Beveridge & Diamond is proud to participate in Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy (LSE). LSE is a Stanford University initiative that matches non-profits and start-ups working in the field of environmental sustainability with law firms providing pro bono legal services. LSE recently featured B&D’s pro bono sustainability work in the organization’s Annual Report for 2022.

Since 2019, we have provided more than $1.3 million in pro bono legal services in support of environmental sustainability, with over $500,000 provided in 2022. LSE’s Annual Report highlighted B&D’s participation and our commitment to provide $250,000 of pro bono legal services for ongoing and new sustainability matters in 2023.

The report specifically calls out our work with the Food Recovery Network (FRN), an organization focused on directing usable food waste in university dining halls and larger events, like the 2023 Super Bowl, away from landfills and to undernourished populations. In 2022, B&D assisted FRN with developing a conflict of interest policy and adapting a contract template for entities collaborating with FRN to combat hunger through food recovery efforts.

The report also mentions B&D’s work in land and water conservation. In 2022, B&D provided support to help several land and water conservancies, including:

• helping the Georgetown Pike Rural Preservation Trust– an organization with the mission to preserve and restore the rural heritage of Georgetown Pike and its communities of McLean and Great Falls – attain 501(c)(3) status;
• helping the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy pursue scenic river designation for the North Chickamauga Creek in Chattanooga, Tennessee;
• and providing ongoing pro bono support to Sudbury Valley Trustees, a regional non-profit land conservation organization working to protect natural areas and farmland for wildlife and people in Massachusetts.

Brook Detterman, Boston Office Managing Principal and Chair of B&D's Sustainability Committee said, "I am proud to work at a firm that values both sustainability and our thriving pro-bono practice, and look forward to seeing what we contribute in 2023."

As one of the nation’s leading environmental law firms, B&D takes a leadership role in sustainability for law offices. In its offices across the country, B&D translates its values into action, improving the firm’s sustainability and reducing its environmental impacts through the work of the firm's Sustainability Committee. The firm also participates at the “Leadership” level in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Green Power Partnership, purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) in an amount equivalent to 100% of its electricity usage across all of its offices nationwide.