Responsible Business
At Wolferstans, responsible business is about more than good intentions. It is about creating a positive and measurable impact for our people, our communities and the environment.
Responsible Business Impact Report
We are proud to launch our first Responsible Business Impact Report, providing an open and transparent overview of our Environmental, Social, Governance and Armed Forces commitments and the progress we have made over the past year. The report highlights key achievements including a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, more than £18,000 raised for charitable causes, 121 volunteering hours contributed by colleagues and continued investment in wellbeing, inclusion and community partnerships.
The report also marks an important step in our journey towards a more structured and measurable approach to responsible business, following the introduction of our ESG Steering Committee and governance framework.
While we are proud of what has been achieved so far, we recognise that responsible business is a journey of continuous improvement. By publishing this report, we are establishing a benchmark against which future progress can be measured and reported.
Read our report by clicking the image below.
Our Environmental Pledge: Net Zero by 2050
In 2021, we joined the Race to Zero through the Network Net Zero Community, committing to:
- 50% carbon emissions reduction by 2030
- Net zero by 2050
By 2024, we had already achieved a 47.3% reduction, with independently verified emissions down to 24,828 kg of CO₂e from 47,110 kg in 2021. We are proud to be ahead of schedule – but more importantly, we are committed to staying accountable. We have a committed group from across the firm involving all departments who are driving this forward with the support of the Board. Having made substantial progress on our scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, we are now beginning more detailed work on scope 3.
Our Short-term Targets Within the Next 12 Months
We have set short-term targets within the next 12 months, which include:
- Procuring 100% renewable energy across our portfolio
- Exploring the commercial availability of green gas procurement
- Designing a staff poll on commuting activity
- Continuing to install energy efficiency measures such as LED and sensor lighting
- Recording electricity meter readings monthly at each site to give a more detailed view of energy consumption at each site
- Working with SWMAS to better understand our Carbon Footprint and how to make improvements.
Charity
We are proud of our role as legal experts but also recognise the importance of our relationships as neighbours, employers, advocates and community stakeholders.
We are committed to being a positive contributor to our community and giving our colleagues opportunities to support causes close to their hearts. Every year staff put forward suggestions for the charities we will support and events are organised to raise funds and to give practical support to those selected. We choose charities connected to our clients needs where we can make an impact.
Our values and culture
Empathy and expertise run through everything we do. We recruit people who care about their clients and each other. We are supportive and take responsibility for the impact of our actions upon others. Our culture is remarked upon by new colleagues who find it really is how we told them it would be! We have meaningful conversations about reaching our full potential, as a firm and as individuals. We know that we can only do that if we remain focussed on delivering exceptional legal experiences to our clients. There are always ways to improve so we are committed to listening to feedback and delivering more.