We believe we must play our part in reducing the use of energy, lowering carbon emissions and reducing waste and actively avoid causing environmental damage.

Sustainability is a complex area and a ongoing focus for our firm. Our priority is to make sure that the way we operate has as little environmental impact as possible. We are looking at how we deal with waste, energy and reducing our carbon footprint, with the objective to eliminate our use if we can, reduce where possible or substitute if necessary. This is a broad approach and covers everything from how we manage our offices to the travel we undertake the decisions we make about the suppliers and products we use.

We have developed a five step climate action plan that we're using as a framework to help us improve in this key area. Some steps are long-term and will take time, others are quicker wins that we're implementing now. All are tangible, a priority for us and part of our business plan with board level support.  

 

Five Step Climate Action Plan

 

1. We will ask questions and be accountable

We are currently analysing our carbon footprint to understand what it is now and importantly what it was pre Covid. From our new financial year in April 2022, we will track our carbon footprint on an ongoing basis as part of our standard business reporting. This is important to us so we can understand how and where we need to improve. We will ask ourselves the tough questions and challenge our approach and behaviours to reduce our footprint as much as possible. What we can't change, we will offset. 

 

2. We will offset our carbon whilst aiming to reduce it as much as possible too

We are tracking and working to reduce our carbon footprint. We will use a combination of changing our working practices and off-setting our carbon footprint using carbon avoidance projects. We will be using our carbon footprint data to enable us to pinpoint specific areas that we need to target. We know that our travel is a significant contributor to our carbon footprint. We will now look at the impact of our trips and introduce a 'Sustainability Sense Check' to question transport choice, business need and perceived value. We plan to be clever, use time and resources wisely and only travel when necessary. 

3. We will plant a tree for every new matter we open and create a Mewburn Ellis Forest

We have decided to plant a tree for every new matter we open. The right tree in the right place, The Mewburn Ellis Forest is managed by responsible partners in a sustainable way is an important part of tackling the climate crisis. We are supporting the planting of native and biodiverse mix of tree species in planting sites around the world including the UK. These planting projects also help to support local communities and reduce poverty by employing local workers. 

4. We will enable and support the sustainability conversation and take personal responsibility

We believe that showcasing the good work of our clients and ensuring there is focus on the conversation around sustainability is an important part of the puzzle. We have recently launched our Green IP Report. and are talking extensively about this topic in our sustainability blogs and Green Tech spotlight page. We also plan to create an internal Sustainability Group made up of people that want to get involved with this initiative within the firm who can help identify and drive forward sustainability initiatives at the firm.

5. We will support sustainability charities as part of our Forward Community Programme

As part of our community programme we donate a percentage of our funds each year to sustainable charities to support and reach areas that we cannot directly impact. We already give 1% of our profits to charity each year which amounts to over £200,000 and believe it's important that some of this money supports sustainability goals too.

 

 

Find out more about why sustainability and community is so important to our firm

 

HubSpot Video

 

WATCH OUR FILMS

 

 

ecovadis certificate

 

We're proud to be the first IP firm in the UK IP sector to have been awarded a silver medal by sustainability ratings platform EcoVadis

We're delighted that Mewburn Ellis have been rated Silver by EcoVadis the sustainability ratings agency. This puts us in the top 25% of the 90,000 companies worldwide that have achieved the rating and the top 19% in the legal and accounting industry.

Ecovadis silver rating 2022

 

 

650 TONNES OF CARBON REDUCED SO FAR

As part of our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2025 we are working to reduce and offset our carbon use. We have chosen to reduce 650tCO2e of carbon so far via the following carbon reduction projects:

 

carbon 2023

 

Ecologi_Logo_Colour

 

We plant a tree for every new matter we open

A FOCUS ON CLIMATE & BIODIVERSITY

We're proud to be working with environmental organisation Ecologi. They facilitate the funding of carbon offset projects and tree planting around the world. Their mission is to reduce 50% of global CO2 emissions by 2040 and they responsibly plant billions of trees every year.

We have decided to plant a tree through the Ecologi platform for every new matter we open. We've planted over 33,433 trees in total so far. For 2022-23 we planted 12,790 trees to 31st March 2023. 

Planting trees is part of the answer to helping our planet and will have a longer term effect on carbon emissions. It works side by side with the other climate action projects we are supporting and the actions we are taking to operate more sustainably.  We chose to work with Ecologi as they have a focus on reforesting and on responsible reforestation. They plant the right trees in the right place and effectively protect those trees for the long term too.

We are supporting the planting of native, biodiverse tree species in planting sites around the world including the UK. 10% of our trees are planted in the UK through the Future Forest Company and 90% abroad though Eden Reforestation Projects, because our money goes further and has greater impact overseas. These planting projects are typically mangroves, which grow faster and offset three times more carbon than UK trees. They also support coastal ecosystems and help restore sea life, supporting fish and marine animals too. There is also a broader positive impact at a human level too as these projects help support local communities and reduce poverty by employing local workers and providing them with food and materials.

 

 
Sustainable Communities Mock-Up

Sustainable Communities

Special Report

The special report talks about our approach to our Forward Community Programme and specifically includes the following:

  • Details of our commitments around I&D with a summary of work completed so far, as well as a summary of our strategy for the future. 
  • Our full Gender Pay Gap data since we started reporting in 2019
  • A summary of our community giving and payments made by charity over the last 2 years, totaling over £600,000
  • Our Five Step Climate Action plan, details about our Mewburn Forest now over 30,000 trees and our first Energy & Carbon Report

 

Download the Report

Read our sustainability blogs

READ our Forward Community Programme Blogs
Green IP Report Mock-Up

Green IP

Patents are both a driver and a barometer of innovation

Our report examines the role of patents in making innovative ‘green’ technologies into a reality as well as how the patent landscape can be used to identify opportunities for partnering, collaboration and investment.

We share our enthusiasm and admiration for commercially-focused innovation across a diverse range of technologies, from repurposing carbon dioxide to make protein-rich foods, to the multi-faceted approach to a circular plastics economy. We also discuss the tantalising prospect of AI-mediated renewable energy supply, and the harnessing of battery tech from the EV boom to drive energy efficiency in consumer devices. This report reflects our passion for technology solutions that tackle our shared global challenge. 

 

Download the Report

Talk to us about our Community Programme

Partner, Patent Attorney, Sustainability Champion

Shaun Harvey

Chief Financial & Operating Officer

Maria Hall original image_

Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer

Richard-Clegg-1

Managing Partner, Patent Attorney

OUR PEOPLE
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Mewburn Ellis

FORWARD MAGAZINE

Mewburn Ellis Forward is a biannual publication that celebrates the best of innovation and exploration. We run regular columns in the magazine on inclusivity and many of our articles have a focus on sustainability.

Our magazine is printed on paper that has been sourced from sustainably managed forests which adhere to environmentally approved standards. This paper has less carbon footprint than recycled paper. The full magazine, including the cover, can be recycled and the wrapper that is used to protect the magazine is made from starch-based biopolymers, meaning it is compostable. 

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