A Green Law Firm

Greening Horack Talley:  Leadership in the ABA / EPA Law Office Climate Challenge

At Horack Talley, we believe it is important to walk our talk. With the start of our Green practice, Horack Talley began several programs that culminated in our leadership-level participation in the Law Office Climate Challenge. The Challenge is a multifaceted program from the American Bar Association in collaboration with the US Environmental Protection Agency. As part of the Challenge, Horack Talley has instituted “Best Paper Practices” delineated by the ABA, and is participating in WasteWise, EnergyStar, and Green Power—three EPA programs. The Challenge only requires participation in one of these programs; Horack Talley is participating in all four of them at the leadership level.

To kick off the Law Office Challenge, Horack Talley created a baseline of energy and paper usage, recycling and other energy-related metrics in September of 2007. Since then, the firm began battery recycling, bottle and can recycling, more comprehensive paper recycling, began purchasing paper with 30% recycled content, set copiers to default to two-sided copying, replaced incandescent bulbs with energy-saving fluorescents, and raised the temperature in the computer server room to save air conditioning energy.

Horack Talley purchased low-carbon renewable energy credits from Renewable Choice Energy in the amount of 101% of total energy usage per year. The estimated environmental benefit is equivalent to the carbon-offsets that would be achieved by planting 2229 trees or by not driving over 590,000 miles.

Public transportation lunch-and-learn sessions and a monthly prize drawing encourages use of public transit by employees, and this program is getting results. Public transportation use increased from 10% to 30% of Horack Talley staff positions over the last six months.

Efforts are on-going. The Green Initiatives Group is active in the US Green Building Council and speaks regularly on Green issues at local and Charlotte region events. Stay tuned—at Horack Talley we have something up our sleeve!