Sydney, 8 November 2012: Clayton Utz has reduced its carbon footprint over the last financial year as a result of substantial reductions in electricity consumption and paper usage.
The reductions were noted in the Australian Legal Sector Alliance's (AusLSA) 2012 annual report, which discloses the carbon footprint of participating law firms.
The report revealed that in FY2012 Clayton Utz reduced electricity consumption by 1147 tonnes of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking 224 cars off the road for an entire year[1]
Clayton Utz Chief Operating Officer and AusLSA board member Stuart Clark said the firm's reduction in electricity usage last financial year was largely a result of its decision to relocate its Sydney office to the landmark 1 Bligh development, Sydney's first 6 green star rated office building. The Clayton Utz Canberra office will also shortly relocate to the 6 green star rated Nishi Commercial development.
"Our reduced electricity consumption in FY12 of 1147 tonnes of carbon dioxide is an improvement on the previous financial year's reduction of 400 tonnes, which is encouraging," said Stuart.
"Through our involvement in the AusLSA we hope to continue to show leadership among Australia's largest law firms in being transparent about our carbon footprint and continue to identify practical ways we can reduce our environmental impacts."
Additional reporting requirements in this year's report have meant that for the first time law firms were asked to include outsourced printing in their total paper usage. Despite the additional reporting requirement Clayton Utz has reported a total paper usage reduction over the last 12 months.
"As a result of the firm's concerted effort to reduce paper consumption, our total paper usage has decreased by over 2000 kilograms over the last 12 months. This is a very positive development for a business which operates in a paper intensive industry," said Stuart.
AusLSA is an industry-led association working collaboratively to promote sustainable practices across the legal sector. Clayton Utz is a founding member.
[1] A typical passenger vehicle emits about 5.1 metric tons of carbon dioxide per annum Back to article