We care for our people, our clients and our environment – without any of the three we wouldn’t have a business.

Although the legal sector is very different to product-based industries, we believe we still have a big part to play in ‘doing our bit’ for the environment and making our law firm as sustainable as possible.

That’s why we’ve introduced Emsleys Ecos, a working group of 15 colleagues who are challenging the way our business runs. We’d like to think we can make a small difference to the climate crisis by working together: from reducing our paper usage, improving our recycling facilities and choosing eco-friendly alternatives, to challenging internal process and introducing ‘green’ initiatives for our colleagues.

We’re working to become your green choice when choosing a local law firm.

What have we achieved so far?

• We offer face-to-face appointments at all seven of our local branches, meaning clients don’t have to travel far to meet one of our lawyers. We can also progress matters by phone or email, saving on unnecessary travel.
• We’ve upgraded our IT systems to state-of-the-art cloud-based technology, so we no longer need to power old servers. Our colleagues can work remotely, reducing traffic on the roads and improving work-life balance.
• We’re replacing our marketing materials with sustainable alternatives, including printing brochures on Carbon Captured paper and investing in more considered merchandise such as wildflower seeds.
• We advertise our services on Ecosia, helping the green search engine plant more trees around the world.
• We’ve embraced the government-backed Cycle to Work scheme, giving our colleagues the option of a greener commute.
• We choose to invest in second hand or refurbished technology from local suppliers. Giving a new lease of life to old equipment (rather than opting for brand new hardware) not only makes our business more sustainable, but also saves us money (meaning we can invest in our online services for clients).
• We recycle old office equipment and furniture, by working with responsible disposal services such as Stone Group.
• We’ve removed plastic folders and wallets from our stationery ordering system and encourage our colleagues to choose paper or card alternatives. We’re also starting to roll out recycled and eco-friendly replacements for office essentials such as printer paper, envelopes and sticky notes.
• We set up a ‘pop up swap shop’ at our Crossgates branch in December 2019, encouraging our local community to swap, donate or buy second hand goods to reduce demand on our planet’s resources and minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill. The project raised over £180 for Alzheimer’s Society and St Vincent’s Support Centre.