Commitment to achieving Net Zero
Hempsons LLP (“Hempsons”) is committed to meeting its compliance, legal, regulatory obligations and to protect the environment both directly through its own initiatives and services and also indirectly using its influence to affect the practices of others.
Hempsons is committed to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2040.
Baseline Emissions Footprint
Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases (GHG) that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.
| Baseline* Year:
12 months to 30th June 2023 |
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| Additional Details relating to the Baseline Emissions calculations | |||||||||||||
| The GHG inventory ending on the 30th June 2023 presented within this Carbon Reduction Plan represents Hempsons baseline emissions footprint, as the LLP was formed on the 1st July 2022. | |||||||||||||
| Baseline year emissions: 247 tCO2e | |||||||||||||
| EMISSIONS** | TOTAL (tCO2e) | ||||||||||||
| Scope 1 – fugitive emissions from refrigerant use on site | 12.0 | ||||||||||||
| Scope 2 – electricity consumption | 55.10 | ||||||||||||
| Scope 3 | 179.90 comprising of:
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| Total Emissions | 247.0 | ||||||||||||
*Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.
**As defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP).
Current Emissions Reporting
| Reporting Year: 12 months to 30th June 2023 | |
| EMISSIONS | TOTAL (tCO2e) |
| Scope 1 – fugitive emissions from refrigerant use on site | 12.0 |
| Scope 2 – electricity consumption | 55.1 |
| Scope 3 – waste generated in operations | 30.6 |
| Scope 3 – upstream transportation and distribution | 17.2 |
| Scope 3 – business travel | 39.7 |
| Scope 3 – employee commuting | 92.4 |
| Scope 3 – downstream transportation and distribution (*Hempsons – is a law firm and does not have any downstream transportation) | 0* |
| Total Emissions | 247.0 |
Emissions reduction targets
As part of our commitment to reduce our environmental footprint, Hempsons has committed to reach Net Zero by 2040.
In order to continue our progress to achieving this, Hempsons has adopted the following carbon reduction targets;
- We project that carbon emissions will decrease over the next five years to 174 tCO2e by 2028, as we continue to implement measures to reduce our impact.
- This is a reduction of 29%.
Progress against these targets can be seen in the graph below:
Carbon Reduction Projects
In order to continue our progress against reaching our Net Zero target commitment, we have adopted a series of measures to reduce our operations’ carbon footprint.
As part of our International ISO 14001 accreditation, we are able to monitor our consumption around waste and energy across our operations. This will aid us in managing and reducing our emissions around these areas against our current baseline year (12 months to 30th June 2023).
In terms of emissions relating to our travel and logistics, we are currently identifying opportunities to reduce our impact by promoting schemes such as the cycle-to-work scheme, enhancing flexible working for employee commuting, maintaining hybrid working practices and maintaining virtual meetings opportunities for business travel, and engaging with our couriers to improve our upstream transportation emissions.
Building on Hempsons’ commitment to reach Net Zero the following environmental management measures and projects have been completed or implemented:
- Hempsons’ Environmental Management System is in place across all five offices.
- Commitment to maintaining the international environmental accreditation standard: ISO14001 (Environmental Management System);
- 100% usage across all five offices of recycled paper/ paper from sustainable sources;
- Paper consumption (measured by reams) reduction across all five offices supporting our paperless operations;
- Introduction of software to monitor and measure the environmental impact of our printers including:
- Trees consumed by our printing;
- CO2 produced (Kg);
- Equivalent bulb hours;
- Waste / recycling initiatives as a result of downsizing and relocation of office spaces to include:
- Metal recycling;
- Wood recycling;
- Donation of wood / glass to local causes (e.g. local gardeners / farmers);
- Equipment recycling and reuse (e.g. desks, cabinets and chairs);
- Confidential Waste monitored with reference to:
- Trees saved;
- Landfill saved (M3);
- Kilowatt hours saved
- CO2 saved (Kg) and
- Water saved (Litres) :
In the future Hempsons aim to implement further measures such as:
- work closely with and influence our supply chain as part of our carbon reduction commitment;
- engage and encourage our staff to participate in initiatives across the business and in their home life;
- raise awareness and actively promote our commitment to environmental aspects which we directly control and can influence;
Declaration and Sign Off
This Carbon Reduction Plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.
Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the GHG Reporting Protocol corporate standard[1] and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting[2].
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard[3].
This Carbon Reduction Plan has been reviewed and signed off by Hempsons Management Board.
Signed on behalf of Hempsons LLP:
Graham Lea
Managing Partner, Hempsons
Date: 9th November 2023
[1]https://ghgprotocol.org/corporate-standard
[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-conversion-factors-for-company-reporting