A host of senior partners at law firms including Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters and Slaughter and May have signed a letter to the U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, urging him to think in sustainable way when it comes to the country's economic recovery from COVID-19.

Also among the firms to have signed the letter are Herbert Smith Freehills, Mishcon de Reya, DLA Piper, DWF, and Pinsent Masons.

The letter implores the Prime Minister to use lessons provided in the United Nations' sustainable development goals "to consolidate and future-proof [recovery] plans".

It goes further to propose that the U.K. government should "prioritise the most vulnerable in our society and level-up regional and societal inequalities"; "build coherent policies for a healthy planet and to aid the transition to net zero"; and "unite all sectors behind a plan to build a stronger and more resilient economy".

The letter was signed by more than 150 business leaders in total, including those from BP, Coca-Cola European Partners, HSBC Group, Schroders and Unilever.

Mishcon de Reya managing partner James Libson said in a statement: "The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed challenges that our society must rise to meet. It has also shown the amazing transformative changes of which we are capable through individual and collective action for the common good. As we look to recovery, we must seize the opportunity to let our values set our ambition and define our approach."

In January, a study by Law.com U.K. found that the majority of lawyers believe law firms should be legally required to improve their own environmental sustainability. Two thirds of respondents added that the topic of sustainability is important to their clients.

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Sustainability: Firms Should be Legally Required to Improve, Say Lawyers