TO COINCIDE with World Bee Day, law firm CMS is delighted to announce that it is bringing bees to the firm. Partnering with Bee Conservation, the firm is introducing beehives to its offices across the UK and internationally to help enhance biodiversity in its local communities. Bee gardens are also being created to enhance the environment and ensure the bees and ecosystems are well supported.
As part of its Bee programme, CMS will establish “Bee Clubs” where staff will have the opportunity to look after the bees and learn the basics of beekeeping, overseen by professional beekeepers.
Beehives will initially be housed across the firm’s Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, London, Bristol and Sheffield offices, with plans to extend the programme to Manchester and Liverpool and finally its international offices next year. Alongside housing the hives, the firm will provide enough pesticide-free, nectar rich flowers and trees in the vicinity so the bees won’t need to travel significant lengths to find their food or compete with nearby hives.
Barbara Mendler, Managing Director Operations and Strategic Projects at CMS, commented:
“Biodiversity ensures we have functioning ecosystems that are essential for all life on earth. Bees play a vital role in maintaining and promoting biodiversity, pollinating the food we need to survive and many of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife. However, their numbers are declining. By bringing bees to CMS, we are doing our part to sustain our vital ecosystems and enhance biodiversity in the communities we operate in.”
“We want our staff and clients to be fully involved in this wonderful initiative and will be offering them the opportunity to learn about beekeeping and the importance of bees and other pollinators, and the ways we can support these insects at home. We are incredibly passionate about our Bee programme, which is just one of the many projects that we are undertaking as part of our sustainability drive.”
As the first major law firm to announce its ambition to become carbon neutral by 2025 and set Science Based Targets to measure its carbon reduction progress, CMS is committed to leading the legal sector in sustainability and climate action. Sustainability is a central, strategic priority for CMS, and its Sustainability Board Committee, led by The Senior Partner Penelope Warne, meet regularly to prioritise and oversee implementation of the firm’s climate change and sustainability commitments.
The firm has introduced a programme of over 20 workstreams to address climate change and sustainability and is acting to meet its commitments. Examples include launching the CMS ‘MyGreenerFootprint’ app to over 3,200 of its people to help them assess their own carbon footprints and engage with the firm’s initiatives, renegotiating electricity contracts to maximise supply from renewable sources and developing a social impact programme to support environmental volunteering for its people and clients.
In recognition of the firm’s efforts, CMS was awarded A- by the Carbon Disclosure Projects (CDP) for how its addressing Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. This is above the legal sector average score of C. CDP is an international, not-for-profit and independent verifier that holds company’s carbon reduction plans to account.
