Osborne Clarke for Good 2024 report (UK)
We are pleased to share with you our latest Osborne Clarke for Good annual report (UK).
In the report, you'll find out about our OC for Good framework, the progress we made against our objectives in FY 23/24 and the challenges we faced. We share how OC for Good benefitted our people, our clients and our communities, and look forward to some of the projects we have planned for FY 24/25.
We’ve included more detail than ever in this year’s report and as such, I hope you enjoy reading about our progress and challenges.
A message from our Managing Partner
I’m delighted to share our latest responsible business report with you. We’ve included more detail than ever in this year’s report and as such, I hope you enjoy reading about our progress and challenges.
This year, we’ve come to understand that by really concentrating our efforts on the areas most material for our business – inclusion, wellbeing and sustainability - we can have an even greater impact. It’s very exciting to see the results of this increased focus.
My personal highlights from this year's report include: the rollout of our Carbon Literacy Training; the growth of our apprenticeship programme; and the results of our pro bono work for the Rule 39 Initiative, and the National Deaf Children’s Society.
I’m looking forward to the coming year, and to further evolving our programmes for the benefit of all. Doing the right thing by our people, communities, suppliers and clients is at the heart of who we are as a firm, and every year we strive to do better.
Conrad Davies, Managing Partner
What went well in FY 23/24
Carbon Literacy goals exceeded
5% of our UK team certified Carbon Literate, including 16% of partners and more than 50% of the Executive Board.
Wellbeing strategy implementation
Made process improvements, enhanced wellbeing support and recruited a second resource manager to improve work allocation.
£100k invested in youth work sector grants
5,820 young people benefited from funding and supported four UK Youth grantees with pro bono advice through our partnership.
Scope 1 & 2 emissions
From 1,023 tCO2e to 593 tCO2e (a 42% drop since our FY19/20 baseline).
Achieved by significantly reducing our fuel and energy purchases, which account for 6.8% of our total emissions, mainly thanks to our new office in Bristol.
Apprenticeship programme growth
- Quadrupled our intake from two solicitor apprentices in 2018 to eight in FY23/24.
- 35 solicitor apprentices working towards a Level 7 qualification across our London, Bristol and Reading offices.
- 96% from non-selective state schools in the last three years.
4,500+ hours of pro-bono advice
Helped to protect human rights for migrants, and assisted deaf children secure places at schools where they can flourish.
Areas that still need focus
Engaging suppliers on carbon reduction
Sharing learnings with our supply chain.
Data quality for Halo
Improve data quality for Halo office WELL Building Standard® Platinum rating submission.
Race Action Plan
Continue to improve entry level hiring, colleague retention rates and the representation of minoritised ethnic colleagues in our partnership.
Recruitment review
Continue to embed outcomes.
A good business
We work to reduce our impact on the environment and support other businesses to do the same.
A good employer
We want our people to thrive, that’s why we invest in creating a diverse and inclusive workforce.
A good corporate citizen
We take our responsibilities to society seriously and try to make a difference across four areas of impact: education, environment, equality and poverty.
A good business
Our Osborne Clarke for Good strategy is key to our leadership structure with clear accountability, and oversight of our decisions and activities.
We seek to prioritise ethical procurement, fair supplier management and open dialogue with our stakeholders.
Beyond this, we recognise that much of our impact is tied up in the type of work we do. Work that helps decarbonising technologies and other ethical markets to grow and thrive is not only rewarding but contributes to enabling the future we are working towards internally.
To be authentic in providing ESG legal services to our clients, we must also practice what we preach.”
A good employer
We work to deliver a safe, healthy and enriching environment that recognises the importance of wellbeing and the ever-changing ways people engage with the workplace. Our people get to work on exciting projects for top clients, we offer competitive rewards and benefits and opportunities for development and career growth.
Inclusion is everyone’s business, and we all benefit from it.
A good corporate citizen
We take our responsibilities to society seriously, focusing on what’s important to our business, our people and our communities. By using our skills and expertise for good, we strive to make a positive contribution by delivering impact across four priority areas: equality, poverty, education and environment.
“Pro bono has introduced me to diverse people with distinctive views, which is something that I have greatly benefitted from as a lawyer and personally.”
Our commitments for FY 24/25
- A good business
- 15% of UK headcount certified Carbon Literate by investing in putting on more courses, training more of our people to deliver the course, and sharing the outcomes of action taken by our learners to encourage more colleagues to take part
- Develop and recertify Carbon Literacy training to offer to clients and suppliers and begin with a trial for clients in the tech sector
- Research and develop appropriate commitments to enhancing biodiversity and nature recovery, with a view to incorporating them into our strategy
- Achieve sub-goals in Net Zero milestone plan
- Continue to source 100% renewable electricity (we purchase electricity from our provider via the National Grid, and they purchase the equivalent amount from 100% renewable sources)
- Work with our Change and Transformation team to establish net zero as a fully integrated change programme across the business
- Deliver the pilot carbon budget with the Projects, Real Estate and Finance (PREF) practice group, aiming to reduce business travel emissions by 10%
- Review the impact of the PREF business travel carbon budget pilot and agree targets for FY 25/26, ready to launch firm-wide
- Launch supplier engagement programme to increase communication and collaboration with suppliers on sustainability and net zero
- Invest in developing our data management resource and technical solutions to better monitor our emissions and inform decisions that will reduce them. We will recruit a data analyst into our Responsible Business team, and work with our Solutions team to improve our data monitoring capabilities.
- A good employer
- Launch a new iteration of our reverse mentoring programme, including our executive and operational board members, with a particular focus on gender and race.
- Run Demystifying Partnership sessions across our three UK offices to encourage more women to consider progressing into partnership.
- Launch mandatory Talent Identification Programme for partners and senior leaders by FY 24/25 that aims to equip our firm with the right skills to identify the best talent in today’s competitive market while addressing and understanding our inherent biases.
- Continue addressing our attrition gap – following the listening exercises held this year we will be working to review our Race Action plan based on our colleague feedback, put in place resource and regular monitoring process to ensure this is delivered.
- Reintroduce exit interviews for colleagues from minoritised ethnic backgrounds and use these insights to direct our actions.
- Set a target for minoritised ethnic representation in our trainee and apprenticeship pool.
- Ensure regular, proactive reviews of minoritised ethnic talent by local leaders to identify opportunities for growth and reduce risk of attrition/stagnation.
- Further expand the Inclusion Allies programme by introducing a firm-wide allyship week encouraging colleagues across the firm to commit to at least one allyship action they want to take in 2025 to drive change and create inclusive teams and environments.
- Launch our longer-term wellbeing projects to build line manager capability, address unnecessary workplace stressors, and create thriving teams. This includes:
- tailoring wellbeing actions for each department;
- integrating wellbeing for high performance training/coaching into
- manager development programmes;
- enhancing development opportunities for Business Services colleagues;
- improving work allocation processes in remaining Practice Groups; and
- embedding ‘small change, big impact’ sustainable working practices into everyday working life by launching a smart performance campaign such as standardising meetings to 25 or 50 minutes and introducing two hours of focus time a day for all colleagues.
- A good corporate citizen
- Deliver the final year of our UK Youth Partnership and begin the legacy research project to support the work of the Joined Up Initiative
- Deliver the third year of The Bridge programme and begin to evaluate the impact with our partner schools
- Connect six of our partners and senior leaders with senior leaders in local schools, to embark on peer mentoring as part of Inspiration for All
- Continue to grow participation in our CSR programmes, delivering 5,000 hours of pro bono time and 3,500 hours employee volunteering
Looking ahead, our commitment to doing business responsibly is unwavering. In the context of Osborne Clarke’s growth, we recognise that continuing to develop our purpose and impact is key to our commercial success.
Our UK Executive Board
