Media Release | Gadens Melbourne and Sydney pledge to be carbon neutral within next 12 months

The Gadens Melbourne and Sydney partnership has today announced that it will achieve certified carbon neutral status within the next 12 months and reach Net Zero by 2030. It also said it has adopted the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals framework as part of its enhanced focus on sustainability and social impact under its new strategic plan.

Commenting on the firm’s sustainability goals, Mark Pistilli, Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne and Sydney partnership said:

“Sustainability and Social Impact is now one of the firm’s key strategic pillars, and we are investing heavily in it. It is important to our staff, our clients, our communities and our planet and we will play our part – alongside other contributing Governments and businesses. I have asked everyone at Gadens to play a part as we strive for even more success in this area. We want to ensure that our impact is positive in everything we do, something we encourage all other businesses to join us in doing.”

Gadens has also announced dramatic reductions in their environmental footprint over the last two years. Notable achievements over this period include:

• The Gadens PaperLite program decreased annual paper consumption by 73.29%, saving an average of 169 trees and 633,600 litres of water every year.
• A 54.28% decrease in Greenhouse emissions from electricity.
• Reduction of carbon emissions from plane travel by over 70% since 2019. This annually reduces carbon emissions by approximately 76,860kg on flying alone.
• Every staff member has been provided with a reusable coffee cup and water bottle, dramatically reducing single use items in the office.
• Gadens’ Melbourne home at 447 Collins Street has a 6-star Greenstar accreditation and 5.5 star NABERS energy rating.

As part of its renewed focus on sustainability, Gadens has appointed Sophie McNamara as the Head of Sustainability and Social Impact and Cassandra Krylov as a Senior Advisor in the newly created Sustainability and Social Impact team. Formalising the Sustainability and Social Impact function has enabled Gadens to build on the success already achieved through Gadens’ Sustainable Supply Chain Management policies and participation in the Australian Legal Sector Alliance’s annual reporting process.

Sophie McNamara, Head of Sustainability and Social Impact, added:

“We know that our success as a firm and as individuals is aligned with the wellbeing of our community and planet. We’ve always had a professional responsibility to support our community with pro bono legal assistance, and we’ve been proud to build on that foundation when it comes to respecting the earth’s resources and supporting communities to thrive.”

 Click below to see a snapshot of our goals and achievements.