Environmental Policy

Espanha e Associados, Sociedade de Advogados, S.P., R.L., aware of the environmental impact of its activity, is committed, as well as its associates, to pursue the following principles:

 

  1. Promote specific actions and make decisions that enable the reduction of the organization’s ecological footprint;
  2. Reduction of the CO2 emissions;
  3. Outline a set of measures that ensure better energy efficiency;
  4. Reduce paper use, restricting  it to the strictly necessary;
  5. Be especially careful when choosing electronic devices, always choosing the greater energy efficiency range;
  6. Enforce recycling and waste reduction practices.

 

In order to pursue the principles by which Espanha e Associados governs its activity, our organization has been developing the following measures:

 

PAPER MANAGING AND SIMILAR RESOURCES

  • Promoting the development of the professional activity exclusively through digital support;
  • Implementing and developing a digital archive, to persue the phasing out of paper consumption;
  • Recycling all paper waste as a result of the implementation of the digital archive system;
  • Activation, as default setting, of the printing paper queuing system, so that printing depends on ordering it in the printer systems itself, through typing a personal code;
  • In case of printing out working documents, promote draft paper use.

 

DOMESTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT

  • Enforcement of a recycling system for waste separation: paper/board, plastic, glass and general waste;
  • Choosing suppliers that commercialize environmentally friendly services and products;
  • Stop the bottled water supply and, in addition, ending with the corresponding plastic waste;
  • Provide water supply through a purified drinking water dispenser, with temperature control, for associates and clients;
  • Offering a personalized water bottle to each associate, for daily use.

 

AIR-CONDITIONING AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

  • Choosing devices for the office facilities, namely air-conditioning, with the best energy efficiency and among the more environmental friendly ranges;
  • Sunlight oriented office premises – office rooms have natural light, except for three of them;
  • Isolation of the office premises, using double glazed windows.

 

Raise awareness among associates, through internal measures regarding the compliance with the established goals, within the environmental policy, namely:

 

  • Reducing paper use while developing office tasks, to the strictly essential and indispensable;
  • Using the supplied containers – personalized water bottle – for water;
  • Recycle domestic waste generated from the daily use of the premises;
  • Preferring and maximizing sunlight for the office lighting;
  • Opting and maximizing natural ventilation rather than air-conditioning;
  • Erase unnecessary use of electric energy, namely lighting and air-conditioning, during absence or breaks;
  • Privilege the use of public transportation when undertaking out office tasks;
  • Prioritize the option of printing both sides of the paper.

 

Over the past 15 years, Espanha e Associados have been enforcing its environmental practices, gradually implementing the exposed principles and measures. In addition, and looking to the future, it is currently developing the following projects:

 

  • Improvement of energy efficiency;
  • Minimizing waste;
  • Improving the recycling system.

 

We are aware that we are still far from the optimum stage of environmental sustainability, but closer than ever before. Espanha e Associados law firm is committed in pursuing its efforts to implement the referred measures and others that may contribute to the goals set forward in the present environmental policy.