Australia’s first legal practice to be certified as carbon neutral under the Federal Government’s National Carbon Offset Standard is placed to help others make carbon savings after becoming a major partner in a carbon offset program.
Having teamed up with the Qantas Future Planet Partnership,
Allens will support the North Kimberley Traditional Owners in the Savannah Burning Project to reduce carbon emissions through traditional fire management techniques.
"The sale of the carbon offsets generated by the project will provide communities in the North Kimberley with work and a source of revenue while protecting the region's biodiversity and sustaining cultural traditions and connections with the land," said Phillip Cornwell, chair of the firm’s national Footprint Committee.
According to Cornwell, the Qantas partnership is the next logical step in the firm’s drive to be more sustainable.
“The scale of the carbon offsets generated by the project will provide communities in the North Kimberley with work and a source of revenue while protecting the region’s biodiversity and sustaining cultural traditions and connections with the land,” he said.
"Purchasing carbon offsets in partnership with Qantas will provide us with another avenue to support the first peoples of Australia,” he added.
The firm, which was certified as carbon neutral last year, has achieved emission reductions through a range of initiatives including upgrading video conferencing facilities and switching to more energy efficient printers and computers, and looking for ways to reduce paper use, travel and waste. These efforts resulted in a 12.8 percent drop in greenhouse gas emissions in the firm’s Australian offices last financial year.
