The American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER), in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased to present the ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge (Eco-Challenge). The Eco-Challenge is designed to encourage law offices to take specific steps to conserve energy and resources, as well as reduce emissions of greenhouse gases - which cause global climate change - and other pollutants. The ABA Law Practice Management Section (LPM) is co-sponsoring this initiative.

Law offices may meet the Eco-Challenge by participating in one or more of three EPA partnership (i.e., voluntary) programs, or by simply undertaking certain office management "best practices:"

1) Adopt "best practices" for office paper management by reducing paper usage, increasing recyled content, or increasing recycling. Alternatively, implement these actions by participating in EPA's WasteWise program, which encourages organizations to save energy by reducing waste

2) Participate in EPA's Green Power Partnership (Green Power) program by purchasing energy from renewable sources to cover at least a portion of electricity usage

3) Participate in EPA's ENERGY STAR program, which encourages law offices to reduce energy use by at least 10% through, among other things, the purchase of ENERGY STAR-designated equipment and implementation of better energy management practices. This program has features that recognize the issues associated with tenant law offices

Application procedures are streamlined for participation in these EPA programs and for participation in the Law Office Eco-Challenge. Participating law offices will receive recognition from EPA, in accordance with those programs' requirements. In addition, participating law offices will receive recognition from the ABA. Specifically, a law office that meets the minimum requirements for participation in at least one of the EPA programs, or simply adopts best practices for office paper management, qualifies for recognition as a Law Office Eco-Challenge Partner. A law office that achieves a higher level of participation in at least one of the EPA programs qualifies as a Law Office Eco-Challenge Leader. Qualifying law offices will be recognized, and, for those that participate in EPA programs, the amounts of greenhouse gas emissions avoided by their actions will be posted on the ABA's Law Office Eco-Challenge Website.

The Eco-Challenge is a two-year pilot project initiated in March 2007.

Adopt Best Practices for Office Paper Management; Participate in the WasteWise Program

Law offices tend to be paper-intensive, and the production and disposal of paper consumes substantial amounts of energy and generates significant quantities of greenhouse gas emissions. One large Washington, DC. law firm buys about 100,000 sheets of copying and printing paper per attorney per year, which is almost one page per minute of attorney billable time, and which amounts to a half-ton of paper per year. The life-cycle of a ton of paper, from production to disposal in a landfill, results in the generation of about 11 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) - equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.

Law offices can undertake simple and effective "best practices" to improve office paper management, including:

A law office that adopts at least two of those three best practices - even without quantifying their improvements in paper usage and the attendant effects on greenhouse gas emissions - will qualify as a "Law Office Eco-Challenge Partner."

In addition, law offices may choose to adopt generally the same best practices, and do so through participation in EPA's WasteWise program, which offers benefits of additional recognition and technical assistance. WasteWise is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to reduce municipal solid waste, including paper waste. A law office may register with WasteWise and submit a plan for office paper management that entails meeting at least two of the three best practices described above. The law office that does so will receive recognition from WasteWise as a "Partner" and from SEER as a "Law Office Eco-Challenge Partner." The law office may then implement its plan and file an annual report with WasteWise that confirms that it has met its goals, including, for double-sided copying and printing, using the double-sided mode for at least 50% of the pages copied and printed, as determined through practical, good faith estimates. A law office that achieves these goals and quantifies its reductions in paper usage or paper waste - and it may use reasonable approximations in doing so - qualifies as a "Law Office Eco-Challenge Leader." Simple software calculators are available to translate those reductions into amounts of reductions in CO2 - equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, and the ABA will include those amounts on its Law Office Eco-Challenge Website. A more detailed description of best practices for office paper management, the WasteWise program, and the Eco-Challenge process, is included in ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge: Adopt Best Practices for Office Paper Management; Participate in the WasteWise Program.

Purchase Renewable Energy through the Green Power Partnership Program

Participating in EPA's Green Power Partnership program (Green Power Partnership) offers a law office the opportunity to cover at least part of its electricity usage through green power, that is, power from renewable energy sources.

Specifically, under this program, the law office agrees to purchase a minimum amount of megawatt hours of green power products, which are electric power products generated by certain types of new sources of renewable energy. The payments improve the profitability of renewable energy providers and thereby support the generation of more green power to replace electricity generated by coal and other higher emitting and nonrenewable sources. The required minimum amount is calculated by reference to a percentage of the organization's annual electricity use, and ranges from 10% if the organization's annual electricity use is relatively low to 2% if the organization's annual electricity use is relatively high. EPA recognizes organizations that buy at least the minimum amount as "Green Power Partners." Partners who purchase additional green power in specified amounts or more qualify for membership in the Green Power Leadership Club. The program includes a special calculation methodology for law offices that lease their space. Any law office can participate in Green Power, regardless of whether renewable energy is available through that organization's utility provider.

The American Bar Association (ABA) will recognize a law office that achieves recognition as a Green Power Partner or a member of the Green Power Leadership Club as, respectively, a Law Office Eco-Challenge Partner or a Law Office Eco-Challenge Leader. A more detailed description of the Green Power program, the purchase of green power products, and the Eco-Challenge process, is included in ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge: Purchase Renewable Energy through the Green Power Partnership Program.

Take Steps to Reduce Energy Use By 10% Through the ENERGY STAR Program

The ABA and EPA's ENERGY STAR program have developed a "Law Office Guide to Energy Efficiency" that encourages law offices to reduce energy usage by 10%. ENERGY STAR, recognized by a significant majority of the American public, encourages improvements in the energy-efficiency of a wide range of consumer and commercial products and buildings, and promotes energy management planning for businesses and other organizations.

Important steps that many law offices can take, among many others, to improve energy efficiency include-

The extent to which law offices that lease their space can implement these, and other, energy-efficient actions, depends on their lease provisions covering responsibility for facilities and payment of electricity costs. Even if a tenant law office faces significant constraints in implementing an energy efficiency plan, the Law Office Guide to Energy Management provides a basis for negotiating energy-efficiency improvements with the building owner or for considering energy efficiency in seeking new office space.

Law offices can enroll in EPA's ENERGY STAR program by making a good faith commitment to improve energy efficiency. A law office that does so qualifies for recognition as an ENERGY STAR partner and becomes entitled to use the program's familiar logo. The law office may then enroll in the ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge program, which encourages law offices to reduce by at least 10% their energy usage, if they own their building, or their electricity usage, if they are a tenant. The ABA encourages law offices to report their energy or electricity savings, and an office that achieves at least a 10% reduction will earn recognition as a Law Office Eco-Challenge Leader. A more detailed description of the ENERGY STAR program and the Eco-Challenge process is included in ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge: Reduce Energy Use By 10% Through the ENERGY STAR Program. More information about law office energy management is included in the Law Office Guide to Energy Efficiency.

Enrollment in the Law Office Eco-Challenge Program

To enroll, please complete the ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge Enrollment Form, and following the instructions and submission information included. To submit updates, please use the ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge Update Form.

Questions about the ABA-EPA Law Office Eco-Challenge? Listen to the informative Podcast of a teleconference held on March 28, 2007. Listen Now.

Questions? Please contact Daniel A. Eisenberg, Deisenberg@bdlaw.com, (202) 789-6046