Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability and Why Law Firms Should Care (ALM Mid-Market Report)
Law firms need to step up and lead with innovation and creative thinking around social responsibility and sustainability to ensure a viable future for their firms, clients, the economy and society.
Gina Rubel’s latest Mid-Market Report article emphasizes the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability in the legal industry. She discusses the need for law firms to step up and lead with innovation and creative thinking.
Social impact and sustainability are high priority for law firm clients’ procurement and supply chain management.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), expected to be implemented by 2030, were developed to help companies focus on CSR and sustainability by working with other companies who have also made similar commitments. Increasingly, law firms are seeing questions around sustainability in RFPs and need to be prepared to provide answers on how they are contributing to CSR and sustainability.
As lawyers are skilled in regulations, legislation, public / private partnerships, and how to make things happen, they are prime to lead this movement toward reaching the UNSDG goals. One firm, Nixon Peabody, developed a model for generating solar arrays on D.C. commercial rooftops. This initiative was supported by the firm’s pro bono program and is a great example of a sustainable initiative.