At present, there are 85 signatories to the “Law Office Climate Challenge,” issued by the American Bar Association and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Daniel A. Eisenberg, vice chairman of the air quality committee of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, expects that number to increase to 100 by summer’s end.
Law firms in New York state who have signed on to the challenge include the Manhattan office of Arnold & Porter; Bond Schoeneck & King; Chadbourne & Parke; Cuddy & Feder of White Plains; Davis Polk & Wardwell; Harris Beach; Holland & Knight; Morrison & Foerster; Nixon Peabody; O’Melveney & Meyers; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal.
• Purchase paper with at least 30 percent recycled content; use double-sided photocopying and printing whenever possible; recycle discarded paper
• Participate in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership program to reduce electrical uses generated by coal-fired plants (details at www.epa.gov/grnpower)
• Convert to low-energy overhead fluorescent lighting, use new low-energy bulbs for ambient lighting
• Use office equipment and appliances approved by ENERGY STAR, an efficiency ratings program jointly administered by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy
• Install virtualization software in computer servers to increase efficiency and reduce power/cooling needs
• Increase telecommuting
• Organize office car pools
• Contract with car service companies that use hybrid fleet vehicles
