RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

We invest in colleagues’ health and wellbeing, career development and sense of belonging through specialist wellbeing support, learning and coaching opportunities, inclusive recruitment and outreach programmes, and policies that support diverse needs and experiences. By fostering a culture where everyone can be themselves and fulfil their potential, we help our people succeed while strengthening our business.

Health and Wellbeing
We believe that sustainable high performance and wellbeing go hand in hand. We are committed to providing safe, healthy working environments across our global operations.

In 2018, we co-founded the award-winning Mindful Business Charter (MBC), a set of principles designed to promote better mental health by reducing avoidable stress caused by poor working practices. In addition to this, we also: 

• run regular line manager mental health training, and embed topics such as resilience and managing stress into our L&D curriculum 
• promote webinars on topics such as sleep, parenting in the digital age, and nutrition 
• ensure everyone has access to free, confidential coaching with external wellbeing experts specialising in areas such as grief, domestic abuse, trauma, and infertility 
• upskill our team of trained Mental Health Champions who offer first-line support to colleagues.

Career Development
We support colleagues at every stage of their career, from joining to retirement, and through key transitions through access to skills training, on‑demand learning, career milestone programmes, coaching and sponsorship initiatives.

Since 2020, 150+ colleagues and partners have been trained as coaches, with group coaching benefiting 200+ colleagues and 35+ clients. Through our Best You Can Be programme, colleagues and managers hold personalised conversations at least twice a year, focusing on wellbeing, development, objectives, and performance. 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Our Board-sponsored DE&I programme focuses on disability, ethnicity, gender balance, LGBTQ+, and social mobility. Our Inclusion Partners help us drive progress in collaboration with our central Inclusion team.

Visit our DEI page

Recruitment and Outreach
We're committed to helping talent from all background access the legal profession. 

We have well-established solicitor and business services apprenticeship schemes, and are a founding signatory of the Aspiring Solicitors' Smart Legal Commitment, which provides financial assistance to aspiring lawyers from socially diverse backgrounds for accommodation, tech and formal clothes. We also partner with the 10,000 Interns Foundation, Barnardo’s children’s charity and one of our clients to offer placements to Black heritage, care experienced, and neurodiverse students respectively.

In 2020, we overhauled our early talent recruitment processes, partnering with Rare Recruitment to introduce contextual recruitment, removing minimum A level requirements, and reducing unconscious bias through blind screening, voice interviews, and assessor training. We also broadened student engagement by expanding our target universities to include non Russell Group institutions.

Culture and Inclusion
Activities to foster an inclusive workplace culture are central to our strategy and underpinned by annual training for all colleagues around respectful working. You can find out more about our culture on our Culture and Inclusion page. In addition to annual training for all colleagues around respectful working.

Visit our Culture page

Our community work is centred on the goal of Unlocking Young Potential by improving access to education, employment, and the legal profession.

We deliver this strategy through a combination of charitable activities, volunteering, and providing opportunities for young people to gain work experience within the firm. We also aim to improve access to justice within our communities, through our long-standing pro bono programme.

Charitable Giving
The Addleshaw Goddard Charitable Trust has been making an impact for over 30 years, operating independently from the firm, but supporting its aims. In recent years, the focus has particularly been on match funding colleagues’ team and individual fundraising efforts, thereby helping a wide range of local, national and international charities. 

Our Fundraising Charities
In 2023 we launched three-year fundraising partnerships with two fantastic charities: the Honeypot Children’s Charity in the UK and Jigsaw in Ireland. These charities both align with our unlocking young potential strategy. 

Honeypot supports young carers aged 5 – 12, providing welfare grants, respite breaks and educational support. Colleagues have taken part in fundraising events, including the London Marathon, a Santa Dash, Tough Mudders, bake sales and quiz nights. Hear from Helen about the important work of the Charity Committee.

Jigsaw is focused on improving mental health outcomes for young people in Ireland. Our Dublin Charity Committee have hosted fundraising events and provided pro bono support. Ann sits on the Dublin Charity Committee and you can hear about her involvement.

Once these partnerships conclude, we will be launching our first global charity partnership. Street Child helps children in challenging contexts to be safe, in school and learning. Its work focuses on helping children overcome barriers to education, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected environments. This new partnership reflects the international nature of our firm and allows us to support access to education at scale, while creating meaningful opportunities for colleagues get involved.

Colleague Volunteering
In addition to supporting these charities, colleagues across the firm give up their time on a regular basis or use their annual CSR Day to volunteer for good causes of their choice.

Visit our Community page

Pro Bono Programme 
Colleagues across our offices are incentivised to deliver 50 pro bono hours that can be counted towards their chargeable hour targets. 

Visit our Pro Bono page

At Addleshaw Goddard, we are committed to reducing our environmental impact and achieving our ambition of becoming a net zero business by 2045. We are embedding sustainability across our operations through dedicated governance, colleague engagement and climate training, while focusing on reducing emissions from energy use, improving resource efficiency, and supporting biodiversity efforts in our local communities.

Through a combination of practical action, innovation and collaboration, we are working to create a more sustainable business and support the transition to a low-carbon future.

Commitment to Net Zero 
We have adopted emissions reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). This ensures our commitment aligns with the latest climate science, aiming to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. You can find out more about our progress in our latest Responsible Business Report.

Energy
We work to ensure that our premises are energy efficient spaces that will support our decarbonisation efforts. Tracking our electricity and heating consumption, allows us to spot trends and target efficiency interventions where they will have the greatest impact. Our aim is to transition to 100% renewable electricity tariffs by 2030 for our global office portfolio. 

Our IT strategy involves upgrading to more energy efficient equipment and software. Like many businesses, we are in the process of understanding the impact that AI will have on our emissions and are engaging with suppliers on this topic, as well as closely monitoring updates from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

Resources and Waste
We are committed to reducing the resources we consume, reusing materials wherever possible and recycling responsibly. Through digital solutions, waste reduction initiatives and equipment reuse and recycling schemes, we aim to minimise waste and make the most of the resources we use.

Travel
As our firm continues to expand, travel patterns are reviewed regularly, and we collaborate internally to promote more sustainable travel options and events. By combining data-driven insights with practical resources, our aim is to shift our travel culture towards low-carbon solutions, without losing the personal connections that are vital to our client service and culture. 

Climate Collaborations and Partnerships
We are an executive member of the Legal Sustainability Alliance (LSA), which informs, equips and empowers law firms to take effective action on the climate and nature crises at home, at work and through their practice.

We are signatories of the Greener Litigation Pledge, which promotes sustainable practices throughout the duration of litigation projects, including engaging with all parties involved in proceedings to reduce the environmental impact of activities.

Visit our Environmental Sustainability page

We work closely with clients, suppliers and partners to advance shared responsible business goals and create positive social and environmental impact. Alongside helping organisations navigate complex ESG challenges through our specialist legal expertise, we collaborate on initiatives that support sustainability, inclusion and community outcomes. We also embed responsible procurement across our supply chain, working with suppliers to improve sustainability performance, reduce emissions and support our journey to net zero.

Client Collaboration
Our starting point with new clients is usually to communicate our responsible business strategy and credentials.

But in many cases our relationship has evolved beyond this to collaborating on initiatives which help to further our respective responsible business aims. Read our Responsible Business Reports for examples of projects where our impact has been enhanced by working together with clients, pooling our ideas and resources. 

Lawyers Advising on ESG and Sustainability
We are proud of our work to support clients in navigating the legal, risk and regulatory aspects of their sustainability journeys.

Our ESG practice has advised policy makers, government bodies and a broad range of companies on areas such as transition planning, sustainable financing, non-financial reporting, value chain due diligence, ESG-washing disputes, through to technology integration and executive remuneration.

Visit our ESG and Sustainability Practice page

Supply Chain Sustainability
From selling coffee that funds the rehabilitation of prison-leavers, to switching our standard tree-based paper to a sustainable alternative made from agricultural waste, careful procurement decisions about the products we use day-to-day help to make us more sustainable as a business, as well as drive wider social and environmental benefits. 

In partnership with EcoVadis, we undertake sustainability monitoring of our key suppliers. This analysis enables us to identify areas of risk or lower performance and engage directly with those suppliers to better understand their practices, offer guidance where needed, and encourage improvements. 

We also engage with our most carbon‑intensive suppliers to collect emissions data and understand their environmental ambitions. This improves visibility of our supply chain footprint, supports more accurate reporting, and helps identify opportunities to collaborate on reducing environmental impact.

Our Board, chaired by our Senior Partner, meets monthly to approve and oversee the firm’s strategy. External non-executive members provide independent oversight and guidance. The Executive, led by our Managing Partner, formulates strategy for Board approval and manages business operations. 

Responsible business, as a standalone agenda item, is considered bi-annually by the Board and the Operational Executive. Additionally, responsible business considerations are woven through our wider Board and Executive agenda – it forms a key element of the Culture pillar of the firm’s 2030 strategy, as well as supporting other pillars including Brand, Clients and Innovation. 

Professional Excellence and Integrity
We uphold trust in the legal profession through holding our people to the highest standards of professional behaviour and integrity in all their interactions. Our Office of the General Counsel oversees legal and regulatory compliance, providing policies, training, and oversight. 

Code of Conduct
Our Code of Conduct ensures a safe, inclusive, and ethical workplace, promoting integrity and accountability. Covering areas like professional standards, working with respect, and financial disclosures, it safeguards against risks while reinforcing legal and ethical obligations. The Code aligns with best practice and evolving standards, and annually colleagues are asked to read and confirm their understanding. 

Financial Crime 
We equip colleagues to detect and prevent financial crime through policies and mandatory training on anti-money laundering, sanctions, and anti-bribery. Regular audits ensure compliance and identify training needs. We have updated our guidance on gifts, hospitality, and fraud risks linked to emerging technologies, like AI. 

Data Protection 
Cyber security is a concern for all businesses, and we are committed to safeguarding client and personal data through robust controls and audits. All colleagues complete annual training, and new suppliers are assessed for IT security. Our Information Security Management System is certified to ISO 27001 across nine offices, covering the majority of our headcount, but all offices effectively operate to the same standards, in line with best practice.

Modern Slavery 
We take all necessary steps to prevent modern slavery within our business and supply chain. Relevant internal teams receive training on prevention, detection, and reporting. Our Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement confirms no instances of modern slavery have been identified to date.

Innovative Technology
The rise of AI has driven a focus on secure adoption of new technologies. We have been promoting both the benefits and use cases of AI, alongside the ethical considerations and drawbacks so that our colleagues can use these tools fully informed. We provide clear policies on AI use, setting guardrails to ensure responsible application, and guidance to our clients about how we use technology to deliver work in a safe and secure way. We are engaging with our AI suppliers, to better understand the impact that the adoption of AI may have on meeting our net zero targets.

Raising Concerns
We foster an open culture where concerns can be raised easily and are taken seriously. Our Whistleblowing Policy supports anonymous reporting via our Safecall helpline, covering issues from bullying and harassment to fraud or corruption. External complaints are addressed through a procedure overseen by our Complaints Partner.