Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer corporate social responsibility report 06/07 assurance statement

Commentary

A CSR report should explain how a company or firm impacts on society, looking at all the important economic, social and environmental concerns of its stakeholders. It should show how crucial decisions are made and differing interests balanced. Honest about shortcomings, it should demonstrate how the organisation is responsive, by listening, learning and improving.

Against this goal, we believe that Freshfields’ second CSR report demonstrates continued progress in the firm’s commitment to retain its leading position in CSR reporting in its sector. Producing a substantive CSR report, reporting against material GRI indicators and having external, independent assurance marks it out from current practice among other firms.

The firm has taken a significant step forward in its reporting, presenting a more complete picture of firm-wide performance on CSR. Readers are provided with an account of where the firm stands against its 2005 commitments and an idea of where Freshfields is on its CSR journey and where it intends to go next. Existing data collection has improved and now covers all international offices. Fuller reporting on some key topics such as diversity and climate change has enhanced understanding of the firm’s social and environmental performance.

The report also makes an important step towards discussing some of the central issues around the role of law firms in society in the section on ‘The role of lawyers’.

In our opinion, Freshfields is to be commended for addressing some core questions about the contribution lawyers make to society.

See Looking ahead

The Corporate Citizenship Company