Freshfields is working with the London-based CarbonNeutral Company to assess its emissions in each office and look at ways to reduce and offset its emissions.

Konstantin Mettenheimer, joint senior partner, said in a statement: “In practice, reducing our global carbon emissions will mean making changes in energy use and working practices. There is a great deal we can do, for example, by reducing our air freight and air travel by using technology such as videoconferencing more widely, increasing our waste recycling, and reducing paper use.”

A number of UK firms have already become carbon neutral. Simmons and Simmons became the first firm to go carbon neutral across all its international offices in November, while SJ Berwin and Hill Dickinson have been carbon neutral for some time.

Jeremy Davies from Australian eco company Neco said Australian law firms have shown little interest in adopting carbon offset schemes.

“Lawyers that we’ve dealt with are very excited by our industry because it’s a totally new field and a strange sort of business, but they aren’t really adopting it themselves. However, they should really be looking to make their offices not only carbon neutral but simply more energy efficient by getting a commercial building assessment — that’s the right strategy,” Davies said.

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