Environmental sustainability

To achieve real progress on the matters set out in our policies and values above, we must set specific, measurable goals, and hold ourselves accountable to achieving these goals.

Climate Change Act 2019
It is now a legal requirement for every person together with the Government to use its best endeavours to further the Overriding Objective, being to protect the climate and assist in the taking of preventative and remedial measures against climate change. The local Government has set out its emissions-reduction targets as the following:

• 2030 (interim target): net emissions are at least 42% lower than the baseline;
• 2045: net emissions are at least 100% lower than the baseline.

“Baseline” for these purposes means the aggregate amount of net Gibraltar emissions of carbon dioxide in 1990, AND net Gibraltar emissions of each of the greenhouse gases other can carbon dioxide for that year.

Climate change is the largest risk faced by our planet, so we are committed to initiatives which deliver energy efficiency and improvements for our business, our people, and the community in which we operate. We aim to control our ‘scope 1 & 2’ emissions by reducing our A/C and electricity consumption, and ‘scope 3’ (indirect company operations) emissions through reduced business travel and encouraging digital interface where possible. We also monitor our suppliers and business partners to ensure that environmental commitments remain on the agenda.

Data reporting
We recognise that data reporting is essential to allow us to be held accountable for our ESG actions and commitments. To meet this goal, we will ensure that our data reporting is inclusive and accurate.

As part of this commitment to data reporting, we carry out an annual carbon footprint audit with an independent assessor, conducted in line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s UNFCC Climate Neutral Initiative and ISO 14064:2018, in order to assess what our firm’s footprint is.
Collecting this data helps us promote our environmental objectives and assess our progress so far.

Setting targets
ISOLAS are proud to be the first Gibraltar law firm to become a member of the UN initiative Climate Neutral Now. Under this initiative, ISOLAS signed the Climate Neutral Now Pledge, to contribute to accelerating the transformative change needed to reach global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

As part of the Climate Neutral Now initiative, ISOLAS carried out an annual Carbon Footprint Summary Report, which provides an in-depth report on the firms’ emissions by source and by scope.
Our firm was awarded 2nd place at the Gibraltar Sustainable Awards 2023, organised by the Nautilus Project & GFSB. This award represents our efforts and commitment to promote sustainability.

Our ESG committee is continually building on ISOLAS’ ESG framework. These comprise of:

• Resource conservation: analysing our electricity and water consumption and emissions;
• Waste management: implementing a recycling system, removing single-use plastics in the firm, supplying all staff with personalised metal water bottles, and promoting the use of digital resources over paper;
• Climate action, through:
• Efficient energy usage: installing environmentally friendly LED lighting, reducing the use of A/C and setting a standard temperature for A/C when it is in use;
• Carbon neutrality: working towards net zero goals by monitoring our carbon footprint through independent assessors, purchasing carbon offsets, and installation of green areas in the office; and
• Sustainable supplies: switched to recycled paper notepads and desk calendars, pens made from bamboo, and introducing ESG due diligence with our suppliers.

Making a difference locally
ISOLAS LLP continues to promote and participate in local initiatives to protect our surrounding environment, improve our local community and promote sustainable business practices.

We encourage all members of ISOLAS to take time off to give back to their community through charity work and volunteering, giving all members of staff one paid day off per year, in order to carry out charity work, at a charity of their choice. We are also active in supporting charitable events organised by others in Gibraltar, through the PJI Foundation, which include raising funds for Cancer Relief, RICC (Gibraltar) and GBC Open Day, as well as regularly supporting Calpe House and Young Enterprise.

We seek to have a positive impact not just outside working hours, but also through the work that we do. Our lawyers carry out pro bono work, mainly for charities, and our lawyers are also on the legal aid and legal assistance register to help assist litigants who cannot afford to engage a lawyer themselves.

Other ESG aspects: