The environment matters to young lawyers like me

Joining a firm so dedicated to sustainable practices has been a welcome surprise for Katie Macleod

Asa fresh-faced, enthusiastic new trainee solicitor at Macroberts, I joined the firm’s Environmental Committee within my first week. Joining a busy commercial law firm, I presumed that any thought of environmental work practices would take a back seat with more pressing matters to deal with, so I was delighted (and relieved) to learn that I was wrong.

Mac roberts is one of the few scottish law firms to have attained ISO 14001, an accreditation which now formally underpins and showcases the firm’s commitment to the environment. It is an internationally recognised environmental management certification used to monitor and manage environmental issues in the workplace, for which the firm put itself forward and achieved in early 2020. ISO stand

ards require dedication to continual improvement – therefore, being ISO 14001 accredited ensures mac roberts’ environmental objectives will get more ambitious as the years go on.

From the removal of individual desk bin sand ceasing production of' glossy' marketing brochures, to our dedication to monitoring the firm's carbon footprint, Macroberts is coming at its commitment to the environment from all angles. As someone who is dedicated to environmental and sustainable practices in my personal life, I was excited to take this passion forward into my professional life.

Fast forward five months, I am now co-chair of the Environmental Committee, which is tasked with driving this commitment forward. I have been part of many committees in the past; however, I have absolutely no