Welcome to part eighteen of our blog series on Going Green, dedicated to helping attorneys practice law in a more environmentally friendly way.  Last week we discussed greener options for marketing and communication with new and existing clients.  This week we will turn our focus towards what you can do to offset your carbon emissions.

No matter what you do to limit the amount of travel for members of your law firm, it is impossible to reduce carbon emissions to zero in the real world.  But there are things that you can do to give back to the environment in order to offset those harmful emissions.

You can participate in various “give back to the environment” activities in your community.  For example, you can sponsor a tree planting or a park cleanup once a month.  There are usually local groups that try to raise money for initiatives like this all the time.  You can take an active role by reaching out to them and offering a donation that will help them get the job done.

You can also donate or invest in local businesses who are working towards a cleaner environment.  For example, local wind farms or other clean energy organizations looking for funding to increase productivity. 

This type of venture not only helps you to offset the negative impact you may still have on the environment, but it is a strong PR move.  If more firms start to associate themselves with organizations who are cleaning up our environment, whether they are for profit or not, the trend will continue to spread across the country.

If you do not have the time to commit to reaching out to these events or organizations yourself, there are a number of websites that make it even easier.  One example is www.carbonfund.org, which lets you calculate your average carbon emissions and donate an equal amount by credit card right on the website.  The goal here is sustainability, and if you get to the point where you balance the negatives with the positives, you are doing your part to promote sustainability across the globe.  Offsetting carbon emissions is a great way to accomplish that.

Past Installments in this Series
Part One – An Introduction to Going Green
Part Two – Cut Electricity Costs, Just Flip the Switch
Part Three – Forget Paper, Go Digital
Part Four – Travel Together, Travel Less
Part Five – We Recycle
Part Six – Natural Lighting
Part Seven – Know Your Gadgets
Part Eight – Setting Goals
Part Nine – Reusable Bottles and Mugs
Part Ten - Setting Employee Incentives
Part Eleven - Green Products for You
Part Twelve – Greening Your Mail
Part Thirteen – Representing Green Clients
Part Fourteen – Incentives to Work Remotely
Part Fifteen – Greener News Alternatives
Part Sixteen – Incentives to Travel Smarter
Part Seventeen – Reduce Marketing Waste