News & Views

Gender equality programs are well established in many law firms and progress is being made to correct the imbalance of opportunity and reward between man and women… but then came Covid. Commercial stresses and down turns can threaten to gains and barrier to further progress. Kate Jenkins, Sex Discrimination Commissioner provided testimony to the Senate Select Committee Public Hearings on COVID-19 about the need to address gender equality while planning Covid recovery. Read MORE

Science-based targets are Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions reduction targets that are consistent with the level of decarbonization that, according to climate science, is required to keep global temperature increase within 1.5 to 2ºC compared to pre-industrial temperature levels.

As the crisis continues to unfold, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) topics will continue to grow in importance. Companies will be judged by their ability to withstand financial shocks, but also by how they’ve treated their employees, clients and communities. A well researched article that will show you that responsible business is more important than ever - READ HERE 

Immediately before our current Australian COVID crisis we were rightly reeling from Australia's latest climate change disaster in the form of widespread droughts and massive bush fires that caused environmental, social and economic destruction. But while we have been distracted, the issue of climate change and its urgency has not gone away. It seems that disruption is a key catalyst for change and COVID has disrupted the global economy and society in away the climate change never could. Jane Courtnell discusses the early signs that indicate the post COVID future could also provide some desperately needed solutions to climate change. READ MORE

There are very few of us that aren't impacted by COVID or the current and future economic and social disruption required to fight it. But spare a thought for those who experience modern slavery, forced labour, human trafficking and child labour. Delta 8.7 has identified three COVID risk areas that will impact on the fight to end modern slavery.   READ HERE 

The Government has extended the legislated deadline for mandatory Modern Slavery reporting by three months for entities whose reporting periods end on or before 30 June 2020. For firms with 30 June financial year this extends the reporting deadline from 31 December 2020 to 31 March 2021.

This extension recognises that COVID-19 is significantly impacting many reporting entities and aims to support these entities to submit their modern slavery statements. Read More HERE 

A recent report showed that Australia's GHG emissions have dropped for the first time since 2015. Of course, you might say, because no-one is travelling because of COVID-19. It's quite the opposite really, the decline is largely due to the increase of renewable energy being supplied to the national grid and the decrease of reliance on brown-coal energy. The better news is that the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says that, by 2025, we have the technical ability to safely operate a system where 75% of our energy use comes from wind and solar. See an article about this HERE.

Like all of you, at AusLSA we have been bombarded with communications from members, service providers and associates about their response to our COVID crisis. The messages that we are most drawn to are the ones from people who are figuring out how to move through and emerge from this in a positive way.

Each positive message clarifies AusLSA's views about the path forward for those businesses that value social and environmental responsibility, and how we can best to support our members and their stakeholders during this time. For those of us who seek to do good through our businesses and professions this work is as important as ever.

While it’s still too early to tell how significantly COVID will alter the way we live, work, and do business, solidifying your firm’s place within this new order is critical. The true test is going to be whether we can sustain this dramatic positive force even when not spurred by a global pandemic. It might be tempting to de-prioritise the importance of sustainability programs and reporting, but we must resist the temptation to focus only on short term commercial survival and loose sight of our values.

Something new will undoubtedly emerge from this crisis. We all have a role to play in making sure that the progress we are making together on sustainability is not lost continues and our shared experiences foster an even more positive approach to our global sustainability problems.

You need to be progressive and you need to keep progressing. If you are planning to stay still in the modern world then will probably be left behind. The insecurity caused by COVID and the levels of disruption may cause some to cut and freeze their progressive agenda but those organisations that are most likely to recover most quickly and win the future wont loose their focus. The future is closer than we think and if we hibernate too deeply we will be left napping by those who are quicker off the blocks. What should you be prepared for? Read more .

It has never been more important for Australian law firms to demonstrate their corporate citizenship and to communicate their commitments and performance to their staff and customers

AusLSA’s sustainability framework contains many critical elements practiced by law firm’s to support their workforce, customers and the community following Australia’s 2019-20 bushfire tragedy and now during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is crucial that AusLSA members continue to develop, deliver, monitor and report on these sustainability programs.

AusLSA will continue to deliver its support and programs to AusLSA members. We are carefully monitoring the needs and capacity of our members to ensure our programs are fine-tuned and delivered in a suitable way to allow all members to benefit.

If you wish to discuss AusLSA and its programs further please contact us HERE