Lawyers, Firms Note Green Milestones on Earth Day
Although recession-weary lawyers may find it harder to go green this Earth Day when they’re focused on making green, environmental lawyer Claudia Rast says attorneys have more reason to celebrate the planet now than ever.
Rast, chair of the American Bar Association Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, and a principal at Pear Sperling Eggan & Daniels, in Ann Arbor, Mich., says the past 39 years of efforts by lawyers, activists and citizens to enact environmental legislation, reduce pollution and clean former toxic areas should be acknowledged, even as political adversaries debate the path to a healthier environment, in an editorial for The Detroit News.
In that vein, the ABA, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, launched a nationwide public service endeavor today, which calls on the nation’s lawyers to plant one million trees across the U.S. in the next five years. Through the One Million Trees Project—The Right Tree for the Right Place at the Right Time, lawyers can purchase trees to be planted in their communities by partner organizations or find hands-on tree planting efforts throughout the country.
The ABA also renewed its commitment today to the ABA-EPA Law Office Climate Challenge, which runs through March 2010 and encourages law firms to take specific steps to conserve energy and resources.
Below is a roundup of a few of the initiatives environmentally savvy law firms are employing.
Quarles & Brady announced the formation of its Clean Energy, Climate Change & Sustainability industry group to advise clients on the growing web of legal issues and business concerns linked to the environment.
Rather than dictate a single firmwide event, Virginia-based Hunton & Williams’ U.S. and international offices each launched its own Earth Day initiative, including a community e-waste recycling day, composting program and cleaning up beaches, parks and nearby rivers.
Chicago-based Levenfeld Pearlstein sent an e-memorandum documenting the green, as in dollars, the firm has saved since replacing all of its incandescent office light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs and discontinuing the use of styrofoam and plastic cups. These efforts reduce the firm’s overhead by $18,265 a year.
Isaacson Rosenbaum, a Denver-based firm, will relocate its office later this year to a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified space. In the new space, the firm is installing carpets, flooring and countertops that are made from recycled content as well as daylight-responsive light controls that will use less light on sunny days.
Did your firm or office recognize Earth Day?
