Green Business
We are committed to protecting the environment in which we live and work.
Farella Braun + Martel became the first major law firm in San Francisco to obtain certification as a green business from the San Francisco Green Business Program in 2006. The program recognized the firm for meeting its stringent environmental standards. We received our fifth Green Business certification in 2024.
The firm’s green policies and practices include reducing, reusing, and recycling; environmentally preferable purchasing; conserving energy, water, and natural resources; supporting the circular economy; and following other green business policies in the San Francisco Green Business Program.
We continuously improve our existing efforts and undertake new initiatives to promote environmental sustainability. Notable elements of the firm’s sustainability program include:
- Striving to reach 90% waste diversion by recycling all resources such as paper, plastics, cardboard, glass, and aluminum and composting all food and plant discards.
- Eliminating waste by supporting the circular economy.
- Promoting the use of public transit and commuter alternatives.
- Use of videoconferencing to eliminate unnecessary travel.
- Use of durable cups, glasses, plates, and utensils in kitchen areas.
- Use of compostable plates and utensils in conference rooms.
- Elimination of single-serving bottled water.
- Environmentally responsible purchasing.
- Partnering with local nonprofits and organizations to reuse unneeded computers, supplies, and furniture.
- Most water-efficient toilets, urinals, and faucet aerators on the market.
- Repurposing of items instead of purchasing new items.
- Standardized double-sided printing from copiers.
- Purchasing printer paper, business cards, marketing materials, etc., with a minimum of 50%- 100% postconsumer waste (PCW) recycled content.
- Printing promotional materials with vegetable or low-VOC inks.
- Energy-efficient light fixtures.
- EPEAT-verified computers, laptops, and monitors.
- Email profiling to reduce printing requirements.
- Paperless billing.
Farella relocated its San Francisco office in 2023 to a building that shares its environmental values: LEED Platinum Certified One Bush Street.
In 2007, Farella won an Acterra Business Environmental Award. The firm was selected as the recipient of the “Susanne Wilson Award for Pollution Prevention/Resource Conservation” in the Medium Company category.