Environment

Carbon Neutral Certification

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The firm's comprehensive GoingGreen Program has been embraced and supported by firm members across the country. Through the enthusiasm of our people and the implementation of many strategies to reduce and offset emissions, Stikeman Elliott is proud to be the first Canadian national law firm to be certified as carbon neutral. The firm completed its carbon footprint calculation in 2008 to set a baseline for measuring its ongoing environmental initiatives. After compiling some concrete data around waste reduction and efficiency improvements, and an investment in selected carbon offset programs focused on sustainable energy, Stikeman Elliott received this designation in April 2009. Going forward, the firm will complete a new carbon footprint calculation in 2010 and will work to maintain this certification through enhancement of new and existing GoingGreen initiatives.

Learn more about how the firm became carbon neutral.

GoingGreen Program

Stikeman Elliott's GoingGreen Program, launched in conjunction with Earth Hour in 2008, is part of our continuing effort to build environmental awareness among firm members to achieve measurable results in the areas of waste reduction, recycling and energy efficiency and measurably reduce the environmental impact of our day-to-day operations. The Program involves the firm-wide implementation of market-leading environmental best practices, coordinated by a Green Committee in each office with membership from a broad cross-section of firm members.

National Initiatives

All of our offices have a comprehensive recycling program in place for paper products, cans and bottles, toner, batteries, organic waste and office supplies.

Most internal reports are being distributed in electronic format, significantly reducing paper usage.
Duplex printing (i.e. double-sided printing) is being rolled out as the standard setting for all printers & copiers across all offices and a reduced default font size for firm documents has been established. Over four million pieces of paper will be saved this year in our Toronto office alone, and proportionately comparable results are anticipated as our other offices complete their rollout of duplex printers.
All of the offices' printers and copiers are installed with "sleep modes" where after a specified period of inactivity they reduce their energy consumption by powering down without turning off completely.
Multi-function printer machines (used to print, copy and scan) are used in all offices replacing separate standalone units, helping reduce energy consumption.
Various energy efficient best practices have been adopted, such as reducing lighting levels in common areas and adjusting temperatures during the season to improve energy usage.
Video-conferencing is available in all Canadian offices as well as the New York and London offices, thereby reducing travel requirements for firm and client meetings. The firm's travel policy encourages the use of video conferencing where possible.
An environmental purchasing policy has been adopted in which we give preference to vendors who demonstrate solid environmental practices.

Local Initiatives

The following local initiatives have been adopted by some or most of our offices in Montréal, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa and we are examining ways to make many of these initiatives national standards:

Purchase of locally grown fruits and foods for boardroom and firm member consumption.
Use filtered tap water in boardrooms and meetings versus using bottled water and all serveries have filtered tap water.
All plastic utensils and paper plates in the offices serveries have been replaced with stainless steel utensils and ceramic plates.
Unused food is donated to local missions and food banks.
Installation of motion sensors to control lights in offices and boardrooms.
Mailrooms reuse all boxes and packaging materials and also use reusable envelopes for shipping.
Print Service Centres recycle all binders, tabs and spines where possible. Those tabs deemed unusable are cut back and used as backing in other products.
Print Services Centres operate under a "Print-on-demand" system which means documents are created only in the quantity and time they are needed.
Many of our clients choose to receive their bills and execute payment electronically.
Raised awareness for recycling and waste reduction through improved signage.
The purchase of energy efficient appliances, such as EnergyStar-approved computers, LCD monitors, printers and photocopiers, dishwashers, etc.
Encourage the use of public transit and walking to work, including a monthly lottery to win free transit passes in our Calgary office.
Encourage the shutdown of computers and monitors at night.
Education campaigns to firm members on measures they can employ at work and at home to be energy efficient and reduce waste.
Desk drops of environmentally-friendly items such as reusable lunch and shopping bags, ceramic mugs, etc.
Current office products vendor is ISO14001 certified and recent paper products procurement has introduced new weighting formula for environmental practices of vendors.
Stikeman Elliott Montréal has been a previous participant in the Défi Climat Challenge and has hosted or planned events involving David Suzuki and Pinchin Environmental to discuss environmental awareness and corporate social responsibility.
Stikeman Elliott Vancouver participates in Encorp's Return-it Work Program by recycling all refundable containers with all funds raised donated to the United Way.
Stikeman Elliott Calgary has volunteered to clean up local parks and will distribute saplings to other office tenants to mark Earth Day and Arbour Day.
Stikeman Elliott Toronto is a committed partner in the Toronto City Summit Alliance's Greening Greater Toronto initiative.
Some of the measurable participation and improvements we have noted have included:
- Firm members participate in Clean Air Commute Challenges in major cities, such as the Toronto program as well as the "En Ville sans sa Voiture" in Montréal. In addition, many of our firm members are ardent cyclists and choose to commute to the office "powered by their own two legs". During the 2009 Clean Air Commute, Stikeman Elliott saved over 14.2 tonnes of green house gasses from polluting the air, doubling last year's results and putting the firm 3rd out of 121 participating organizations.
- Over four million pieces of paper will be saved in our Toronto office this year, after adoption of our double-sided printing initiative and proportionately comparable results are anticipated as our other offices complete their rollout of duplex printers.
- Intra-floor recycling challenges in Toronto and collaborative efforts with other tenants and our landlord in Montréal resulted in dramatic increases in both recycling and waste reduction. Landlord audits demonstrate that an overall improvement of 13.7% in waste reduction and recycling improvements were experienced in Toronto while the Montréal office recognizes enhanced, combined recycling efforts from building tenants and the landlord. Overall, over 16,900 kg of waste is estimated as being diverted from landfills annually.
- Improvements to the management of our offices' lighting schedule are ongoing. The Toronto office was recognized in 2009 as the first Tenant Power Partner to participate in The Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Toronto Conservation and Demand Management Program for its installation of 263 occupancy lighting sensors. It is estimated that in one year, an excess of 450,000 kilowatt hours will be saved, equalling the electricity use of more than 45 Ontario homes.