Human Rights and Responsible Business

We work to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse environmental and human rights impacts, and contribute to a better, more sustainable future.

As a member of the United Nations Global Compact we are committed to promoting and respecting human rights, supporting the Compact’s Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

We are also a member of the Australian Legal Sector Alliance (AusLSA), an alliance of Australian law firms working collaboratively to promote and increase sustainable practices across the legal sector.

We report on our governance, environment and other sustainability initiatives in AusLSA’s annual Legal Sector Sustainability Insight 2022 Report.

For more information, access a copy of our latest Modern Slavery Statement. 

Corporate Governance

In all the work we do, we are committed to achieving the highest standards of ethical conduct.

We take active steps to ensure that our people — and any others who may provide services on our behalf — comply with all applicable laws of the countries in which we operate and conduct business ethically and responsibly. This includes complying with all laws, both domestic and international, relating to anti-bribery and anti-corruption.

Environment

We are dedicated to promoting sustainable environmental practices across our workplaces, and shrinking our environmental footprint by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, championing recycling and discouraging wasteful paper usage.

All our offices are energy rated 5-star or above by the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) and the Green Building Council of Australia, and use the latest technology to maximise energy efficiency and sustainability, minimise water usage and improve indoor air quality.

We are a supporter of Earth Hour and World Environment Day, and we require our suppliers to have sustainable, environmentally-friendly business practices.

Our Australian legal services and business operations have been certified as carbon neutral by Climate Active. Copies of our organisation's carbon neutral certificates for business operations and legal services are available online. The corresponding public disclosure statements for our service certification and organisation certification are also available. 

Human Rights

We believe that by actively working to identify, prevent and mitigate adverse human rights impacts in our own business and with our clients, we can contribute to a better, more sustainable future. We pride ourselves on working together with our people, our clients and our communities to promote human rights, well beyond regulatory compliance.

We endorse and support international human rights in our workplace, and with our clients, and are a member of the world’s largest corporate responsibility initiative — the United Nations Global Compact. We actively promote and respect human rights, and support the Compact’s Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and the Sustainable Development Goals.