Corporate responsibility

We take seriously our responsibilities for our people, our local environment and the communities in which we live and work. We believe that active corporate responsibility is integral to the welfare of the firm, and makes it the kind of place we all wish to work. To achieve this we:

• encourage charitable and pro bono activity by supporting existing volunteering, encouraging more staff to volunteer and by donating to charities through the firm's charitable trust;
• support the local community;
• limit any adverse effect on the environment to a practical minimum;
• ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of our clients, visitors, suppliers, employees and others who might be affected by our activities;
• treat with dignity and respect all with whom we have contact; and
• recruit individuals and develop the careers of all members of the firm on merit.

Reflecting our culture and business, most of our external corporate responsibility projects are created and maintained through personal initiatives and relationships. From trainee solicitors all the way up to senior partners, every member of staff is encouraged to get involved in projects that have a positive impact for the benefit of charities and the wider community. Every member of staff is given, and encouraged to use, a volunteering day to use to support an initiative of their choosing, while ideas for firm-wide projects usually come from individuals with a close relationship to a cause. 

Charity and community

We are active members in our own local community through the Holborn Partnership and in particular the Business Improvement District campaign which creates £800,000 each year to help improve public services in the area on top of local authority provision.

We also support our people who are active in their own local communities.  Some of our recent activities have included:

• Donations of gift boxes to St Mungo’s shelter for the homeless in Holborn.
• Assisting with coppicing and clearing at the London Wetlands Centre.
• Working with children - more recently assisting teaching cricket to children from the New Cross area of London.

For us, corporate responsibility also needs to be a true reflection of our personal values and appreciation of our place within society.

We are committed to looking at ways in which we can reduce the adverse impacts of our business on the environment.  We monitor levels of use of finite resources, and aim to reduce these, year on year. We have identified a number of areas in which we believe we can gradually improve or lessen our impact on the environment including:

• Waste management – our target is to reduce waste through increasing reuse and recycling
• Energy consumption  - our target is to reduce energy consumption through our purchasing choices and our power saving systems for lighting, heating and IT usage, and travel policies
• Sourcing and supply chain – we seek out suppliers who are locally based where possible and who operate environmentally friendly policies.

For more information about corporate responsibility at Farrer & Co, please call Julian Smith on +44 (0)20 3375 7000 or email julian.smith@farrer.co.uk.