At Grant Thornton, making a difference is at the heart of what we do. In this spirit, we consider stewardship of the environment to be one of our major corporate responsibilities. Thus, we adopted a firmwide initiative, ExperienceGreen, to demonstrate our commitment to the environment. Download a copy of our environmental policy.
Here are just some of the ways we strive to make a difference:
- LEED certification — Our Atlanta office received gold certification from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Our Washington D.C. office is also LEED-certified. In 2011 and 2012, five more Grant Thornton offices will undergo the LEED application process. As our firm grows, we will continue to seek out buildings that are LEED-certified.
- Carbon Disclosure Project — The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organization that houses the largest database of primary corporate climate change information in the world. Inspired by some of our clients who are already participants, we too will measure and disclose items such as greenhouse gas emissions and our environmental policies with the CDP.
- Carbon footprint report and reduction — Grant Thornton is laying the groundwork to measure and report our carbon footprint by business unit on an ongoing basis. The first report will be issued in June of 2011 and will set forth goals for carbon footprint reduction.
- Conscientious consumption — Travel and meetings are critical to providing distinctive client service. Nevertheless, we look to minimize waste in these areas, and actively pursue venues and vendors that share our dedication to the environment. We require that all hotels in our meeting portfolio participate in Clean the World, a not-for-profit organization that remills hotel soaps and shampoos and distributes them for people in need across the world.
- Green office toolkits — We are currently developing toolkits outlining steps that our offices around the country can use to become more environmentally responsible. We have already made the small changes that make a big difference: cutting paper consumption by one tree per person and replacing disposable cups with reusable ones.
