As we all know, our climate and being climate positive has been at the forefront of the news for some time. The spotlight was on the UK during the COP26 summit which concluded in an agreement from 130 countries across the globe committing to end and reverse deforestation, along with cutting methane emissions by 30% by the year 2030. The “Glasgow Climate Pact” will speed up the pace of climate action.
The United Nations have set out their Sustainable Development Goals to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. These can be found on their website.
At Robertsons Family Law, we believe that we have our own part to play in reducing our carbon impact. We are embarking on our own sustainability journey with us opting to be a Climate Positive Workforce. Every client plays a role in us achieving our goals (as you will read below).
Climate change is an extremely complex problem and it’s going to take a whole range of solutions. However, our own ethos ensures that we have a policy in place to ensure we are reducing our impact as well as investing in climate change solutions.
The three main headings of our plan are:
- Engage in the planting of tress in the UK and abroad
- Investing in carbon offset projects
- Our staff to consider how they can change their habits to be more sustainable
We believe that this will help us be Climate Positive over the coming years. Removing more carbon than we are producing isn’t a quick process. However, we must start now.
Planting of Trees for a Climate Positive Business
Trees are exceptionally good at removing carbon pollution from our atmosphere. With the amount of deforestation that still takes place, it is essential that trees are replaced. However, as trees take a very long time to grow, the process can be slow.
Based on scientific research of mangrove forests, we know that a hectare of mangroves can sequester 3,082 tonnes of CO2 over a 25 year life time. Or 308kg per tree. We therefore ensure that we invest in the planting of trees in the UK and abroad now, to help ensure a sustainable future for the next generations.
Carbon Offset Projects
There are various projects around the world that work to reduce the production of carbon in our atmosphere. These can range from generating energy from solar power, to creating solutions to product energy from landfill gas. These types of projects have a worldwide effect on the reduction of carbon; however, they need investment.
When looking at projects around the world there are several factors that must be considered before investment is made. Companies such as Gold Standard and VCS ensure these projects:
- will remove emissions
- are accurately measurable
- meet a standard to ensure the emission reductions are permanently removed from the atmosphere
- allow third parties to routinely verify the project is making the stated emission reductions all through the project’s life
- prevent negative side effects of the project operating
Through various companies, we purchase carbon credits to allow these projects to get the investment they need.
Personal Sustainability
As a business we are always considering ways that we can change the way we work to reduce our carbon footprint. We also encourage our staff to consider how they do things day-to-day in line with our climate positive ethos. With each person having an average ‘footprint’ of 8.34 carbon tonnes, anything that we can do individually will allow a collective reduction.
Ways that we help reduce include:
- buy local produce
- eat less meat
- compost all food waste
- only use reusable coffee cups
- cycle or use public transport more frequently to get to destinations
- change light bulbs to LEDs
- switch to a green energy provider
- wash clothes at 30 degrees
- line dry clothes
- refusing single use items
With us doing all of the above, we can play a role in helping the sustainability of our planet and being climate positive.
Some Projects that we have already invested in
Hydropower energy in India
Coal is a dominate factor in India’s source of electricity and is the third biggest greenhouse gas emitter in the world (behind China and the USA). The Hydropower project has two turbines placed in the river which will in itself help power a larger hydropower project further upstream. The hope is that this will reduce CO2 output by 17,614 tonnes per year. This is meeting numbers 7, 8 and 13 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
You can see more about the project from Project Drawdown and the verification of the Gold Standard
Wind Power generation in Vietnam
A quarter of Vietnam’s energy is from hydroelectric plants, but there is still half produced from coal. The hydroelectric plants can also be halted by heavy rains or droughts. Vietnam hopes to be producing 30GW of electricity from wind power. This project helps with the upgrading of power transmission lines.
This is meeting number 1, 7, 8, 13 and 15 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
You can see more about the project from Project Drawdown and verification of the Gold Standard
Our Clients help us be Climate Positive
Climate Positive
We appreciate that when we act for a client, we inevitability create a carbon footprint such as using electricity, attending court and printing papers.
It is for this reason that, for every new client, we will invest in sustainable projects. We over-estimate (extensively) that the work we undertake for each client creates a 1 tonne ‘footprint’. Therefore our investment will ensure that we offset this carbon with more money into world-wide projects, such as those described above. Furthermore, we will plant 25 trees on each client’s behalf.
For more information on our carbon offset goals, please contact us.
