Global law firm Linklaters announced today new climate targets, pledging to reduce emissions in its operations and across its value chain.

The new commitments include Scope 1 and 2 emission reduction targets of 70% by 2030, along with Scope 3 reductions of 50% over the same time frame. Scope 3 emissions for the firm consist primarily of purchased goods & services, and travel.

According to the firm, the new targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). SBTi was formed as a collaboration between CDP, World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), with the goal to establish science-based environmental target setting as a standard corporate practice. Achieving approval of targets by SBTi is a significant milestone for companies’ sustainability efforts.

Matt Sparkes, Global Head of Sustainability at Linklaters and Co-Chair of the Legal Sustainability Alliance, comments:

“Responsibility and sustainability are at the heart of how we operate as a business and it is important that we are accountable to this commitment. Our new science-based targets will underpin our climate ambition and action as we continue to identify new and innovative ways to reduce our emissions, including embracing learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic and shifts in behaviour. We believe that these represent leading targets for the sector and reflect our continued leadership in environmental management – both in operations and client service.

“We know that there is much more to be done on a global scale and we are fully committed to playing our part in reducing the impact of climate change and driving sustainable growth.”