Women's Forum

Programs: Sustainability

At Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP, we are committed to our clients, each other, and to the future.

Sustainability Mandate

Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Lang LLP is committed to being a leader in the legal community for sustainable business practices. Our goal is to lessen our impact on the environment through education and implementation of sustainable practices in the workplace, as well as in the home.

Inside Business Operations

Below is an outline of our current business operations that support our sustainability mandate.

Recycling:  Our firm has an extensive recycling program. From paper to bottles to printer toners and batteries, our goal is to reduce our waste as much as possible. 

As part of Cadillac Fairview’s GREEN AT WORK™ program, we are partnering with WasteLess Environmental Services Inc. to launch a Zero-Waste program.

With this program, we will be able to divert organic waste from the landfills.  The materials will then be transferred to a controlled composting facility, where it will be recycled in an environmentally friendly manner.

To learn more about the Zero-Waste program or how your organization can become involved, please visit http://www.wasteless.com/index.html.

Energy Consumption:  We have installed thermostats with timers on all air conditioning units that are timed to shut off at the end of each day.

In conjunction with Cadillac Fairview's Green Energy Management Program, we are also working with BC Hydro to help B.C. meet its goal of electricity self-sufficiency by 2016.  One of the main initiatives we have identified and implemented is the potential to better match the lighting requirements to the demand.  

As a result of our work in this program, we are utilizing the lighting control system in our office to ensure that building lighting is on only when needed.  Lighting is  turned off at 9:30pm daily to increase the energy savings and overall reduction of greenhouse gases.   We have also changed all of our light bulbs to 18 watt high efficiency bulbs.  These bulbs use 75% less electricity than compact fluorescents.  For more information on BC Hydro's Power Smart program, visit www.bchydro.com/powersmart/

Carpeting:  We have selected a “green” carpet for which we received the “cool carpet certificate”. The result of this choice?  93 tons of carbon dioxide credits were permanently retired. For more information on cool carpet certification visit www.interfacesustainability.com.

Paper Reduction: Like most businesses, we struggle with moving to a truly paperless office.  We are one step closer however, with the introduction of fax-to-desktop.  We are continuing to research other ways to cut down on our use of paper, including the development of electronic filing systems, electronic pay stubs and the requirement of all internal memos to be sent electronically. For more information on how businesses such as law firms can reduce paper consumption, visit  www.cba.org.

Technology: Electronic waste such as computer towers, screens and Blackberries are a major contributing source of waste in landfills. We donate our used electronic equipment to BC Digital Divide.  If you have electronic equipment that you would like to donate, visit www.bcdigitaldivide.org.

Purchasing:  When dealing with suppliers, our policy is to consider their commitment to sustainability and the environmental impact of the purchasing decisions we make.  Wherever possible, we purchase goods that have been made from recycled material, such as our paper, which is composed of post-commercial material.  When hiring caterers, we prefer businesses that offer local, organic, and fair-trade items, as well as family sized portions to cut down on individual packaging waste. When it comes to purchasing promotional items and gifts for our clients and staff, we focus on supporting local products and businesses as a means of contributing to the B.C economy, as well as reducing pollution caused by the transportation of goods.

Are you thinking of going local? A great place to start is with food. For more information visit www.eatlocal.org or www.100milediet.org.

Transportation: Our firm participates in the Translink Pass Program to encourage lawyers and staff to take public transit. This program allows companies to offer discounted annual transit passes to employees when 25 or more employees are enrolled. For more information visit www.translink.bc.ca.

To raise awareness of other commuting options, and in celebration of Clean Air Day, we have participated in the Commuter Challenge and Bike to Work Week. The purpose of these events is to get as many people as possible across Canada to commute to work using sustainable modes of transportation such as walking, cycling, public transit, and carpooling.  Visit www.commuterchallenge.ca and www.vacc.bc.ca/bike_to_work/resources.php for more information on Canada’s sustainable commuting programs.

Education: Our Sustainability Committee (a working group comprised of lawyers, staff, and administrators) has launched a brown-bag lunch series to provide members of our firm, as well as our clients, with the opportunity to learn about sustainability issues and ways in which they themselves can go green both in the workplace and at home. Visit the Ascend™ section of our website for more information on our training program.

In addition to the workshops, members of the firm receive sustainability tips and resources to assist them in developing their own sustainability habits.  We have also devoted a section of our Intranet to sustainability tips, articles and general information.

Building Operations:  Our building management, Cadillac Fairview, has been working rigorously to reduce their properties' environmental footprint. 

Washrooms in our offices have been retrofitted with automatic sinks and toilets to significantly reduce water consumption.

All washrooms also now use 100% recycled toilet tissue (with a minimum 60% post consumer fibres) and 94% recycled paper towels (with a minimum of 75% post consumer fibres). In comparison with 100% virgin paper products, these recycled products will assist in the annual saving of approximately:

• 830 trees

• 34,444 lbs of greenhouse gases

• 515,831 gallons of water usage

Our Sustainability Program is an on-going, evolving endeavour. If you have any ideas, suggestions, or feedback on how we can improve our program, please let us know by emailing info@ahbl.ca.