According to the UNAA, Allens won the award due to "its performance and approach to sustainability, as well as its ability to influence both ... suppliers and clients from an environmental, social and community perspective".

Partner and member of the firm's Footprint Secretariat Jackie O'Brien said sustainability has come to influence all aspects of the firm's decision-making processes, planning and operations.

"A cross-section of people from across our offices make up our Footprint Committees, and they are the ones driving change and they are the ones continually suggesting what changes we can make that will reduce our organisation's environmental footprint," she said.

In striving for sustainability, the firm has made some significant changes to the way it operates, such as virtualising servers, reducing paper usage by 47 per cent, switching to GreenPower, becoming a Fairtrade workplace, providing subsidised KeepCups, supplying public transport tickets instead of cab charges, and removing globes from all fridges.