Sustainability
Sustainability at NIEHAUSPARTNER
The responsible and careful use of resources is part of NIEHAUSPARTNER’s corporate strategy. In order to implement this intention, we have implemented processes to make the use of resources measurable.
Sustainability processes and economic activities are monitored in the three relevant areas of economy, ecology and social affairs (ESG reporting) and readjusted in the event of undesirable developments. In the following, we will go into more detail on the particularly relevant topic complexes of the individual areas.
Economy
We have optimized our processes for compliance with independence, anti-corruption, prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and anti-competitive behavior and are therefore in a position to comply with professional regulations efficiently and comprehensively. Employees are regularly made aware of possible conflicts on these issues, and clear work processes have been set up that allow any problems to be identified and addressed at an early stage.
Ecology
We are committed to environmental protection and the sustainable use of ecological resources and have taken numerous precautions for this. When making new purchases, ecological aspects are always taken into account when making investment decisions. We are increasingly digitizing our internal and external communication and have already been able to significantly reduce our paper consumption as a result. In the course of the corona pandemic and the contact restrictions associated with it, many employees also took advantage of the home office option offered, which led to a reduction in trips — the use of this offer has established itself beyond the corona pandemic. Communication with clients has also become increasingly digitized in this context, so that our law firm now completes many appointments via digital platforms, thereby reducing the CO2 footprint. In cases where personal presence on site is necessary, we attach great importance to an environmentally friendly journey, which is why several e‑cars have been purchased and charging facilities for e‑cars have been created. In addition, we use co-working spaces both at our main location and, if necessary, with our national clients. We cover part of our power supply with photovoltaic systems installed on the company roofs. In addition, we only use green electricity from our energy supplier.
At the beginning of 2023, we expanded our office accounting to include CO2-relevant information or CO2-equivalent information and are therefore planning to draw up a CO2 balance on a scope 2 dimension for the first time in 2023. We have installed technical devices for this and added new booking parameters. We use the GHG Protocol as a standard for creating greenhouse gas balances. Our medium-term goal is to be a CO2-neutral company.
Social
As part of the corona pandemic, all employees, unless they had already done so, were technically equipped so that they could work from home. During the contact restrictions, they were also encouraged to coordinate with each other, so that only one employee was present per office at a time. These measures enabled us to keep infections at a low level overall, so that all work could be completed on time, even under the difficult conditions. Due to the increased digitization initiated during this time, all employees can continue to be offered the opportunity for hybrid work in the future.
As part of the company’s internal health management system, new, energy-saving monitors that are ergonomically mounted using brackets were purchased for all workplaces. We also offer employees the opportunity to take advantage of fitness offers at a reasonable price as part of a company cooperation.
Opportunities for exchanging information are regularly offered within the company so that employees can exchange information with their colleagues on various specialist topics and thus engage in knowledge sharing. All employees also have access to training documents and process descriptions. In addition to the possibility of attending external events and online seminars, experts are also invited for in-house training. We also support our employees with further training projects for professional development and diversification. The recruitment criteria for new hires are exclusively professional skills, social skills and personal suitability. Gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or ideology, disability, age and sexual orientation contribute to the diversity and wealth of perspectives at the law firm and enrich our company. The compatibility of work and family is also very important to us. Thanks to flat hierarchies and an open-door policy, employees can implement flexible work solutions and thus have the opportunity to react spontaneously to unplanned events. A working atmosphere that is free of prejudice and treats every employee with respect and appreciation is therefore a matter of course for us.
Sustainability Consulting
Sustainable companies are already achieving higher company values on the capital market. Sustainability is already paying off for you and will be a central factor for your profitability in the future. As a future-oriented auditing company, we would be happy to support you in the transformation to a sustainable company and would be happy to advise you on all key questions!
Henrik Evers