|
|
Sustainability Commitment
Morrison & Foerster has established itself as a climate change and clean technology leader in numerous legal practice areas by remaining ahead of the curve on related legislative and regulatory developments, investment trends, and corporate sustainability activity. The firm has also attended to increasing the sustainability of its own operations, including through recycling programs and by instituting measures to reduce energy consumption in their daily operations.
Morrison & Foerster Chair Keith Wetmore has summarized the firm’s sustainability commitment as follows: “Not only are we professional experts in responsible Cleantech and the implications of climate change, advising our clients on their options and obligations in these areas, but we take sustainability and conservation seriously in our own workplace. We’re committed to being environmentally responsible and energy efficient; we want to be a leader in this area.”
Accordingly, in addition to our internal efforts, we have publicly become partners in several highly visible programs designed to promote sustainable activity, including the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge and several voluntary EPA programs such as the GreenPower Partnership, the EnergyStar Challenge and the WasteWise program.
ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge
Morrison & Foerster has formally registered for and accepted the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge. Having already taken internally initiated steps towards recycling and energy conservation, the Law Office Climate Challenge has expanded the firm’s sustainability goals. The key aspects of the Climate Challenge involve:
- Reduction in the use of paper, particularly from virgin timber.
- Initiating the purchase of renewable energy or related credits.
- Further improvements in energy conservation and efficiency, through employee education and equipment purchases.
Today we are addressing the Climate Challenge by actively conserving energy through automated lighting controls and updated lighting systems, buying and using ENERGY STAR equipment, reducing overall paper usage, increasing the use of recycled content materials, expanding our own longstanding recycling practices, reducing our use of bottled water, and purchasing renewable energy credits.
|
|
EPA’s GreenPower Partnership |
As Morrison & Foerster’s Cleantech commitment goes beyond providing other companies in the space with the highest quality legal services to meet an array of their needs, we have also committed ourselves to “walk the walk” by enrolling in the U.S. EPA’s GreenPower Partnership. The GreenPower Partnership is a program designed to encourage the purchase – and, hence, development – of renewable energy. To start, Morrison & Foerster has committed to purchase renewable energy credits for a portion of its total domestic energy use. We hope to grow this percentage over time, particularly as we help more renewable energy sources come into the market.
As a participant in the GreenPower Partnership, we are also pleased to have joined the ranks of some of the nation’s leading companies, universities, and public agencies in helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information on the GreenPower Partnership, please visit their website.
|
|
EnergyStar Challenge |
Commercial buildings contribute nearly 50% of all greenhouse gases. The EPA’s EnergyStar Challenge has been developed to help mitigate this situation on a national scale by working with companies to help reduce their energy use. Morrison & Foerster has accepted the challenge to reduce our energy use through the use of EnergyStar-certified equipment, automated lighting controls and other such means. For more information about the EnergyStar Challenge, please visit their website.
|
|
WasteWise |
Building upon our commitment to reducing waste in the regular course of business, we have also joined the EPA’s WasteWise program. Through WasteWise, we will continue to minimize our contribution to municipal waste streams by emphasizing reduced resource use in daily operations, particularly through recycling and the more efficient use of paper. WasteWise success depends on employee involvement and enthusiasm. As such, internal teams have been established to monitor and minimize waste and provide employee education on related practices. To find out more about WasteWise, please visit their website.
For more information on Morrison & Foerster’s Sustainability Commitment, please contact cleantech@mofo.com.
