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HSF office switches to 100% renewable energy
The Herbert Smith Freehills Sydney office has made a further commitment to its net zero goals — and has switched to 100 per cent renewable energy.
Lauren Croft
HSF has become one of the first law firms in Australia to sign a virtual power purchase agreement, which will see its Sydney office powered entirely by wind and solar energy.
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The agreement, with wholesale electricity retailer Flow Power, officially came into effect on 1 July 2022.
HSF Australia and Asia executive partner, Australia and Asia, Andrew Pike said the move reflects the firm’s ambitious clean energy targets and its place as Australia’s leading law firm for energy transition work.
“In 2020 we were one of the first law firms to set a target to reduce our global carbon emissions to net zero by 2030,” he said.
“We have been wasting no time pursuing this target with Sydney joining other offices in our global network using 100 per cent renewable energy, including our London, Belfast, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Madrid offices. This list will only grow as other offices, in Australia and abroad, pursue renewable energy opportunities.
“In addition to powering our Sydney office entirely with clean energy, this power purchase agreement is also supporting local renewables projects and helping transition the state’s electricity grid to renewable power.”
Mr Pike added that the firm was particularly proud to have advised on some of Australia’s largest and most ambitious clean energy projects.
“Named as Australia’s leading legal adviser on renewables by deal value, our firm has supported over half of all renewable projects and transactions in the country,” Mr Pike said.
“This includes advising Edify Energy on the largest utility scale grid-forming battery in the National Electricity Market, and advising BP on its investment in the proposed Asian Renewable Energy Hub — slated to be one of the largest green hydrogen production facilities in the world.”
This news follows the release of a report last year from Ashurst, which confirmed that the vast majority of organisations have a strategic goal to work towards net zero emissions.
This has been emulated in a number of firms: Pinsent Masons publicly committed to abate at least 90 per cent of its baseline emissions, Hall & Wilcox joined the United Nations Global Compact, and Lander & Rogers has been certified as a carbon-neutral firm.
