News & Views

As the world fails to curb the rise of polluting emissions, most scientists see some form of carbon removal as necessary to limit the impact of climate change.

The UN, however issue a word of caution in that such solutions are “technologically and economically unproven, especially at scale, and pose unknown environmental and social risks” and conclude that these technologies are not suitable for offsetting carbon emissions under the upcoming UN’s global scheme. An interesting article about this debate is HERE.

AusLSA member firm Clyde & Co have designed and implemented a ‘globally consistent’, improved offering to provide better, more effective support to employees who were about to become parents.The parental leave benefits are available to all employees and partners across the firm regardless of jurisdiction who have at least 12 months’ service behind them. They state that designing a new and inclusive parental leave was “an important means” of improving gender diversity – especially at the senior level, where law firms have historically struggled to bridge the gender pay gap and fill in with more female lawyers. Read more about this in Australasian Lawyer HERE.

In December 2022, Institutions in the EU broadly agreed to implement a 'carbon border adjustment mechanism' (CBAM), to ensure that imports into the UK did not escape the carbon pricing regulations already in place in the UK.

This would effectively place a tax on carbon imports, by putting a price on emissions associated with the production of certain goods that enter the UK. While not an issue for Australia at present, something that we need to keep an eye on!. See an analysis of this from Ecoact HERE. 

We all belong to a family, and at some point in time, we will all be in a position to provide Care to someone in our family.  Carer Gateway says that there are about 2.65 million carers in Australia - around one in every nine, and according to Emma Walsh, founder of Family Friendly Workplaces and the chief executive of Parents at Work, organisations need caring policies to be formalised and properly communicated to all staff. See an article about this from HR Leader HERE, including a podcast from Emma.

As the official Sustainability partner to Extreme-E Motor Racing, EY is assisting on their mission to be more sustainable. Immediately we think of minimising fuel, and part of that mission is using electric SUV's, however the most significant emissions arise from air freight for racing teams and vehicles and the EY sustainability team has helped Extreme-E to develop carbon accounting for the next series of races. They also consider where the races are held, and how long term social and environment impacts can be managed after the race has been completed. See a really interesting overview of this little heard-of venture HERE. Oh, and by the way, Extreme-E will also be the first racing championship to have teams with equal number of male and female drivers.

For the first time, several major US companies will collaborate  to buy nearly 850,000 gallons of high-integrity sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) certificates.

The SAF involved in this purchase transaction is produced by World Energy and reduces lifecycle carbon emissions by 84% compared to conventional jet fuel. This  will assist airline JetBlue reduce an estimated 8,500 tons of CO2 on a lifecycle basis and  hopefully signals a huge commitment to the SAF market. See more about this news HERE.

Recently Pride in Diversity produced the first in a series of factsheets regarding Trans and Gender Diverse Recruitment in Australia. This fact sheet looks at some of the difficult challenges faced by trans and gender diverse people in securing meaningful work aligned with their skills and experience which are predominantly faced during the initial stages of the application and recruitment process. The fact sheet also provides useful action points for employers to take to help trans and gender diverse people overcome these specific challenges. See their fact sheet HERE.

As we mark the 10th anniversary of the factory collapse at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, a tragedy that left more than 1,000 people dead and galvanised a global conversation on companies' responsibility to eliminate modern slavery in their operations and in their supply chain, Dr James Cockayne, the first Anti-Slavery Commissioner in NSW explains his role and talks about what business and government can do to take action on Modern Slavery. Listen to the podcast from the FS Sustainability newsletter 'The Greener Way' HERE.

Waste from electronics, such as cell phones, computers and other digital devices, represents the world’s fastest-growing waste stream, increasing at an alarming pace of 2Mt per year. Additionally, 80-85% of e-waste is not formally collected, and that which is, is usually sent to developing countries, intensifying human rights issues. Research from EY suggests that Current economic systems assume a constant supply of natural resources, resulting in a “take-make-use-dispose” linear model (Centre 2015). Circular business models, on the other hand, focus on redesigning product-service systems to enhance business capabilities and market competitiveness. A shift toward circular economy models can help companies not only access untapped financial and business opportunities but also lower their overall environmental impact. See their analysis HERE

Following the Law Society of England and Wales publication of Climate Change Guidance notes, 'Legal Charter 1.5' has also been launched.  Legal Charter 1.5 has been developed collaboratively – by a group of large commercial/corporate law firms, including signatories and dialogue partner firms who are AusLSA members. 

The launch of this Charter comes at a crucial time for the legal sector, where a credible, integrated approach to sustainability and commitments to mitigate the impacts of climate change have never been more important. See the website HERE.