Sustainability and its accountability have not yet become the norm in the legal services market, but Triniti Jurex, the first law firm in the Baltic States to announce its sustainability strategy, shows by example that sustainability should and can be integrated into legal services. Drawn up with account of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Sustainability Strategy of Triniti Jurex enables monitoring the organisation’s progress and taking even stronger steps towards sustainability.
The Sustainability Strategy reflects the law firm’s steady path towards sustainability. Earlier this year, Triniti Jurex was evaluated for its sustainability initiatives in the first edition of the ‘Global Green Guide: EMEA’ of ‘Legal 500’, one of the world’s most influential legal directories, and was ranked among the strongest law firms in the world in terms of its sustainability principles. Triniti Jurex also provides pro bono assistance to the international Rockit Impact Accelerator.
Six priorities for sustainable development have been marked out
When preparing the strategy, the law firm Triniti Jurex systematically assessed its impact and opportunities in the areas of environmental protection, social responsibility and good governance, and identified the key sustainable development goals. Taking into account its main stakeholders, Triniti Jurex has identified six priorities that guide the law firm’s efforts to act more sustainably, i.e. gender equality and equal opportunities, clean energy, employee well-being, climate change impacts, responsible consumption and the law firm’s strategic priority of peace and justice and legal education. As Gintarė Ivanauskaitė, Attorney at Law and Sustainability Ambassador at Triniti Jurex, points out, the main incentive to design and develop a sustainability strategy is the organic integration of sustainability and responsibility into the organisation’s structure where both criteria are integrated into the activities, and the value created and services provided to clients.
Legal competences for sustainable business development
As organisations embark on their sustainability journey, they usually try to answer the question of what they can do to make the biggest positive change. Quite often the answer to this question depends on the sector in which the activity takes place. A manufacturing company is likely to pay much more attention to ensuring that its activities do not cause environmental damage, while a service company is more likely to focus on social factors.
Vilija Viešūnaitė, Managing Partner of Triniti Jurex, agrees with this: “From the very first sustainability discussions within the team, we have been unanimous in our understanding that the greatest value we can create is in helping our clients develop sustainable businesses. In some cases, we help ensure compliance with rapidly changing regulations, but in others we accompany the client from the first steps to an overall transformation towards sustainability.”
Sustainability is not a task for big players
While there is still a perception that sustainability is only a concern for large corporations or foreign-owned companies, in recent times both the legal framework and stakeholder expectations have been a constant reminder that sooner or later sustainability will become part of every organisation.
“Our sustainability agenda is an unequivocal commitment and responsibility to our team, customers and society. We are pleased that, by agreeing on a unified sustainability strategy, we have acquired a powerful instrument that guides all our decisions”, says Jurgita Judickienė, Partner at Triniti Jurex.
Triniti Jurex is the first and only law firm in Lithuania to present its sustainability strategy to date. “When we talk to foreign partners and law firms, we notice that sustainability and accountability are merely part of their organisational hygiene. We believe that this step can initiate a meaningful tradition of sustainability in the Lithuanian legal services market as well,” notes V. Viešūnaitė.
