Our Environment

Our environment strategy has clear objectives each year, backed by management action to reduce our carbon emissions.

In 2009 we signed up to the10:10 initiative to reduce our carbon footprint by 10% by 2010. We are proud to say that BWB achieved this target.

We continue to set ambitious new targets in our aim to reduce our impact on the environment; and have saved £12,000 in lower electricity consumption in the process.

We are part of The Mayor of London’s Green Procurement Code; a service for London-based organisations committed to reducing their environmental impact through responsible purchasing. We have been awarded a Bronze Level Mayor's Procurement Code award and are now working towards silver.

We are also a member of the Legal Sector Alliance; an inclusive movement of law firms committed to taking action on climate change by reducing their carbon footprint and adopting environmentally sustainable practices.

Our Current Activity

• Recycling e.g. paper, cans, glass, plastic, Tetra Paks, batteries and cartridges
• Motion activated lighting and hand washing facilities
• Automatic sleep mode for computers
• Virtualisation of 23 servers to 5
• Supporters of the cycle to work scheme
• Contribute to carbon offsetting scheme
• Use green cleaning suppliers
• Recently introduced food waste recycling for the entire building
• All bottled water is produced in house by filtering mains water; fair-trade coffee
• Have a joint initiative with our landlord regarding green energy
• Introduced a double-sided copying facility on all printers following a network-wide printing audit
• Conducted a one-off audit of all BWB electrical circuits to identify high energy areas
• Using an online 'Deeds on Demand' document store system for clients
• Reduced the amount of paper being used for marketing material; now have online material
• Developed an Ethical Supplier policy

Targets for 2013

• Articulate an Environment Policy
• Broaden our recycling initiatives e.g. mobile phones, CDs
• In conjunction with our landlord install permanent monitoring software on all electrical circuits to manage high energy usage
• Modify the air conditioning system to reduce energy wastage
• Review and replace lights – these account for 60% of BWB’s carbon output
• Modernise inadequate/inefficient heating
• Increase our recycling efforts – in July 2011, 49.97% of our waste was recycled and 50.03% went to landfill (figures compiled by Green Your Office). By the end of 2012 we are aiming for 65% of our waste to be recycled
• Reduce our paper usage requirements (we currently use 4 pallets of paper per month) – working towards the paperless office

Our Carbon Footprint

Our current carbon footprint measurements, completed through the Legal Sector Alliance, stand at: