ESG Wise

 

Managing Partner Tony Macvean and ESG Co-Lead Nathan Kennedy explain why ESG is important at Hall & Wilcox.

At Hall & Wilcox, environmental, social and governance (ESG) is vitally important to us as a business, our people and aligned to our firm hallmarks.

With a national footprint and more than 1000 people, Hall & Wilcox is committed to ensure our approach to ESG is at the heart of everything we do and is embedded in our culture. We believe that success should not be at the expense of doing the right thing, and in our decision making, we consider our long term impact on our people, communities and the planet.

We are proud to have taken action and voluntarily joined the UN Global Compact and are committed to implementing and advising clients on implementing the 10 UN Global Compact principles. With cross sector expertise, our team can help with what needs to be embedded in your business’ strategy and operations.

We have prepared our first ESG Report as part of our commitment to the UN Global Compact principles. These principles will provide us with a strong basis on which to achieve our goals for both people and planet. This report covers the steps we have taken in the areas of the environment, human rights, labour, governance and anti-corruption.

Here is a snapshot of how we constantly improve our processes to put ESG at the forefront of how we work.

Environmental

We are passionate about doing the right thing - and in our decision-making we consider what is right for our planet  and seek to minimise our environmental footprint.

We are a signatory of the UN Global Compact and we are committed to implementing, and advising clients on implementing, the 10 UN Global Compact principles.  This includes taking a precautionary approach to environmental challenges, undertaking a variety of initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility and adopting environmentally friendly technologies in our offices. Since 2012 we have been members of the Australian Legal Sector Alliance (AusLSA).  Part of our membership is a commitment to publicly report our calculated scope 1, 2 and the travel component of scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year. Since 2018 we have offset 100% of the GHG emissions that we report under the AusLSA framework by purchasing high quality, verified carbon credits through With One Seed (forestry program in Timor Leste) and the Aboriginal Carbon Fund.

Consistent with the Glasgow Climate Pact, we acknowledge the “urgency of enhancing ambition and action in relation to mitigation adaptation and finance in this critical decade”[1]. We are therefore currently undertaking an audit of our scope 1,2&3 GHG emissions. The goal of this audit is to further enhance our carbon mitigation strategies and to allow us to move towards becoming a certified carbon neutral business and to make our contribution to Australia’s commitment to Net Zero by 2050.

Social

At Hall & Wilcox we enable our communities to thrive by working towards Reconciliation, providing access to justice and opportunity, and protecting and promoting human rights.

We see access to justice as fundamental to the rule of law and our professional duty as lawyers. Our pro bono practice focusses on assisting those people with the greatest unmet legal need such as First Nations people, people who are homeless, people who are disabled, refugees and older persons.

We seek to work towards a reconciled Australia through our Reconciliation Action Plan, ensuring our people have an understanding of the true history of our country and an awareness of the First Nations cultures that have existed here for millennia. We also seek to develop employment pathways for First Nations people and use our legal skills to support them in their own business ventures. We have chosen to walk with First Nations people in their journey towards constitutional recognition and a Voice to parliament.

Through our long-time association with the Australian Business and Community Network our people have provided thousands of hours of mentorship to children from disadvantaged schools. We have provided them with the opportunity to access connections and role models in the business world to assist them to realise their full potential.

Our social procurement strategy seeks to provide opportunities to a diverse range of suppliers including:

  • First Nations owned businesses
  • Women owned businesses
  • Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs)
  • Social enterprises
Governance

Hall & Wilcox takes pride in being renowned as a great place to work, but we are constantly evolving as to how we can do better. Aligned with good governance is empowering our people to make positive decisions.

Two of our hallmarks, ‘Respect. Respect’, and, ‘Better Together’, are at the forefront of our thinking and apply to how we make decisions affecting our people, our clients, and the wider community.

  • D&I targets, D&I committee
  • HW Evolve – flexible working
  • L&D programs
  • Wellbeing support
  • Anti-bribery & corruption policy
  • Modern slavery reporting
  • Human rights policy
  • Parenting Leave
  • Governance Structure
  • Ethics Committee
  • Human rights due diligence

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Key contacts

Meg Lee
Partner & ESG Co-Lead

Meg has over 20 years' experience as a property & projects lawyer, specialising in planning and environment law.

More about Meg
Nathan Kennedy
Partner, Head of Pro Bono & Community and ESG Co-Lead

Nathan is the firm's Head of Pro Bono & Community. His practice covers employment, administrative law and human rights.

More about Nathan