Climate change transition
As a firm, we are investing in resources to help us minimize our impact on the environment, improve the resilience of our business operations to environmental risks and impacts, and maximize our ability to help our clients transition to a low carbon economy.
Read our latest Climate Transition Plan
Our progress
We have set a SBTi approved target of a near term 90% reduction in scope 1 and scope 2 (market) emissions by 2030 and made a commitment to minimizing the impact of these emissions by purchasing and retiring carbon credits while working towards this near-term target. We have also undertaken to minimize the impact of selected scope 3 emissions generated by travel (land, sea, air). In addition, we have set a long-term emissions reduction target for all three scopes by 2050.
We remain on track to reach both our 2030 and 2050 Net Zero targets. We are working to increase the quality of our scope 3 data to help us create targeted emissions reduction initiatives, with a current focus on business travel and providing support to our suppliers.
Metrics and targets
We measure our GHG emissions and report our progress against targets annually in our Climate Transition Plan and mandatory disclosures. We also report our GHG emissions and other sustainability metrics on platforms including the UN Global Compact, CDP, and EcoVadis.
Policy statements
The policy statements described here are applicable to our global operations. These statements are complemented by internal local policies and supplemental guidance.
- Environment | We are committed to minimizing the environmental impacts of our business operations and increasing our resilience to environmental risks and impacts. We comply with the relevant environmental legislation in the jurisdictions in which we operate and have an ongoing program of ISO 14001 certification.
- Energy | Our Energy Policy is designed to reduce our impact on the environment, manage our business running costs, and promote a comfortable working environment for our employees. We manage energy consumption in our offices to reduce GHG emissions where possible and promote the procurement of renewable energy.
- Travel | Our Global Travel Policy sets the expectation to use train/rail where possible for travel taking less than four hours or other lower emission forms of transport depending on regional variations and practicalities.
Climate scenario analysis
In 2024, we conducted a climate scenario analysis, which considered a range of scenarios with a focus on (i) a scenario where the increase in global temperatures is aligned to 1.5C by 2100 and (ii) a scenario where global temperatures increase by approximately 2.4C by 2100.
Assumptions in the analysis included the use of legal mechanisms to achieve emissions reductions in line with national and international commitments, increased insurance, procurement and maintenance costs, potential instability in energy costs and provision during the transition to a low carbon economy, and additional disclosure requirements across the value chain.
Considering the likely risks and opportunities regarding transition, mitigation, and adaptation under these scenarios, we identified the following potential risks and opportunities which are likely to be material to our business:
- Regulation | Both scenarios are likely to lead to an increase in regulation over the medium to long term, including reporting and disclosure requirements. It also provides an opportunity to provide enhanced legal services underpinned by practical experience.
- Reputation | Both scenarios give rise to potential reputational risks in the short to medium term which could arise from issues such as greenwashing, value chain emissions, and corporate sustainability ratings. In response to these risks, we have appointed a Head of ESG Reporting to provide accuracy and consistency of related data and we are implementing measures to facilitate improved estimation of our value chain emissions and due diligence.
- Operational | Different scenarios provide different levels of risk to our business operations. We have established risk management protocols for all our offices, which consider a range of risks, including physical disruption, and we are undertaking a forward-looking analysis of our climate-related risks in the lease renewal/new lease process.
We have recently completed our 2025 climate scenario analysis, details of which can be found in our latest Climate Transition Plan.
Carbon credits
We have made a commitment to minimizing the impact of our scope 1 and scope 2 (market) emissions as we work towards our 2030 net zero target. In addition, we have undertaken to minimize the impact of selected scope 3 emissions generated by travel (land, sea, air).
Our approach is to purchase carbon credits aligned to the source of emissions. The types of credits we endeavor to purchase for each scope are:
- Scope 1 | Carbon dioxide removal projects e.g., biochar.*
- Scope 2 | Energy Attribute Certificates which, where possible, are purchased from the country of origin and recognized renewable energy sources (wind, solar, and geothermal).
- Scope 3 | Projects which work towards the goals and principles of the SBTi 'beyond value chain mitigation' (BVCM) goals and principles by funneling finance into the carbon credit market e.g., REDD+ projects (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation); conservation projects such as the protection and restoration of mangroves, marshes, and reefs; and energy efficiency projects such as cookstove projects.
Since May 2022, we have purchased and retired 77,000+ tCO2e of carbon credits. This corresponds to our measured scope 1 emissions since 2022 and estimated business travel emissions (land, air, and sea) since 2019. The current mix of our carbon credit portfolio is 2% mixed, 20% removals, and 80% avoidance. In addition, we have purchased Energy Attribute Certificates equivalent to our scope 2 (market) emissions since 2022.
We endeavor to follow the current best practice to identify appropriate carbon credits and keep this under annual review to revise our strategy as appropriate. This is set out in our Carbon Credit Purchase and Retirement Policy.
Details of carbon credits purchased and retired to date are listed in our latest Climate Transition Plan.
*The IPCC has stated that CDR is required to achieve global and national targets of net zero which makes investment in these projects of particular value. IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Factsheet_CDR.pdf
Supplier engagement
We continue to develop our supplier onboarding and outreach strategy with the intention of informing suppliers of our sustainability journey and supporting the development of their own targets and ambitions.
We expect our suppliers and business partners to share our pledge to promote fair business practices centered around ethical, lawful, and sustainable practices. We expect all vendors to adhere to all applicable laws and regulations and our Supplier Code of Conduct. We have implemented a vendor onboarding process that collects, within applicable regulatory requirements, information about our global supply chain. We have a formalized approval policy, and our Responsible Business Procurement Policy outlines our expectations around corporate sustainability considerations.
Our Global Procurement team works in collaboration with our Data Privacy and Information Security teams to complete a comprehensive evaluation of our third party providers. The vendor onboarding process includes screening questions aligned to our corporate sustainability processes and include questions related to the vendor's policies and procedures to prevent bribery, money laundering, fraud, modern slavery, and human trafficking.
Climate conversations
In response to the growing prevalence of "climate anxiety" and in partnership with youth-led organization Force of Nature, we hosted Climate Cafes in some of our offices in Asia-Pacific and EMEA. The structured sessions are designed to enable conversations about the climate in a safe and non-judgmental space and are led by a trained facilitator. Over 92% of participants said the conversations provided an opportunity to discuss feelings about the climate that are often difficult to express in daily life.
We also held Climate Fresk workshops for a cross-functional group of colleagues in our London and Singapore offices. Climate Fresk uses information sourced from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to teach the science behind climate change to empower participants to take action. Following the workshops, respondents noted that they had learned new information about climate change and broader sustainability issues.
We plan to roll out further Climate Cafes and Climate Fresk workshops in the coming months.
