Paul McCluskey is head of professional practices at Bank of Scotland

Changing legislation and new policies are occurrences that legal practices juggle every day, but what can often be overlooked in a busy office is an evolving sustainability agenda and the impact this can have on business policies.

Indeed, a recent report from Bank of Scotland found that a fifth (19 per cent) of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) aren’t doing enough to make their businesses more sustainable and are missing out on the resulting benefits.

Moving sustainability up the priority list doesn’t have to be time consuming or costly, and introducing small changes throughout your practice can help to significantly reduce operational costs whilst also supporting a cleaner environment.

There are a number of simple measures that can be implemented that will reduce your carbon footprint, such as:

It’s also worthwhile educating your staff on the environmental and financial benefits of being sustainable to get them onside and help your new policies become a part of day-to-day office life.

You can also provide added value to your clients by reminding them of their legislative responsibility to operate more sustainably and the money they could save by mirroring some of the changes you have adopted.

We understand the importance of running an environmentally friendly business, but that in the midst of a busy schedule it can often be overlooked. To help you improve your environmental credentials, we have developed an online guide, our Sustainability Planning Tool. It helps you make better use of resources or find new ways to generate cost savings, and comes with a range of templates and guidance notes so you can write your own environmental policy.

Our team of relationship managers have also been trained to fully understand the sustainability agenda, so that they can help you create a tailored policy for your practice. Making small changes can make a long-term environmental difference whilst keeping you in line with regulations, and we are here to support you along your journey.