www.istockphoto.com

Follow our step-by-step guide to understand how one law firm has got to grips with corporate social responsibility and successfully 'greened' its entire company and supply chain

Rosanne Russo is the global travel manager of international law firm Reed Smith LLP based in Pittsburgh. It is one of the top 15 law firms globally, with an annual global travel spend of US$5million, more than half of which is spent on air and the majority of the total spend – 70 per cent – going on domestic travel.

Russo has around 2,500 travellers flying on business across the States, to Europe and China and between the company’s 24 offices. They are all savvy frequent travellers who understand the intricacies of business travel, who require a high touch service and who need to keep one step ahead.

It was the UK office’s travel management company that led the way on one particular challenge the travellers raised: how to deal with greening the company’s supply chain. In tandem with this Reed Smith wanted to imbue the company culture with green ethics. It was a tall order as Russo had only just joined the company in December 2006 when this groundswell of opinion from various partners and attorneys was vocalised. Their customers were asking the question about carbon emissions reduction and they needed an answer, and fast. “It sent alarm bells going,” recalls Russo.

Two years on and Reed Smith won Legal Business Awards 2008 CSR Firm of the Year. This award is primarily based on pro bono and community initiatives, and set a standard which it will continue to improve. Read on to discover how Russo successfully tackled this environmental issue.

STEP 1: Russo researched the market for a carbon calculator. “I evaluated the idea and realised how important it was for us to implement, even though our non-US countries – particularly the UK and the rest of Europe - were more interested in it than anywhere else,” she says.

During her research she discovered that the company’s UK travel management company, ATP – which services Reed Smith in seven countries – already had a carbon calculator. “We looked at what was out there and most calculators were designed for the leisure travel sector, which is principally point to point travel, so we developed our own version and wrote our own software so it would allow for multiple sector travel (up to six sectors),” explains Jeremy King, Head of Marketing at ATP, which took the lead on the project.

Accuracy of carbon calculation is difficult as, explains ATP's King, “the amount of carbon you create is dependent on what seat you occupy on a plane, but we think our calculator is better than what’s out there. At the time of launch in February 2007 we had a unique way of deliver-ing information, which was at point of sale so a traveller could see the carbon value when booking a trip.“ ATP provides consolidated information on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis for offsetting purposes.

STEP 2: Reduce or offset carbon emissions? It was already a given that Reed Smith could not reduce the volume of travel, as travel demand is driven by its customers, explains Russo, so its only option was to offset. Lawyers have to travel and cannot defend their clients by videoconference.

ATP chooses not to advise on offsetting as ATP's King believes it’s fraught with difficulties. “Some offsetting companies say ‘plant forests’, others say ‘don’t plant forests but help developing countries.’ We want to be completely neutral so we give an accurate calculation, but how you use it is entirely up to you. We do the bit we’re good at.”

Reed Smith already had a Green Committee in place so Russo’s role was to come up with a suitable offsetting programme then hand it over to the internal department to decide on the finer detail. The committee then determines the offset donation.

STEP 3: Russo then looked to green her supply chain. She utilised a green RFP template from the NBTA so she could find an approved green hotel in each of the 14 office locations it operates in North America, in time for publication of its 2009 Hotel Directory this December. Cost is an issue, but offering one 'green' hotel per location is a priority. “I can’t spend money on green so rates will have to be in line with other non-green hotels,” she says. There will be two tiers of hotel supply, one for upper management and another for everyone else.

“I think we may be switching some suppliers, particularly on hotels as the green hotels will get more volume,” says Russo. She understands the difficulty of proving hotels’ green credentials but will be asking each of them to “step up to the plate. I know that older buildings are more difficult to turn green than newer buildings but the industry needs to come up with a rating. The meeting planners, hotel associations and the NBTA should pull together to make it easier for everyone.”

Up until that time, Russo is double checking what the hotels tell her and requesting their green credentials in writing. “I’m doing a lot of networking and reading,” she says with understatement. That’s one of the main reasons that Russo is not rolling out the green hotel programme worldwide.

“I have 14 different areas to concentrate on in the US currently, but when I take it on internationally it’ll be a lot of work and I’m hoping that green standards will be in place by then,” Russo explains.

She is less concerned with greening her air supply chain as she appreciates that little can be done until airlines update their fleet, which is a particularly tall order in the current economic climate. “It’s kind of scary at the moment,” she says.

Trains are always evaluated as an alternative to air from both a cost standpoint and which transport mode makes more sense for the traveller. “They’re savvy travellers so that makes it easier for me,” says Russo. There are also plans to examine how green its supply chain is in the car hire sector and influence the type of vehicles available to rent.

STEP 4: Reed Smith chose not to mandate. “The traveller still has the final say on whether they choose the green hotel or not but if they’re working with a customer who is into it, it would make sense to book it,” says Russo. “A lot of people feel very personal about this issue,” she adds.

STEP 5: Not content with progress in the supply chain, Reed Smith also took the green agenda internally. The Pittsburgh office is moving to a new, more carbon efficient building in May 2009 and the firm is already recycling rubbish and using green products.

“The initiative to be green is firm wide,” explains Russo. “Every employee is expected to do their part. As a manager, it is a responsi-bility to link your area of expertise to the firm’s initiative in whatever way possible. The travel industry has a lot to offer here and there is therefore the opportunity for me to play an important role in the firm’s initiative.”

Russo is more than content with the work done to date, and the recognition for all her efforts. Her advice to others embarking on a similar programmes is simple: ‘’The most important thing is to have a good relationship with your travel agency and to rely on them for good information. They’re in the know and we have worked together throughout this project.

“We looked at carbon costing initially and thought, ‘this is too much work’, but once it’s up and running it’s easy. Don’t be afraid to start as once it starts up, it runs on its own.”
And her final piece of advice is simply not to take on too much: “Take baby steps if you’re starting out for the first time in this direction.”

BACK