Board member Erin Devery said the program, that comprises five components — community affiliation, environment, governance, pro bono and workplace and people — would make a real difference to the way the firm communicated its philosophies.

“We’ve been doing a lot of these things, as firms do, but we’ve really drawn it all together and made it all more powerful under the corporate social responsibility umbrella. It demonstrates to the staff the commitment of the firm and will gives them more opportunities to become involved and it becomes a lot more focused under the one umbrella which we are pushing forward,” Devery said.

The firm has also reviewed its suppliers to make sure they meet its philosophies.

Under the program, Middletons has entered a partnership with Oxfam which it hopes will be long-term.

It has also been involved with the ZeroSeven “Make Poverty History” road trip, which saw 500 young people from around Australia travelling on buses spreading the Make Poverty History message. As part of that, six concerts were staged along the route featuring artists like Missy Higgins and the John Butler Trio.