. This highly ambitious project, involving lawyers from seven law firms and legal departments, aims to develop transparent, publicly available standards and contracting frameworks to develop proposed best practices for the green hydrogen value chain globally. The Green Hydrogen Standard and Green Hydrogen Contracting for People and Planet summary booklet were launched in May 2022.
The Insurance Development Forum
The Insurance Development Forum is a global public-private partnership led by the insurance industry and co-chaired by the UN, the World Bank, and other international organisations. The Insurance Development Form is dedicated to optimising and extending the use of insurance and its related risk management capabilities to build greater resilience and protection for people, communities, businesses, and public institutions that are vulnerable to disasters and their associated economic shocks.
Frankfurt partner Heike Schmitz co-leads the IDF's "Infrastructure Task Force" together with AXA's Chief Investment Officer and a senior advisor from the insurance industry. The Task Force aims to facilitate investments in climate resilient green and social infrastructure in emerging and developing countries by designing investment solutions, providing insurance cover and supporting the removal of policy barriers to such investments. From Frankfurt we support the Task Force in design and structuring of a dedicated blended finance fund structure while from London, insurance partner Fiona Treanor has helped draft a playbook to facilitate insurance cover for such infrastructure projects.
The Earthshot Prize
Founded by HRH Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is an ambitious global environmental prize to discover and scale the best solutions to help repair our planet over the next 10 years. Every year, from 2021 until 2030, The Earthshot Prize shortlists 15 finalists, with five receiving a grant of £1 million to help scale up their innovative solutions to the five Earthshot goals:
- Protect and restore nature
- Clean our air
- Revive our oceans
- Build a waste-free world
- Fix our climate.
As part of our commitment to the Global Alliance and the Earthshot Prize, we have committed to provide Prize finalists each year with free legal support that helps unlock and accelerate growth. Work for finalists differs greatly, but examples include:
- Legal training sessions on topics including venture capital, commercial contracts and regulatory matters;
- investment and investment-readiness advice to finalists, including Low Carbon Materials;
- advice to finalists such as SeaForester, SOLshare, and Notpla, to expand their solutions in innovative new ways, including advice on an innovative partnership between BESTSELLER and SOLshare to apply SOLshare's innovation in commercial settings; and
- legal structuring and governance advice to finalists, such The Great Bubble Barrier to help finalists consider the optimal structure for their innovation as their platform grows.
In addition to our free support for finalists, we provide pro bono advice to The Earthshot Prize itself in connection with its Launchpad platform. Launchpad connects funders to Prize finalists with the goal of unlocking new donations, investments and partnerships to further scale the innovative solutions that define The Earthshot Prize.
Our firm is also proud to be an official nominator to The Earthshot Prize. It means we can put forward companies behind some of the most innovative global solutions for consideration as possible Earthshot Prize finalists. In 2024, Herbert Smith Freehills nominee Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems was announced as the winner of the "Fix Our Climate" Earthshot at the Prize Ceremony in Cape Town.
Justin D'Agostino with Kelly Adams (left) and Eric Beynon (right) of Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems, our nominee that won the 2024 Earthshot Prize for "Fix Our Climate"
Matteo Yoon, Justin D'Agostino, Jean Meijer and Ernst Muller at the 2024 Earthshot Prize Ceremony in Cape Town
