Benefits of reasonable assurance: Clyde & Co

Clyde & Co is a global law firm with 500 partners and 70 offices across the world.

It provides services that support its clients involved in global trade, to navigate risk, and maximise their opportunities.

The company is committed to operating in an inclusive and responsible way that reflects the communities and clients that it serves. Minimising environmental impacts is an important element of this.

As a focus for its transition to Net Zero the company has set some ambitious targets that have been validated by the SBTI. In the near term it seeks to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 80% and Scope 3 by 50% in the same time frame. Ultimately it aims to achieve a global 90% reduction by 2038.

The company started reporting in 2019 and chose Carbonology for its verification in 2024.

Paddy Linighan, Chief Sustainability Officer at Clyde & Co, describes the companies journey to Net Zero and explains why verification is important to the company.

“Understanding our own emissions and taking action, not only proactively assists our clients as they navigate their way towards the low carbon economy, but also minimises their impacts, as we are part of their supply chain.  So, we see it as a market differentiator.

We have ambitious targets for carbon reduction, and this essentially means decarbonising our operations, which we are doing in a number of ways. The priority is to transition away from fossil fuels. This is progressing well, by 2023 the UK offices were 100% renewable, and we are seeking to replicate this across our global portfolio where possible.

Of course, as a professional services firm, travel will always be a challenge, but the management board has approved a global note on sustainable travel, and we are working with our travel management companies to implement this – improving the data quality and prioritising sustainability over cost.

We have found that 95% of our carbon emissions resides in Scope 3. To address this, we are supporting our suppliers to measure and reduce their emissions and look to incorporate sustainability requirements into our procurement and due diligence processes.

Unfortunately, there will still be some residual emissions, and for this we will need to use offsetting carbon removal projects.

One of these is a project on the Cragg Estate, Northumberland, where we have helped establish 6.2 hectares of woodland. This project increases carbon removal but also benefits biodiversity by re-establishing the red squirrel.

This has been a useful pilot to gain experience of a carbon off-set project.  We have also used it to gauge the appetite and engagement of colleagues towards our approach to sustainability, we did this by offering increased levels of afforestation for every response we received to a survey, which gave a good response.

Independent verification of our carbon reduction programme with Carbonology gave a second set of eyes on our reporting, and this has enabled us to be sure that the information we are disclosing is accurate and reliable. It also enhances our credentials and will help us to gain the highest level on CDP and EcoVardis.

All our financing is now sustainability linked. So, verification with an accredited provider gives our bank confidence that our carbon claims are credible and sit within the ISO standards framework.

Independent certification also met the stress test for our financial auditors, who could simply tick off the verification, saving time in the longer term. These are some of the reasons why we chose ‘reasonable assurance’ – and did the equivalent of two years’ work in one!

Thinking back, I would advise others taking this journey not to let perfect get in the way of progress. You don’t need to be defensive or fear the verification process. Use it constructively, as having a fresh pair of eyes can guide you towards areas you haven’t seen and use the outcome as a means of improving.”

David Algar of Carbonology worked closely with the company on its verification he says;

“Clyde & Co were super ambitious: not only did they go for reasonable assurance for two reporting periods, but they also did it sequentially. This is an awesome achievement.”