We have adopted the green initiatives used by the Queensland Law Society. By doing this, we seek to incorporate environmentally sustainable green practices in our operations and activities. With this initiative, we hope to inspire our clients and friends to institute similar methods in their own organisations so that together we can make a significant difference.

Did you know?

• Approximately 7.8kg of waste and recycling is generated per m2, per year
• Approximately 173kg of waste and recycling is generated per employee, per year
• Roughly 1.7 reams of copy paper are thrown out or recycled per m2, per year
• Approximately 39 reams of copy paper are thrown out or recycled per employee, per year
• About 55% of paper and 10% of cardboard is in the general waste stream
• 5% of glass, plastic drink containers, and aluminium cans are in the general waste stream
• $23 worth of reusable stationery is thrown out per employee, per year.

NB: A 'year' is based on 261 working days. An 'employee' is a full time employee or equivalent. Facts and Figures from www.resource.nsw.gov.au/officebuildings

What we are doing to help

Paper recycling and reducing paper wastage

For many years we've been working hard on recycling waste paper. Each month, on average, our paper recycling program saves:

• trees
• oil
• electricity
• landfill
• carbon emissions
• water

Although our paper recycling program is a positive step, we can do more. By reducing and centralising our computer printers, combined with default double sided print settings, we plan to reduce the amount of paper we use by 60%.

We are committed to reducing impact on the environment and finding new ways to do our part, as every little bit helps. We're currently working on:

Reducing our conference and seminar carbon footprints

This year we are focusing on reducing the carbon footprint of our conferences and seminars. One way we have achieved this is, where possible, by providing presentation papers to delegates in electronic format, rather than printed, saving many trees per year.

Saving energy

We have committed to reducing our energy usage through using more energy efficient lighting and ensuring our air-conditioning system is properly maintained and is set at a moderate level, - saving CO2 emissions from the environment every year. Our continual energy audits will monitor our progress and identify new ways we can save energy.

It's not easy being "green", but we're working on it.

We also...

• use recycled rubber flooring and chairs
• use indoor plants to cool and improve air quality
• recycle used fluorescent lighting tubes
• recycle old computers and computer parts