Carbonreduce® Certification Solidifies Chapman Tripp's Commitment To Environmental Sustainability

Chapman Tripp meets the requirements of Toitū's carbonreduce® certification programme, having measured its greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with ISO 14064-1:2006. The firm is committed to managing and reducing its carbon footprint and has developed an emissions management plan to reach reduction targets.

Previously named Enviro-Mark Solutions, Toitū Envirocare audited and measured the firm's carbon footprint for the reporting period 1 December 2017 to 30 November 2018 – with results being published by Toitū this week.

Edward Scorgie, Chapman Tripp’s Corporate Social Responsibility Chair said, “We are reviewing policies and processes for assessing the need for and methods of business travel, reduction and continued recycling of paper and food waste throughout our offices. We are also looking to apply the lessons we have learned over lockdown to inform long term changes to how we operate.”

“The first step in cutting our carbon footprint is understanding our current impact. Now that our baseline carbon footprint is known, we will be talking with our people about what sustainability means for us and them, and how we can better incorporate it into what we do”, says Scorgie.

Chapman Tripp hopes to exceed a conservative initial target of an absolute emissions reduction of at least 3% by 30 November 2022 and the firm is now gearing up to be audited by Toitū for their second reporting period.

Sustainability is high on the firm’s agenda. As part of the firm’s commitment, Chapman Tripp is a member of both the Sustainable Business Council, and the Sustainable Business Network.

The firm is also a partner in The Aotearoa Circle, a unique partnership of public and private sector leaders focused on the pursuit of sustainable prosperity and reversing the decline of New Zealand’s natural resources. Chapman Tripp actively contributes to the Sustainable Finance Forum’s report and roadmap on how New Zealand can move to a more sustainable financial system. Partners Penny Sheerin and Emma Sutcliffe are members of the Forum’s leadership group and technical working group respectively.

In conjunction with Aotearoa Circle, last year Chapman Tripp Partner Daniel Kalderimis and Senior Associate Nicola Swan led a ground-breaking assessment on the duties of company directors and fund (scheme) managers to assess climate change risk in their decision-making. The firm is currently working on a further project with the Circle, producing a toolkit for directors on management of climate change risk in New Zealand. It is intended to make climate risk manageable for boards and provide insight on latest legal trends, and is due to be launched in September 2020.

Chapman Tripp’s Auckland office moved into the PwC Tower at Commercial Bay this week – a building where sustainability underpins the design, construction and operation. With a ‘5 Green Star NZ Office Design’ standard, the firm’s new home at Commercial Bay showcases state-of-the-art building services and systems such as rain water harvesting for cooling, a purpose built loading dock to accommodate multiple recycling streams, and organic waste composted on site in worm farm bins located in the basement.

Chapman Tripp is a leading opinion shaper in the climate change area. The firm’s team of legal specialists assist across various practice areas on climate change-related matters, provide practical mitigation and adaptation advice, and insight into what the future might look like.

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