ESG is so much more than just printing and paper usage, however, as the average UK lawyer prints approximately 10,000 pages per year, it’s a good place to start.
At Mills & Reeve we’re navigating the paper mountain and leveraging our ESG goals by embracing the technology and innovation available to us.
But don’t just take our word for it! Audrey Fidegnon-Edoh, a second-year history student recently spent 6 weeks with us as part of the 10,000 Black Interns programme. We asked Audrey to lend a helping hand with this article by gathering her observations as she moved around her various seats. To her surprise, ESG just kept on cropping up, pleasingly proving to be very much part of the agenda across Mills & Reeve!
The Covid effect
Covid-19 launched law firms into a semi-paperless limbo, and we are now trying to navigate the legacy of surplus paper copies, hard copy bundle court requirements and the temptation to slip back into pre-pandemic print button habits.
But all is not lost. This limbo comes at the perfect time as businesses are becoming increasingly aware and concerned with setting and achieving ESG goals. Mills & Reeve is at a tipping point between reverting back to old levels of paper consumption (which we are furiously peddling against) or forging a paperless future.
Greener Litigation Pledge
To encourage and incentivise our people to make ESG a focal part of everyday work, and to avoid slipping back into unsustainable habits of old, Mills & Reeve has signed up to the Greener Litigation Pledge. The Pledge seeks to support the use of technology and green practices in litigation and across the wider firm.
For our litigation teams, signing up to the Pledge has made these green commitments a must to avoid any form of green washing, and requires a change in mentality to achieve the relevant targets.
Innovation
So, what does this have to do with innovation and legal technology? Well, to achieve our ESG goals we need to bring our people with us on the journey. Innovation for Mills & Reeve is not just about the big ideas and eureka moments. It’s about any new ideas, however small, that can help to solve challenges effectively. With this approach in mind, it’s the simple but impactful changes that help to change mentality and culture when it comes to ESG.
In order to achieve the bigger picture, sometimes you have to split ambitions into smaller marginal gains. For example, in our Cambridge office the roller racking systems, which have been a large part of the office for decades, were recently removed to make space for functional working spaces. By removing unnecessary filing, we are making a conscious effort to seek alternative solutions for sending and storing files, reserving printing as a last resort. This small change is helping us to drive the right behaviours in our people.
Back to basics technology
Engagement with back to basics technology has also increased exponentially since the pandemic. Lawyers and support staff are all too familiar with the arduous process of printing and compiling hundreds of pages of bundles and/or other large documents. Paper reducing technologies such as Bundledocs and Nitro Pro that were seen as “nice to have” pre-pandemic are now essential tools for document handling.
Back to basics technology not only saves trees, but also time, a precious commodity in the life of a lawyer! A simple tap of command F to search for key clauses in an agreement replaces endless paper flicking. Hyperlinked indexes, Sharefile, attending hearings remotely to reduce unnecessary travel, and promoting paperless bundles are all simple time, energy and paper saving tweaks that can help us reduce emissions.
This leads us in nicely to our top tips for using innovation and technology to leverage ESG goals.
Top tips
- Complete an audit of the technology that you already have available. Chances are it will have additional functionality that could be utilised to facilitate less printing (e.g. Did you know that Nitro Pro has quick signature and mark up features?)
- Set your printer to automatically print in B&W duplex mode to save unnecessary single sided sheets of colour
- Posh paper? If you absolutely need to print, but it’s not an engrossment, use recycled paper.
- Set pop ups to question and discourage unnecessary printing – “do you really need to print this email chain for review?”
Finally, remember that it is everyone’s responsibility to be the positive change and to feel confident to challenge those who have resorted to a previously accepted print culture. Good luck!
Grace MacWilliam, Victoria Sears and Jodie Hosmer
Mills & Reeve
Want to know more about ESG? Feel free to listen to the ‘Talking ESG’ podcast by clicking on the link below:
Talking ESG podcast | Legal advice | Mills & Reeve (mills-reeve.com)
