Highlights and new developments

Corporate social responsibility

• Winner CSR Firm of the Year 2007 Legal Business Awards (UK). ‘Freshfields led the way in the legal sector by being the first law firm to produce a CSR report under the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines in January 2006. The firm has also been a strong supporter of human rights group Reprieve.’
• The establishment of new working groups on the environment and diversity in 2007 and a community and pro bono committee in 2006 to give strategic direction to our firm-wide initiatives.
• The appointment of partners and co-ordinators responsible for interpreting, developing, managing, implementing and integrating our CSR strategy and commitments in all our offices.

Climate change and the environment

• Our commitment to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent by April 2008 and becoming CarbonNeutral® firm-wide as certified by The CarbonNeutral Company to help minimise our contribution to climate change.
• The setting up of green teams comprising a wide cross-section of the people in our offices, as well as our environmental working group, to help us achieve our environmental commitments.
• The offsetting of the remaining greenhouse gases we produce through our use of energy, business travel and other activities reduces our CO2 emissions to net zero, enabling us to be certified CarbonNeutral® by The CarbonNeutral Company.
• The announcement of our financial support of the Carbon Capture Legal programme at University College London’s Centre for Law and the Environment, which provides information on this technology, identified by the Stern Report and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as potentially playing a significant role in tackling climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gases associated with the use of fossil fuels.
• Our successive Clean City Awards since 1999 for our London office, showing we have reduced our impact on the environment by reusing and recycling resources, minimising waste, using renewable energy and encouraging the use of public transport and cycling.

Diversity

• Our support for the College of Law and Sutton Trust’s new diversity scheme, Pathways to Law, designed to encourage more students from different backgrounds to enter the law. Working with London School of Economics we will offer work experience placements to pupils from state schools who will be the first in their family to attend university and whose parents are in non-professional occupations.
• Our support for the new City Solicitors’ Educational Trust Summer School programme, which aims to recruit a wider range of people into the commercial legal profession.
• The creation of associate engagement initiatives to help shape the development of our firm. In our London office, several working groups have been set up to offer solutions to issues including work/life balance, flexible working, mentoring and work allocation.
• The establishment of our diversity working group.

Community and pro bono

• We have been awarded The Law Society of England and Wales’ Excellence in Social Responsibility Award 2007 for our programme for homeless people: the ‘range of projects including supporting the homeless charity Crisis on its Urban Village project by providing free legal advice on housing issues made their entry stand out. Most notable was a programme designed to break the cycle of homelessness and social exclusion through providing work experience, job coaching, informal support schemes and pro bono legal advice.’
• Being awarded a Business in the Community Big Tick 2007 for our Ready for Work programme, which provides work experience placements to homeless people. Between 2000-2007, 126 individuals have completed successful placements at the firm, 14 of whom have taken up permanent jobs here. Several others have gone on to work elsewhere. The Big Tick is given to companies that can demonstrate the positive impact of their responsible business behaviour on society, as well as on the company itself.
• Our first international Community Challenge initiative, which encouraged people to get involved in team challenges benefiting the communities near our offices.
• The announcement in November 2007 of our £232,000, three year sponsorship of Shelter’s new Children’s Legal Service as part of the homeless charity’s Keys for the Future initiative to end child homelessness. We will be providing additional pro bono legal advice for the Children’s Legal Service and we hope volunteers will also get involved in Shelter’s project in Newham, supporting local children living in temporary accommodation.
• Our involvement as a lead partner in a CSR Europe initiative, which will be presenting results and recommendations to the European Commission in 2008. The project seeks to demonstrate how volunteering can develop skills for employability, particularly among disadvantaged groups of people across the EU. We are part of the European Alliance for CSR, a joint initiative of the European Commission and the business community.