For many years, we have been advising clients on undertaking business responsibly across climate change, sustainable real estate, risk and governance, anti-bribery and corruption, whistleblowing and crisis management. The UN Global Compact and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (the “SDGs”) now challenge us to consider how much more of our activity, whether fee-earning, pro bono or direct operations, influence these global priorities. In these pages, you will see how we are beginning to use these frameworks -and the SDGs in particular - to transform our understanding of the role our firm plays in building a fairer society.

This focus on the SDGs reflects a desire to enhance our reputation as a responsible business and it complements our award-winning Collective Responsibility strategy. Launched in 2013, this makes clear to our people that, more than anything else, it is their conduct as individuals within and beyond the firm that defines us as a responsible business. Not only does this include the more traditional themes of Social Impact, Diversity and Environment it also captures issues of human rights and modern slavery, working with suppliers, and fair dealing and ethics. We are proud of the progress we have made but we are not complacent; our role in building a fairer society is now clearer than ever and we are committed to using our skills and expertise to fulfil that responsibility.