Pictured above: (l-r) Alexander Hall of MFG, Diane Bayliss
of Enviroshred, Samantha Hawkley of MFG and Andrew Bayliss of
Enviroshred
A law firm is celebrating the fact that its legal drafts and
other confidential documents end up as toilet paper or worm
food.
It's all part of the Corporate Social Responsibility policy at
MFG Solicitors, which has also launched a charitable foundation and
a committee of senior staff to co-ordinate all CSR activities.
The committee is chaired by partner Richard Connolly, a lawyer
in the Commercial Property division at Worcester and a member of
the firm's Board of Management.
He says: "As a firm we have always been active in CSR but we
have made it top-down with a committee to meet once a month under
the supervision of our board of management.
"Before the committee we left CSR to our individual offices. Now
we see it as a management issue that is central to the well-being
of the firm.
"We believe we are making great strides in all three areas of
CSR, embracing the environment, the community and our people.
"It means we have a hand in everything from the office party at
Christmas to major recycling contracts."
Alex Hall, a solicitor in MFG's corporate division, said: "Large
quantities of waste paper at the Worcester office are re-cycled at
Enviroshred, a recycling plant in Herefordshire.
"The pulp is mixed with manure and other organic matter then fed
to worms that do the rest of the work.
"The worms turn the mulch into compost and the end product is
environmentally-friendly compost.
"Meanwhile, the Telford office on average recycles 108.37
kilograms of paper per month which is turned into toilet
rolls.
"We have installed a television conference facility at
Telford and Kidderminster to reduce the need for staff to travel
for meetings.
"The little things count too. Computers and office lights are
turned off at the end of the day and we recycle redundant IT
equipment and ink cartridges or get the equipment refurbished and
sold as second-hand items.
"During 2010 our people will be making substantial contributions
to the community through fund-raising - two of the highlights will
be a London to Paris cycling event and a cycle ride of 45 miles
between our Telford and Worcester offices.
"Corporate Community Responsibility is becoming an increasingly
important aspect in the work of professional firms like ours and
also many of our clients.
"There are now organisations like the Forestry Commission and
local authorities that will not work with a company or firm unless
it has an acceptable environmental programme in place."
MFG is a member of Legal Sector Alliance, a group of law firms
and organisations committed to working collaboratively to take
action on climate change by reducing their carbon footprint and
adopting environmentally sustainable practices.