Most innovative environmental strategy, commendation: Cullinan and Associates.
As Gandhi said, you have to be the change you want to see. This insight seems to inspire Cape Town-based Cullinan & Associates (C&A), South Africa’s first certified carbon-neutral law firm, which has shown that office workers can go a long way towards making a difference to the environment.
Founded in 1997, C&A advises on all aspects of environmental law and sustainable development. It drafts legislation and regulations for provincial and local governments, both inside and outside the country, and it offers specialist advice in environmental law to clients from all sectors — public, private and non-governmental.
But the firm’s commitment to a greener economy goes beyond corporate profit — in cases when environmental organisations cannot afford to pay the firm’s usual charges, Cullinan’s environmental law specialists work at reduced rates or even pro bono.
C&A believes that ‘this is a critical period for civilisation”. There is no point in waiting for ‘the government or the international community to decide what to do about climate change”; instead we should all do ‘whatever we can” to save the planet.
At the company’s 2008 strategy session, employees made a personal commitment to reduce their own carbon emissions, not just in the office but also in their homes. With the help of Project 90X2030, they started a club called Abahlobo Behlabathi — ‘Friends of Earth” in isiXhosa — to brainstorm practical ways to turn their dream into reality.
‘It is important that our walk matches our talk,” said C&A. ‘We aim not only to provide our clients with expert advice that will help them contribute to sustainable development, but also to demonstrate leadership and excellence in all that we do.”
The first steps were relatively easy: implementing double-sided printing for office documents; using video conferencing instead of travelling to meetings; and fitting dictaphones with rechargeable batteries. But the turning point came in August last year when C&A decided to move its main office from Cape Town’s city centre to Kenilworth.
Now many employees can walk or cycle to work, whereas others use car pools. When there is no need to be at the office, staff can work from home. C&A’s new location features many innovative energy-saving devices.
These may be simple — such as T5 flourescent tubes and a dishwasher — or more extensive, such as the organic, indigenous garden that provides food for communal office meals. Nothing is wasted — there are even worm farms to convert lunchtime
leftovers into compost.
C&A employees have become expert at recycling paper and plastic. They give their old computers to local charities and buy staff Christmas gifts from local suppliers who use recycled materials.
The relocation has already reduced C&A’s CO2 emissions from 4.19 tons to 2.58 tons. Through this, it is possible to offset unavoidable travel-related carbon emissions, such as air flights.
The company’s involvement in the low-income, energy-efficient housing and climate change project at Welbedacht in KwaZulu-Natal has helped in this regard.
This year’s M&G judges agreed that C&A has ‘gone the extra mile”. Their example could have a ‘potential influence” on other companies, the judges said.
How to begin the journey? C&A employees say it’s not difficult. People just need to recognise that we are all members of the beautiful, complex and diverse community of life on Earth with moral obligations to future members of that community. It can be as simple and powerful as that.”