The Massachusetts Bar Association's Lawyers Eco-Challenge now
boasts support from at least 100 attorneys, law firms,
organizations or businesses across the state. Counsel On Call and
Nixon Peabody LLP have become the latest companies to sign the MBA
Lawyers Environmental Pledge. And the Massachusetts Recycling
Coalition and O'Brien & Levine Court Reporting both recently
signed on as Eco-Challenge Affiliates.
The Eco-Challenge was launched in 2007 urging law firms promise
to implement the Green Guidelines, which cover energy conservation,
paper reduction, recycling, greenhouse gas reduction,
environmentally conscious purchasing, education, support for
environmental organizations and landscaping. The initiative also
includes a cell phone recycling program and an annual recognition
program for participants.
Counsel On Call of New England joined the Eco-Challenge because
it is committed to reducing emissions and energy usage in its
Boston office. It works to reduce, reuse and recycle to help
mitigate climate change and protect the environment. Counsel On
Call Executive Director Nancy Reiner is also the co-chair of the
MBA's Eco-Challenge Energy and Environment Task Force.
Counsel On Call assists corporate legal departments and law
firms on a wide variety of legal matters, from e-discovery to
specialized practice areas, and is a leader in managing remote work
assignments that eliminate overhead expenses.
Nixon Peabody LLP, in November 2007, launched the Legally Green
initiative to establish and implement sustainable practices
throughout the firm's 17 offices. Nixon Peabody was the first law
firm to have an office LEED certified by the U.S. Green Building
Council in the category of Commercial Interiors. In addition, two
Nixon Peabody offices have achieved LEED Silver certification, one
office has basic LEED certification and another office is in the
process of applying for LEED certification.
Nixon Peabody was the first U.S. law firm to elevate
responsibility for environmental sustainability to the chief
sustainability officer level with the appointment of Boston-based
CSO Carolyn Kaplan, who oversees Legally Green and its Green
Operations Steering Committee. The committee has established seven
priority areas, including: construction; education and outreach;
energy conservation; paper reduction; purchasing; travel and
commuting; and waste reduction and recycling.
The Massachusetts Recycling Coalition, MassRecycle, is engaged
in education, outreach and advocacy to reduce waste in
Massachusetts. Recycling and waste reduction are the most cost
effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve
natural resources.
Every week, Massachusetts residents and businesses throw out
enough paper and cardboard to fill Fenway Park to the height of the
Green Monster. To address this problem, MassRecycle started a media
and grassroots campaign called "Mass Recycles Paper." The
campaign's goal is to divert a million more tons of paper per year
from the trash to be recycled into new products.
MassRecycle encourages people to take the paper recycling
pledge, and download and share the ads, information and other tools
available for free on the campaign's Web site,
www.massrecyclespaper.org/. To learn more about MassRecycle or
join, go to www.massrecycle.org/.
O'Brien & Levine Court Reporting has been in the forefront
in offering new technology and methods for taking depositions and
delivering transcripts. For more than 30 years, the company has
provided court reporting, videography and litigation support
services to law firms and corporations worldwide for depositions,
hearings, arbitrations and trials.
In keeping with the MBA Energy and Environment Task Force's
Green Guidelines, O'Brien & Levine has introduced the
G-Transcript. The searchable, printable PDF file can be opened with
the Adobe Acrobat/Adobe Reader program. In addition, O'Brien &
Levine offers legal team members the ability to log in to our
secure transcript repository and retrieve current and archived
transcripts, exhibits and other documents anytime, from
anywhere.
"O'Brien & Levine Court Reporting is honored to be
designated as an Eco-Challenge Affiliate in support of the MBA
Energy and Environment Task Force's Green Guidelines," said Kenneth
Zais, president, O'Brien & Levine Court Reporting. "In our
daily business practices, we are conscientious about recycling and
reducing energy consumption as part of the collective effort to
conserve and protect the environment. The introduction of our
G-Transcript is one step of many as we take on the
Eco-Challenge."