At Bevan Brittan we’re committed to making a difference. We strive to help our clients respond to constant change by delivering commercially astute legal advice. Our business relies on our people and we feel passionately about the work that we do. Our colleagues are bright, capable and motivated and we believe that they thrive and deliver more by working in a fun, enjoyable and rewarding environment. We’re committed to giving back something to the communities within which our offices are based and as a responsible business we’re concerned about how the operation of our business impacts upon the environment.
We take corporate responsibility seriously. Our corporate responsibility policy dictates that as a business and as individuals representing our business, we behave in a socially responsible manner. Our corporate responsibility programme is driven by our colleagues’ desire to use their skills to benefit others. It isn't something new but something which has evolved from various initiatives that we have contributed to in recent years.
Bevan Brittan is proud to be a member of Business in the Community (BITC), the charity that stands for responsible business. BITC advise, support and challenge their members to create a sustainable future for people and the planet and improve business performance. More information about BITC can be found on their website www.bitc.org.uk.
Our corporate responsibility programme covers four areas:
- Being a responsible business
- Being Green
- Being a responsible employer
- Community engagement and support
Responsibility to our clients and others
We aim to manage our business responsibility and act with integrity and professionalism. We believe in treating our clients and stakeholders fairly and honestly. Our client promises are the values on which our business is based. These are:
- to understand you
- to provide solutions that contribute to your success
- to give you fair pricing and clarity on costs
- to give you the right team
- to communicate clearly
- to care about our relationship with you
We aim to live by and are happy to be judged by these promises. Click here to view our promises in full.
Environmental responsibility
Sustainability is an increasingly significant issue for businesses and at Bevan Brittan we actively promote responsible practices within our business. We aim to:
- conserve energy in our offices
- promote green travel
- minimise waste and encourage recycling
Sustainability issues are considered in purchasing products and services and we aim to work with suppliers who have similar standards.
Energy consumption
Over the last few years we have invested heavily in our building infrastructure taking on new premises in London, Bristol and Birmingham. In Bristol we were involved with the development of our current office, Kings Orchard and we not only helped bring a decaying building back to life but helped revive an area in need of regeneration.
At Kings Orchard, we have found that it is the little things that count, for example ensuring computers and lights are switched off when not in use. Thanks to small changes like these, the most recent audit by the Carbon Trust found that the carbon savings made in one year were the equivalent of an average sized family car travelling round the world over 12 times. We aim to try and improve further on this.
As a firm we have signed up to the 10:10 commitment, a pledge to reduce the firm's CO2 footprint by 10% during 2010 and an ongoing commitment to continue reduction.
Carbon Emissions
Source 1
| On-site combustion |
55.21 tonnes co²e |
| Company Vehicles |
18.21 tonnes co²e |
| Refrigerants |
0 tonnes co²e |
Source 2
| Purchased Electricity |
1244.12 tonnes co²e |
Source 3
| Flights |
2.53 tonnes co²e |
| Trains |
27.05 tonnes co²e |
| Taxis |
3.61 tonnes co²e |
| Hire Cars |
28.51 tonnes co²e |
| Personal Vehicles |
32.11 tonnes co²e |
Transportation
We encourage our colleagues to travel responsibly and have introduced a number of initiatives to help reduce their individual carbon footprints. These include the introduction of a Bike to Work scheme, improving on site facilities to encourage cycling or walking to work, encouraging the use of video conferencing to cut down on unnecessary inter office travel and offering season ticket loans for public transport.
Waste reduction and recycling
We have recycling facilities in all offices for paper, plastics and cans and we work hard to eliminate waste within the business. We ensure that we dispose of our old computers and printer cartridges responsibly.
Click the link to view the Bevan Brittan 
Energy Performance Certificate.pdf
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How we treat our colleagues is a key indictor of how we behave as a business. We believe our colleagues help give us a competitive edge in our chosen markets. We’re committed to attracting and retaining what we believe to be the most qualified lawyers and support staff to fit within our business and our culture. We are not a company of stuffed-shirt lawyers and feedback from our clients indicates that they value our ‘relaxed but determined to get the job done’ approach.
Our Human Resources policies are designed to treat our colleagues equally and fairly and to provide them with a supportive work environment which gives them the flexibility that modern life requires.
We are committed to developing an open culture in tune with society. Our Diversity Group works within and outside of the firm to help actively promote the issue. For further information on diversity at Bevan Brittan please click here.
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Much of the work we do for our clients involves helping them improve facilities and services in areas such as health, education, regeneration and social housing. With this in mind this area of our programme focuses on young people and homelessness.
Charity and fundraising
Our charity of choice is Action for Children (ACH), the national children’s charity who support and speak out for the most vulnerable children and young people in the UK. Please visit www.actionforchildren.org.uk for more information on the work they do.
We have worked with ACH since 2006 and through a combination of hosting charity balls, fun runs and other activities we have helped raise over £75 000 for their projects across the country.
We hold monthly dress down days where our colleagues collect for national charity days such as Red Nose Day or Children in Need, or for charities which are local to our office and are representative of young people and homelessness.
We also operate payroll giving for colleagues through the Charities Trust.
Volunteering
From gardening to repainting school classrooms to helping school children write CVs, our colleagues have been involved in many projects in the local community. Even the partners used a day of their annual conference to carry out work in the local community. We have also worked on joint projects with clients such as the London Together day. In 2008, working with some of our housing trust clients we held our first firm wide volunteering day where colleagues worked on 20 projects which included painting, gardening and general DIY in Bristol.
Pro bono
We operate our pro bono scheme as a member of Pro Help which is part of Business in the Community (www.bitc.org.uk). We are committed to providing 120 hours of legal advice per annum to organisations that best fit our criteria of supporting young people and homelessness. Over the past year we have advised on various property and employment issues and have held a seminar to advise Trustees on their roles and responsibilities.
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