Greener Litigation
The pledge
In June 2019 the UK became the first country to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. In 2020 the impact of COVID-19, prompted Mischon de Reya to propose that climate change should be put at the centre of review of how litigation is undertaken in English courts. It was identified that the impact of remote hearings on carbon emissions was one of seven urgent priorities.
Mischon de Reya went on to develop a group to pursue this, bringing about the Greener Litigation Pledge.
The Greener Litigation project’s objective is to ensure that the courts and court users of England and Wales play a part in achieving the goal of ending contribution to global warming by 2050.
The project aims for solicitors, barristers’ chambers and dispute professionals to be actively committed to reducing their carbon footprint. So, as contentious probate solicitors when we were approached to sign the Greener Litigation pledge it was a bit of a no brainer for us at IDR.
Green since day one
Being green is not new to us, since we started five years ago Martin made sure IDR was set up as a ‘paperless’ working environment and it has continued ever since.
Not only does being paperless have the benefits of increased efficiency and the ability to recruit the best legal professionals in our field from all over the country, it also significantly reduces our carbon footprint, making our pledge to go green where we can, much easier. All of the paper waste at Harrogate is currently recycled by the company who disposes of our confidential paper waste and becomes toilet rolls or paper towels!
The hybrid working model introduced, long before Covid significantly changed our working patterns, also means we reduce our carbon emissions on a daily basis, just in terms of travel to and from the office.
We are pleased to say we have now signed up to the Greener Litigation Pledge. As an organisation involved in dispute resolution, we have pledged to ‘reach the position where the most sustainable options in litigation become the default’.