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Leading UK law firms have reduced their carbon emissions by the equivalent of over 29,000 tonnes CO2, according to a report published today.

We are delighted to invite LSA members to a summer drinks and jazz evening to celebrate the launch of the 2013 Legal Sector Alliance Annual Carbon Report – profiling the climate change performance and strategy of the UK’s largest law firms.

The LSA was founded by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in 2008. It now has over 250 members representing more than a third of solicitors in private practice in England and Wales. It is one of the leading collaborative sectoral initiatives in the UK, run by its members for the benefit of the whole profession.

About the event

22nd May, 08:30 - 10:30, The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL

At the beginning of March 2012 the installed capacity of wind power in the UK, both offshore and onshore, was 333 operational windfarms and 3506 wind turbines, with the UK being ranked as the world's eighth largest producer of windpower. Obtaining planning permission for onshore wind farms however continues to prove difficult.

Expert Comment by Stacey Collins, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Before the financial crash it was relatively easy to invest in energy saving. But how do you keep those savings going in these cold dark days when there’s no money to spend? The answer is to have a policy on office temperature.

Expert Comment by Sarah Hendel-Blackford, Ecofys UK

Are we prepared enough for today’s weather as well as tomorrow’s climate? Can UK businesses withstand the associated disruption and costs when droughts and floods occur within weeks of each other? The UK Government and the Environment Agency both stated last month that we need to be doing more to prepare for extreme weather.

The LSA is hosting an employee engagement best practice webinar on March 25th from 12.00 – 12.40pm to provide member firms with ideas for running their own celebrations as part of the UN World Environment Day on June 5th.

Engaging employees on climate change can be challenging and we are delighted to be joined from experts from some of our leading law firms to provide ideas on effective strategies for engagement.

The LSA is carrying out its annual assessment of members' performance against the LSA Principles and all members are asked to complete a brief self-assessment survey.

The purpose of this self-assessment is to:

• understand how the LSA principles are being acted on
• develop our collective understanding of best practice
• assess the impact of the LSA
• identify areas of shared difficulty and opportunities for the development of further resources

The Legal Sector Alliance, through its partnership with Greenstone Carbon Management, continues to strive to ensure that the highest possible standards in carbon reporting can be achieved across the Legal Sector.

Our latest agreement with Greenstone ensures that, as the standard and efficiency of carbon reporting improves so does the investment in the support the LSA provides to its members.

The new Grassroots Collaboration Portal is now ready for all LSA members to use.

Grassroots is an online collaboration portal that helps members learn, collaborate, and share information about sustainability in the legal sector.

The website provides a forum for LSA members to share ideas and get answers to any questions your firm might have on all things environment. It also provides a home for joint working and document sharing.

The new and improved LSA carbon reporting tool is now live. The submission period, for calendar year 2012 data, will be open from the 7th January 2013 and closed again on 31st March 2013. Members’ emissions data will be used to compile the annual Legal Sector Alliance Carbon Report.

The free online tool powered by Greenstone Carbon Management requires member firms to upload their relevant business consumption data Scope 1 and 2 emissions, together with employee business travel.

The updated online carbon reporting tool now includes the following features: