37 BACK TO NAVIGATION ELECTRICITY BUSINESS TRAVEL 2017 AusLSA Member Performance While business travel is catching up, electricity used in law firm’s offices continues to be the highest source of carbon emissions from reporting members. In the past year, AusLSA’s member firms have reduced emissions arising from the consumption of electricity by 2.7%. This result adds to the continual decrease over the past four years emissions combining to a total decrease of 21%. The ongoing reductions reflect the investments by made by firms in improving their efficiency by upgrading electronic equipment, lighting, and building systems and undertaking more efficient office fit-outs or office re-sizing. AusLSA members understand that transition to new systems and more efficient equipment and premises can not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it can also reduce electricity costs, in a market where these tariffs continue to rise. 2017 AusLSA Member Performance Our greenhouse gas emissions arising from business travel have unfortunately risen to levels higher than 2014 and now represent 48.6% of our total greenhouse gas emissions as a sector. Compared to 2016, emissions per employee for all travel have risen by 6.2% and by 5.8% for flights alone. Interestingly. While we continue to report an increase in the sector as a whole, the report also shows that twenty-one of the thirty-three reporting firms reporting actually achieved a reduction in their travel emissions. The overall increase in business travel has been led by a small number of larger international firms whose growth in business is leading to increased demand for travel to service international clients and matters, client specific needs and firm administration and management. While AusLSA continues to promote the use of alternatives such as telecommuting, clearly client and firm needs are paramount and business-related travel will continue to fluctuate on a firm by firm basis. 2014 2015 2016 2017 2.16 2.73 2.52 2.23 2016 ELECTRICITY Tonnes C02 -e per employee for all firms ELECTRICITY EMISSIONS Tonnes C02 -e per employee 0.7 MINIMUM 3.7 MAXIMUM 2.0 AVERAGE Note: An adjustment to 2015 travel emissions data has been made to correct a previous reporting error. BUSINESS TRAVEL EMISSIONS Tonnes C02 -e per employee 2016 TOTAL TRAVEL Tonnes C02 -e per employee for all firms 2014 2015 Total Travel 2016 2017 2.06 1.98 1.89 1.83 1.95 1.87 1.91 1.84 Flights 0.07 MINIMUM 15.5 MAXIMUM 1.9 AVERAGE