Corporate social responsibility

We value the opportunity to give something back to the communities in which we work. In addition to charitable giving, we actively encourage our employees to undertake pro bono initiatives and to help with a variety of community projects. We are mindful of our surroundings and aim to minimise our impact on the environment wherever possible.

As a firm, we are committed to the highest professional standards in our engagement with our clients, people, suppliers and wider society. Conscious of the important role that corporate social responsibility (CSR) plays in the success of our business, we are keen to give everyone at Penningtons Manches Cooper the opportunity to participate. So, each member of staff is allowed to undertake 21 hours of voluntary work every year during office hours.

Helping our communities

We are proud to do this in many different ways and, with enough notice and enthusiasm, we can turn our hands to almost anything!

We support schemes which have a positive impact on the communities in which we are based. Each regional office has a fund allocated to support local community initiatives and dedicated committees in each of our offices annually select a number of local projects and charities to partner with. The charitable, educational and community based entities we have supported include Asylum Welcome, The Children’s Trust, Home-Start, Justice in Motion, Karuna Action, King’s Hedges Family Support Project, Little Miracles, Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership, The Passage, St Michael’s Hospice, Whitechapel Mission and YMCA, to name but a few. We are keen to give everyone at Penningtons Manches Cooper the opportunity to participate and volunteer.

Pro bono

Our work brings us into contact with many people and we are conscious that not everyone has the financial resources to obtain the legal support they need.

One of our key offerings to organisations supported by our special projects will be pro bono activity.

• In the City of London, our lawyers regularly give free legal advice to individuals on a range of issues at the Citizens Advice Bureau of the Royal Courts of Justice.
• A number of cases are referred to us annually through the Environmental Law Foundation which provides pro bono advice on planning and environmental matters affecting communities.   

Building a sustainable future

Sustainability is an intrinsic part of our activities - we are focused not only on reducing the negative effects that our own organisation may have on the environment but also on engaging with our clients to help them navigate the risks posed by climate change. We are taking a number of important steps including becoming net carbon neutral through offsetting, working towards net zero emissions across our entire business by 2030, introducing a new sustainable travel policy and developing a strategic approach to our relationship with our suppliers to reduce the emissions linked to their services to the firm. We have also gained a Planet Mark accreditation and signed up to The Legal Renewables Initiative.

While we are pleased with the progress that has been made so far, we will continue to build on recent operational changes and put new ideas into play.

Read more about our sustainability programme here.