A significant impact

Before launching the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations it was imperative to understand how and to what extent the actions of practitioners involved in an arbitration impact the environment.  We conducted an initial study of a medium-large scale arbitration taking into account certain standard carbon-producing components of arbitrations such as the printing of submissions, long and short haul return flights, train and car journeys, hotel stays, and coffee cups etc. Using some underlying assumptions based on a major international arbitration case study, it was projected that just under 20,000 trees could be required to offset the total carbon emissions resulting from just this one arbitration. Long-haul flights alone can contribute over three quarters of these total carbon emissions.    

The study revealed that by taking just three measures: reducing long-haul travel by one return flight at each stage of the arbitration; eliminating hard copy filings altogether; and eliminating the use of disposable coffee cups, practitioners could contribute in substantially reducing these carbon emissions.   

In order to continue to understand the scale and depth of the issue, the Steering Committee is in the process of expanding the study to cover a wider range and scale of arbitrations. The expanded study will also include an assessment of the carbon emissions caused by arbitration conferences, seminars and events. The expanded study aims to provide a broader understanding on carbon emissions across the industry, which will in turn, aid the focus of our efforts moving forward.

The results of the expanded study will be published here soon.