Five years after unveiling its “Green by 2015” initiative, the Heyl Royster law firm will celebrate its successful scorecard in all six offices on "Earth Day" - April 22.
The initiative is the firm’s shift in policy in order to make environmentally sound and sustainable practices a top priority in six offices throughout Illinois. As a result, the firm formed a "Green Committee" of attorneys and staff, which created a Green Initiative Scorecard to measure its success. The firm was able to reach all goals on the scorecard in each office.
“Being an environmentally conscious firm is very important to us,” Heyl Royster Managing Partner Tim Bertschy stated in a release. “In 2010, we set out to be ‘Green by 2015,’ and I am proud to announce that we have exceeded our goals across the firm. All of our offices have done a stellar job on all fronts – especially in the areas of reducing office waste and finding creative ways to use our Green Initiative to benefit our communities.”
The Green Initiative Scorecard included recycling paper, printer/toner cartridges, batteries, newspapers, magazines, cardboard, bottles, aluminum cans and library books. Each office stopped using Styrofoam cups and began using coffee mugs and glass cups. Bottled water was replaced with filtered water. Printers were reconfigured to one color and two-sided default printing. And files were scanned into an electronic database, among other things.
To celebrate its achievement, Heyl Royster’s Edwardsville office organized an internal raffle for Cardinals tickets. All proceeds will go to The Nature Institute, a non-profit land conservation, nature preservation and environmental education organization.
The firm also conducted a book and magazine swap benefiting the Christian Hospital children’s programs.
Additionally, Heyl Royster employees collected eyeglasses that were donated to the Lion’s Club and cell phones for the Oasis Women’s Shelter.
The employees also had an internal toy and clothing drive benefiting Goodwill, the Salvation Army and the Oasis Women’s Center.
Heyl Royster was recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) and its Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER) for its efforts towards environmental sustainability.
Also, through the firm’s enrollment in the Best Practices for Office Paper Management program, Heyl Royster became a Law Office Climate Challenge Partner, joining more than 200 other law firms and organizations.