Sustainability at the Firm

At Bean, Kinney & Korman, P.C., we as a firm are committed not only to providing first-class legal services and maintaining excellent client relationships, but also to acting as a forward thinking corporate citizen and member of the community. As such, we believe it is our obligation to make a commitment to minimize our carbon footprint, to “green” our office environment and to lead by example within our community with regard to the implementation of sustainable policies and procedures.

This commitment demands that we take appropriate measures to conduct our internal business as responsible stewards of our global resources and environment. We therefore structure our business practices to incorporate our goals towards sustainability and to review our sustainability policies and practices on an on-going basis. As such, we have adopted the following mission statement to guide the members of our firm in their efforts.

Intelligent Commuting

Our firm is located in the center of a transit-oriented development with easy access to a vast network of bus, subway, carpool, vanpool and ride share systems. Our choice of this location helps to significantly reduce our dependency on automobile transportation, to reduce our use of fossil fuels and to reduce our carbon footprint. By locating our firm in this urban center, we have also reduced our need for the use of energy and resources directed towards road construction. We directly encourage employees to forego automobile usage and provide financial incentives for use of public transportation.

Sustainable Infrastructure

We selected our firm’s location in a structure designed with sustainability in mind. The Navy League building has received a Silver Rating in the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. In fact, our building has qualities well above the Silver Rating threshold. Our commitment to green building is also reflected from within. We chose to carry out many of the same philosophies identified by the LEED© program in the design and construction build-out of our offices. We have also qualified 9 members of the firm as LEED Accredited Professionals. Our LEED APs actively participate in the education of clients and industry leaders alike by conducting seminars and publishing articles on green issues.

Recycling

We encourage the recycling of aluminum, glass, plastic and paper materials within our offices. Recycling bins are located in our lunch area, copying centers and conference rooms. Each firm member has their own recycling bin at their desk. Materials for recycling are collected at the end of each day. We strongly encourage the reuse of office supplies.

Paper and Printing Management

One of the central environmental impacts of a law firm is the use of paper. We have selected paper which uses rapidly renewable sources. This not only reduces deforestation impacts from paper production, but also reduces the need for chlorine bleaching in processing. We encourage our attorneys to forgo printing when possible and use electronic versions of documents and materials. When printing cannot be avoided, we encourage the use of duplex printing. We are committed to increasing our duplex printing capabilities in future printer and photocopier purchases. We educate our employees on draft style printing options to reduce ink usage and production impacts whenever possible.

Purchasing Policies

We include a consideration of sustainability when making all purchases, including recycled content materials for office supplies, kitchenware, and durable products. We also use eco-friendly cleaners and detergents. Our evaluation of vendors includes an analysis of their sustainability policies as we understand that our market choices are not neutral and that they will have a positive or negative impact on the environment downstream from us.

Reduction of Waste

To reduce the amount of waste produced by the firm, we encourage the use of mugs and glasses for refreshments in the place of disposable containers. The disposable containers that we do use are made from recycled content and/or natural materials and are biodegradable. The firm has stopped serving bottled water and provides filtered water in our kitchen areas and for meetings.

Reduction of Energy Usage

We utilize compact fluorescent bulbs for lighting whenever possible and are systematically installing motion sensors to activate/deactivate lighting. We encourage our employees to be thoughtful and consistent about turning off light fixtures and electronic devices when not in use. We educate our employees regarding appropriate computer settings to facilitate reductions in energy consumption. Our building cleaning crew is directed to turn off all lights, except for mandated emergency lighting, at the end of each day. With regards to heating and air conditioning, our building uses an energy efficient HVAC system.