Godfrey & Kahn

The American Bar Association recognized Godfrey & Kahn’s strides to become a more “green” organization by naming the firm an “Eco-Challenge Partner” on January 31, 2008. As of that date, G&K was one of only 38 firms across the country and the only firm in Wisconsin honored with this designation. The firm is currently certified in the “Best Paper Practices” category and is working toward other certifications. The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designed the program to encourage firms to take simple, practical steps to become better environmental and energy stewards.

Godfrey & Kahn’s Green Office Task Force, led by Art Harrington, chair of the Environmental & Energy Team, works to develop practical steps the firm can take to further reduce its carbon footprint and to otherwise benefit the environment. In the past year, the task force took several significant steps beyond traditional recycling efforts to reduce G&K’s environmental impact:

Purchasing only ENERGY STAR related computers, printers, and copiers, saving an average of 65% on energy usage and significantly reducing CO2 emissions from older equipment such as CRT monitors.
Activating “sleep mode” on computers and printers, thereby using 70% less energy.
Introducing an initiative to produce fewer printed interoffice communications and materials. The typical 180-lawyer firm uses over 90 tons of paper per year. Instead, G&K has instituted a policy of encouraging electronic communication as much as possible.
Adding an electronic option for periodicals. G&K also makes a donation of $200 to its CO2 Trust for any attorney willing to forego his or her paper copy of the Wall Street Journal or any other newspaper. The money is used by the CO2 Trust to purchase carbon-reduction off-sets from the Chicago Climate Exchange. Each attorney making the switch will help finance energy reduction, forestry, or other environmentally beneficial projects that eliminate 50 or more tons of CO2 emissions.
Setting printers and copiers to print double-sided, reducing the amount of paper used for printing drafts and internal communications.
Going “paperless.” More teams are saving and filing their work electronically, thus eliminating the need for paper files or copies.

For more information on G&K’s Green Office Task Force, please contact Art Harrington (414-287-9414 or ajharrin@gklaw.com).

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