A&O commits itself to work towards zero-carbon economy

A&O commits itself to work towards zero-carbon economy

Under the plan, approved by the SBTi, the global law firm will reduce greenhouse gas emission by half within a decade

Global law firm Allen & Overy has committed itself to reduce greenhouse gas emission by half by the year 2030 taking 2019 as the base year.

The firm's ambitious and independently assessed target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

The SBTi approved targets will address the direct carbon emissions made by the firm and its people globally as well as the indirect emissions from its worldwide supply chain and the goods it purchases.

A&O has been proactive in this field and has over the last 10 years managed to voluntarily reduce its carbon footprint by 12 per cent and over half of its emissions are now managed at office locations with ISO 14001 certified Environmental Management Systems.

SBTi is an internationally recognised partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It aims to mobilise the private sector to take the lead on urgent climate action and more than 1,000 businesses globally are now working with the SBTi to reduce their emissions.

The approval from SBTi confirms that the new commitment is consistent with the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement, with the firm's reductions in line with those required to keep global warming to 1.5°C which, according to the latest climate science, is what is needed to prevent the most damaging effects of climate change.

While the global transition to a zero-carbon economy is already underway, the latest climate science suggests that more needs to be done and faster.

"This commitment to clear and measurable targets for reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is a positive step in tackling climate change… Our partners, staff and clients around the world expect us to be proactive in reducing our impact on the climate. By committing to the targets agreed with the Science Based Targets initiative we now have a clearly defined pathway for how much and how quickly we need to reduce our emissions in order to be consistent with keeping global warming below its most dangerous levels," A&O global managing partner Gareth Price said.