Sustainability

Stonecipher has a long and respected tradition of contributing to the preservation and protection of the environment and recognizes that we all have an obligation to maintain a sustainable future. In recognition of its leading efforts at sustainability, Stonecipher won the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Practicing Green Award in 2009. In an effort to further provide our firm with a better working framework for sustainable practices, we have adopted the ABA’s Model Sustainability Policy and Implementation Guidelines to serve as a pathway in our ongoing effort to maintain a sustainable practice of law. Through our implementation of this policy, we stand committed to balancing our environmental, social and economic impact on our community through our charity, environmental stewardship, energy efficiency and resource conservation.

• Economic success: the wise use of financial resources
• Organization’s Economic Prosperity. Our organization will be positioned to survive and prosper economically.
• Community's Economic Prosperity. We will help our community survive and prosper economically through the taxes, salaries, and suppliers we pay, and through our civic and philanthropic efforts.
• Social responsibility: respect for people
• Respect for Employees. We will treat our employees in a respectful, fair, non-exploitative way, especially with regard to compensation and benefits; promotion; training; open, constructive dialogue with management; involvement in decision-making; working conditions that are safe, healthy and non-coercive; right of privacy; employment-termination practices; and encouraging wellness and work-life balance.
• Diversity, Fair Hiring Practices. We will promote diversity and use hiring practices that are fair, responsible, non-discriminatory, and non-exploitative for our employees, management board, and suppliers.
• Responsible Governance; Professional Courtesy. We will manage our risks properly, use our economic power responsibly, and operate our organization in a way that is ethical and legal. We will treat with due respect others who are involved with us in the discussion of legal issues and resolution of legal claims.
• Dealing With Clients. We acknowledge that our primary legal and ethical duty is to serve our clients honestly and effectively. We will compete fairly for their business, respect their privacy and confidentiality, and provide them efficient and effective services under the conditions we promise.
• Awareness and Advice. We will help raise the awareness of our employees about sustainability issues in the primary fields of our legal practice, and include consideration of such issues in the advice we provide our clients.
• Well-being of Stakeholders. We will work collaboratively with our communities and other stakeholders to enhance the well-being of others through pro bono services, other voluntary efforts, philanthropy, and/or other ways.
• Environmental responsibility: respect for life; the wise management and use of natural resources
• Resource and Energy Conservation. We will conserve our use of natural resources and energy to the extent practicable.
• Waste and Pollution Prevention and Management. We will reduce to the extent practicable the quantity and degree of hazard of the wastes we generate from our operations, and handle them in a safe, legal, and responsible way to minimize their environmental effects. We will also reduce to the extent practicable the direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases and other harmful air pollutants from our operations and travel.
• Reduction of Supply Chain Impacts. We will work with others in our supply chain to help ensure adverse environmental impacts and risks associated with our operations are reduced and properly controlled, and environmental benefits optimized.