At Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, we are ardent admirers of the Pacific Northwest’s natural beauty. We are grateful for the mountains, rivers and valleys, and the abundance of fresh produce, wines and wood products they produce. We do not take these things for granted, and constantly strive to do right by our clients, the community and the natural world around us. As a socially-responsible business, we cannot ignore our natural environment.

Schwabe’s professionals are increasingly mindful of the impact that our ecological footprint (carbon or otherwise) has on the local, regional and global environment. Whether by collecting coffee grounds for the gardeners among us or acting as a collecting station for home battery recycling, we are integrating a sustainable business place with a sustainable home life. Our commitment to sustainability is also expressed in respect for our dedicated employees, our commitment to diversity hiring practices and our investment in wellness and continuing education opportunities for attorneys and staff. A sustainability blog is available on the firm's intranet for attorneys and staff who wish to share information, ideas and events regarding sustainability.

Our attorneys and staff volunteer many thousands of hours each year to pro bono work, professional committees, charities and civic groups. We do this from an understanding that we must do our part to preserve and sustain the community and natural world that sustains us. The intangible benefits of these commitments make a greater impact than could ever be quantified or reduced to a bottom line.

But promoting sustainability takes more than altruism and a healthy love for nature. Living and working sustainably takes more than a one-time donation or a recycling drive. Truly promoting sustainable practices requires a fundamental shift in thinking – a fundamental reassessment of the way we do business. It requires introspection, self-awareness and taking the long-view. For a law firm, that means measuring and improving the way we serve our clients and the way we impact the community. We collaborate with such leaders as Axis Performance, Flexcar, and Oregon Natural Step in an effort to make a positive change within the legal community and beyond.

We can reduce our paper waste stream or compost our coffee grounds, but we can also help our clients take advantage of clean energy tax credits and green building initiatives. Often, we learn new best practices from our clients and new ways to provide better legal services in a more sustainable way. For nearly a hundred years, Schwabe has counseled Pacific Northwest clients by building and sustaining healthy relationships based on mutual respect. We believe that embracing sustainability – in the natural world and the workplace – will take us through the next hundred years.