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Corporate Social Responsibility, Charities and the Environment

As a prominent firm in the South, we are aware of our responsibilities to our employees, our clients, the local communities and the charities based where we are proud to live and work.  Our values as a firm recognise that we place people at the heart of our decisions, which extends to caring for those in the organisation and in the community, taking action to enact change where possible and introduce innovation in our approach to making a difference. 

Every Warner Goodman employee is passionate about the causes that they support throughout the year, whether they are for local charities or for more global issues, such as the environment or climate change.  We know that corporate social responsibility goes further than supporting these worthy causes; it is reflected in our every day activities, ethos and culture to treat each other with respect, act responsibly and ethically, and strive for the highest level of customer service.

As a firm, we support a number of initiatives with several plans and policies in place to improve the lives of those working with us and the wider community.

Environmental Issues

We have a robust and regularly reviewed Environmental Policy which commits us as a firm and our individual employees to minimise, where possible, the impact of our working practices on the environment locally, nationally and globally.  To achieve this, we:

  • Provide the appropriate recycling facilities across all five of our offices;
  • Have close working relationships with our landlords, relevant local authorities and approved contractors to ensure the responsible disposal of waste products;
  • Invest in the latest technology to reduce the amount of paper we are using, copying and printing, moving to a paper-light system;
  • Have offices which are located close to important transport links to encourage the use of public transport, wherever possible;
  • Promote online meeting platforms to reduce the requirement for travel between our offices and with clients;
  • Comply with all the applicable environmental legal requirements and obligations placed upon us;
  • Have reduced the number of printed marketing materials;
  • Use online legal resources for research;
  • Source goods from environmentally friendly or sustainable sources, wherever possible;
  • Continually seek to improve our business efficiencies in the use of energy, raw materials and natural resources.
Local charities

We have strong relationships with several charities based across the South, including:

  • Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association – we have been working with this charity since 2014 in various ways, having raised almost £20,000 towards the provision of their services to families in Hampshire.  Activities include a social media campaign every year as well as employees taking part in their fundraising sky-dive and Great South Run.
  • Southampton Legal Walk – organised by Legal Support Trust, we have taken part in the Southampton Legal Walk, aimed to raise funds and awareness for free legal advice services across the region.
  • Wessex Cancer Trust – with several local centres to our offices, we have frequently donated to Wessex Cancer Trust, as well as through fundraising activities such as the Walk the Wessex Way Challenge.
  • SERV Wessex – in 2018, our Personal Injury raised over £3,000 for this important charity by taking part in a 22 mile walk.  The funds were used to keep one of their volunteer bikes on the road for a year.
  • Alzheimer’s Society – several employees in the firm have taken part in fundraising activities for this charity, including the Trek26 Challenge.
  • Solent Mind – supporting mental health causes is one that is close to our hearts which is why we have worked with this charity in various ways, including taking part in their Walk the Test Way Challenge.
  • Food banks – every year at Christmas, each of our offices collects for their local food bank.
Community Groups

In addition to working in partnership with charities, we are also keen to work with other local organisations, for example:

  • Waterlooville Events team – since opening our office in Waterlooville in 2019, we have worked closely with the Waterlooville Events team, sponsoring their Christmas parade and the Summer Fete.
  • Dementia Friends – several members of our firm are trained as Dementia Friends to raise awareness of the difficulties that those with dementia may face in their every day transactions with businesses, and how employees can adapt their approach to accommodate them.
  • Moneyfields FC – we have been proud sponsors of Moneyfields FC since 2015.
  • Brendoncare Care Homes – we have worked with this local care home organisation by taking part in their Santa Fun Run and also hosting our own baking competitions to raise funds.
  • Zany Zebras – in 2016, we took part in the Zany Zebras initiative hosted by Marwell Zoo contributing towards the conservation work undertaken by the zoo.
  • Road Safety Week – we have in the past partnered with road safety charity, Brake, and each year support Road Safety Week to promote safe use of our roads.
  • Portsmouth Football Club – in 2018, we were proud sponsors of the Portsmouth Football Club’s Academy to send two teams to the Trophee De L’entente tournament.
  • Several of our departments offer discounts to member of the NHS, Bluelight community and those in the armed forces.
Business Support

Being able to give back to the local business community is also a part of our overall corporate responsibility and we have enjoyed business partnerships with the following organisations:

  • LawNet – we have been a member firm of LawNet for a number of years, providing our clients with the reassurance that we are regularly monitored for our quality standards and client service.
  • Hampshire Chamber – as members of Hampshire Chamber, we have access to a wide network of organisations and are a key part of the business community, attending local events and supporting them in their lobbying activities.
  • Business exhibitions – we are frequent supporters of business and property exhibitions, including the Southampton Property Show and attending the Employee Benefits Fair at Southampton University.
  • Local support for entrepreneurs – in 2019, Steven Grant, Partner and Head of our Company Commercial team, appeared in the student and graduate Fundamentals of Business series for University of Portsmouth initiative, nest, providing legal advice about the initial stages of setting up a business.

 


To find out more about working with us on local charity, community or business support projects, you can contact Karen Clarkson at karenclarkson@warnergoodman.co.uk.  Alternatively, visit our Careers page to read about the latest opportunities to join Warner Goodman LLP.

 

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