Judges Impressed with Sustainability Focus at BOP Law Firm

Local law firm, Sharp Tudhope, received a Judges Commendation award at the 2009 SBN Awards night on Thursday, 10th September.

"The Sustainable Business Network Awards recognise businesses that are demonstrating leadership by embracing innovation, sustainability and regenerative practices in their day-today operations," explains Jo Wills, SBN BOP Regional Manager.

Sharp Tudhope showed exceptional commitment to sustainability and implementing new sustainable practices, winning them the Judges Commendation in the Large Business - Emerging category.

Darryl Fletcher, partner, was surprised to be accepting this award on behalf of Sharp Tudhope as this was the first year they had entered the SBN Challenge.

"We wanted to know how we stood and to crystallize some of our ideas on sustainable business practices," said Fletcher. The intention was to complete the challenge in order to gain some new ideas and direction on how to develop and implement sustainability for the firm.

Since entering the challenge Fletcher has noticed a culture of sustainability becoming apparent amongst the staff. "It's making everyone conscious of the need for sustainability," he explains.

"On the ground we are looking at increased energy savings, reducing paper, increasing recycling. People are reminded about shutting down computers and turning off lights when not in a room. And we're now reviewing our client Christmas gifts - how they're sourced and if they're sustainable," says Fletcher.

Sharp Tudhope are now totally committed to building a more sustainable business long term. There is a now a sustainability committee which meets regularly to outline and discuss activities and ideas. This is a fairly high level committee which includes a partner, two associates and a solicitor.

"Lately we are looking at documenting what sustainability means for the firm and how we go about implementing it," explains Fletcher. "The first step is developing a sense of what sustainability means for Sharp Tudhope, and then how do we go about achieving it."

The audit report that Sharp Tudhope received as part of their entry to the Sustainable Business Network Challenge is providing the base reference point for the committee. With a mission and strategies in place we will need to keep an eye out for this forward thinking law firm at the 2010 awards!