Sometimes the smallest actions can have the biggest impacts on the environment. If you have always wanted to make a conscious green contribution, but have considered it a daunting undertaking, here is a list of 10 easy and quick things you can do every day to reduce your carbon footprint1 and help make our world a greener place to live and practice law.
Reconsider Your Commute. Consider taking advantage of public transportation, carpooling, walking or biking to work whenever possible to avoid using your car. According to Patrick Schneider, partner in the land use and municipal practice groups at Foster Pepper PLLC, the benefits of riding a bike to work are tremendous.
“I ride [my bike] to work whenever I can because it’s fun, it’s a great way to relieve the stress of being an attorney and it puts balance in my life (literally and figuratively),” he says. “Plus, it gets me out in the weather and the seasons even though I have a desk job, it keeps me fit for an old guy and it’s good for the planet.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, leaving your car at home just two days a week will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year.2
Shut Down Before You Take Off. Before leaving work, take a moment to shut down your computer. Shutting down your computer when it will be idle for more than two hours results in an energy savings of up to 70%. “ENERGY STAR® computers power down to a sleep mode that consumes 15 watts or less power, which is around 70% less electricity than a computer without power management features,” says Stephanie Terrell, project assistant at Cascadia Consulting Group.3
Many PCs also come with a power-down or “sleep mode” feature for the CPU and monitor, so become familiar with the technology in your office.
Turn off the Lights in Your Office. Office buildings consume the most energy of all building types, accounting for 19% of all commercial energy consumption.4 By quickly hitting the off switch for the lights in your office before leaving for the night, you are taking an easy but important step in helping conserve electricity.
File Court Papers Electronically. A poll conducted by the City of Seattle’s Resource Venture program5 found that the combined annual consumption of paper by four major Seattle law firms could be stacked into a tower 14,770 feet tall.6
To reduce the amount of paperwork you use in practice, consider filing pleadings and conducting discovery electronically. Also, to the extent that documents can be shared electronically, transmit large documents, closing binders and research information through email and electronic means.
Avoid Using Yellow or Brightly Colored Paper. Although counterintuitive, neon or brightly colored paper cannot be recycled with colored paper. The same goes for brightly colored file folders.
The most commonly recycled papers are computer paper, white ledger paper, colored ledger paper and mixed office paper. If you have a choice, choose white over yellow paper and memorandum pads.7
Use Double-Sided Copies. Use both sides of each piece of paper for optimal paper usage with every sheet. Consider using email or bulletin boards for announcements and memorandums. If the message must be in hardcopy and is internal, consider reusing copy machine paper.
Donate Old Treatises or Court Rules to Charity. Instead of throwing away those old local/state court rules, federal civil judicial procedures books and treatises, consider donating them to the Washington State Paralegal Association (WSPA) or to local community colleges so that they can be reused by students in paralegal programs.
According to Lauren Cole, automated legal service manager at Foster Pepper, WSPA collects copies of the Washington court rules and distributes them to students at the annual WSPA dinner.
“When these books are donated to WSPA or a local community college, it makes a direct difference for paralegal students by enriching their scholastic experience — plus, it is an environmentally conscious decision.”
To donate to WSPA, write to president@wspaonline.org. Also, check with local community colleges by contacting the program advisors for paralegal studies.
Bring Your Own Cups and Utensils. Utensils (such as plastic forks, knives and spoons) are not recyclable, nor are Styrofoam cups. Consider using your own mug for coffee in the morning and having your own utensils at work (preferably metal).
Nearly 113 billion disposable cups, 39 billion disposable utensils and 29 billion disposable plates are thrown away in the U.S. each year, creating about 950,000 tons of waste. This is enough to fill more than 132,000 garbage trucks.
By bringing your own supplies, you will help reduce the number of un-recyclable products produced and used each year.
Avoid Printing Emails. One of the easiest ways to reduce your paper use is to refrain from printing out emails or other documents that you do not need in hard copy. Be cognizant of which emails you need for record purposes and which can stay electronic, stored in a computer-generated folder.
Also, to remind others to examine their paper use, you can write the following phrase at the bottom of your electronic correspondence: “Please consider the environment before printing this email.”
Talk to Firm Management About Starting a Green Team. Foster Pepper organized its efforts in waste reduction and recycling in 1991 with the creation of a “Green Team” and participation in the Law Firm Waste Reduction Network. The Green Team leadership educates the firm and its attorneys on best practices and also IS proactive in the legal community in promoting environmentally sound practice in law firms.
Today, Foster Pepper is recognized as a leader in the legal industry for its environmental practices and continues to work to expand its programs. To learn how your firm can become greener and more eco-friendly, please feel free to contact Green Team Chair, Brenda Bole, for further information.
1 A carbon footprint is a “measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.”
2 Source: EPA, http://epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/road.html.
3 Source: American Bar Association, http://www.abanet.org/environ/climatechallenge/lawofficeguide.pdf.
4 Source: Energy Information Association – Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/consumptionbriefs/cbecs/pbawebsite/office/office_howuseenergy.htm.
5 The City of Seattle’s Resource Venture program provides outreach, education and technical assistance to businesses to help those businesses conserve resources, reduce or prevent pollution, and become more sustainable. The program is a service of Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and supports SPU’s solid waste, water and stormwater programs, providing both general outreach services to all Seattle businesses and customized assistance to large, targeted businesses to achieve resource conservation savings and eliminate waste.
6 Source: http://www.resourceventure.org/case-studies/by-secotr/legal-services#_ftnref1.
7 Source: The Ohio State University Fact Sheet, http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0115.html.
Go Back