PLMJ has published its first sustainability report which is the result of an analysis of the way in which the firm has positioned itself in terms of the internal application of ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) factors.
Alongside the launch of a Responsible Business practice that offers legal support to clients in the application of an ESG framework to the management of their businesses, PLMJ has begun an internal diagnosis exercise and has made firm commitments for the short and medium terms.
PLMJ's commitments are centred on three main areas: mental health and well-being, responsible business, and diversity and inclusion. In each of these areas, PLMJ states where it is today and where it wants to be, by committing to defined metrics and a clear timeline.
The firm wanted to carry out a rigorous exercise, comparable to those of the largest firms in the world. To achieve this, it adopted the international standards of the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative).
The report analyses pillars such as the environmental footprint of the firm's activity, the impact on people and the community, and governance, among others. In each of the topics analysed, the work that has been undertaken over the years is considered, but we also look at where the stakeholders consider the firm has room to go even further.
The firm's sustainability report is the result of a participatory process in which we listened to all PLMJ's stakeholders, including our own people - lawyers and support staff - clients, suppliers and law students. The good practices of international peers and other organisations in the field of sustainability were also taken into account.
Bruno Ferreira, PLMJ managing partner: "Throughout the course of learning about sustainability at PLMJ there was one factor that became crystal clear from the outset: as a law firm we have the rare opportunity to drive sustainability both internally and externally. Social intervention and sustainability are indeed a PLMJ tradition and we are increasingly seeking more consistency, more ambition and more determination in our commitment to focus on the well-being of our people, in monitoring the social impact generated by our activity and in supporting our clients and partners".
PLMJ relied on Maze Impact, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's impact investment company, for the diagnosis and production of its first sustainability report. This report will be updated every year with the initiatives and progress made in each of these areas.
PLMJ's sustainability report can be consulted here.