 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Wendel Rosen Takes The Natural Step to Going GreenJanuary 11, 2012One of my objectives in writing GreenWorksGov is to profile the successful green business practices of law firms, public agencies, and businesses. Wendel Rosen is a law firm in the Bay Area that has been involved in going green for nearly ten years. That’s impressive, but even more so is what the firm has accomplished. In 2003, Wendel Rosen became a certified Bay Area Green Business, and in recognition of their continuing commitment to sustainable business practices, has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations. Here are some of the steps the firm has taken to reduce its carbon footprint:
· Moving to all "Energy Star" electronics
· Worked with building on waste separation and recycling programs
· Give purchasing preferences to items with high recycled content
· Converted many internal memos and reports to email versions
· Set default copying procedure for double-sided wherever feasible
· Shifted to 100% post-consumer content, chlorine-free paper
Wendel Rosen formed a Sustainability Team comprised of attorneys and staff to tackle the challenge of identifying actions the firm could take to meet the high standards of Bay Area Green Business certification. The firm follows The Natural Step Sustainability Framework, created by Karl-Henrik Robert, a Swedish physician and cancer specialist. If you haven’t heard of The Natural Step, neither had I. According to their website, the Framework “builds on a basic understanding of what makes life possible, how our biosphere functions and how we are part of the earth’s natural systems. Rather than get lost in abstract definitions and causes, it builds on a platform of basic science and is designed to allow true interdisciplinary, cross sector cooperation for concrete and measurable change towards sustainability.”
As I understand it, The Natural Step provides that tangible link between “sustainability” and the actions we ask of employees, for example, printing back to back. It provides the larger framework of the natural world around us and our relationship to all living things and helps us to understand how the choices we make in our daily lives, at work and at home, impact our environment for better or worse.
There are some very helpful resources on the website, and one I think should be required reading for every member of a green team is the sustainability primer. This is an excellent resource to link to on your Intranets. Click here for a pdf of the primer for the US. The website has other versions for other languages and countries. The Natural Step is headquartered in Sweden, with offices around the world.
The Wendel Rosen team and the firm continue to look for ways to conserve energy, reduce waste, and increase staff’s use of mass transit. I really like their commitment to work within their larger communities to improve the environment and promote sustainable economies. Learn more about Wendel Rosen by clicking here.
|
||
Thank you very much for your kind words. I chair Wendel Rosen's Green Business Practice Group, and I am very proud of the many accomplishments that we have achieved in making our business more sustainable, and in encouraging other businesses to do the same. Since forming our Green Business Practice Group in 2003, Wendel Rosen has provided green businesses (and "traditional" businesses) sound legal advice in areas such as climate change, green building, renewable energy, organic food/natural products, and more. We are also very proud to have helped draft and advocate for the recent passage of AB 361, California's landmark Benefit Corporation legislation. This legislation allows a business to opt to consider non-financial interests and specific public benefits (ex. preserving the environment, promoting community, or improving human health) as a way of operating without exposing it to shareholder liability. You can learn more about the legislation by listening to an mp3 interview with one of the bill authors on our blog at www.TheWendelForum.com. This is where we post all episodes from our weekly radio show, in which we discuss what is happening and what is interesting in the green business space. We're definitely enjoying the trip on this sustainable path!