The Australian Legal Sector Alliance (AusLSA) has been formed in partnership with the Net Balance Foundation and so far includes Clayton Utz, DLA Phillips Fox, Henry Davis York, Jackson McDonald, Maddocks, McCullough Robertson, Norton Rose Australia and Swaab Attorneys. “We were more motivated to be involved for a number of reasons,” said Clayton Utz COO and AusLSA board member Stuart Clark. “Sustainability is critically important to our clients and if we are advising our clients and governments on this matter, how can we do that properly if we are sitting on the sidelines?”

AusLSA will officially launch on 29 March in Sydney at the same time releasing its inaugural ‘Environmental Consumption of AusLSA Members’ report, which has been completed based on the eight founding firms’ responses.  The report provides data on carbon emissions, consumption of paper and water and waste production and will promote the development of industry benchmarks and best practice guidelines for Australian law firms.

“We have been working across the firm on a number of key sustainability factors and what we have now is fairly robust system for measuring the carbon footprint. We have a number of initiatives to decrease our carbon footprint, such as decreasing the amount of paper we use. It sounds like a small issue, but it makes good business sense,” said Clark. 

Firms interested in participating in future reports are encouraged to contact AusLSA. “I would hope that the rest of the profession will get on board and work with us to achieve what will be an important outcome in the eyes of staff and clients and the broader community,” added Clark.