The University’s new strategy, Creating Better Futures. Together, sets out a renewed ambition for Loughborough including how the University can play a part in tackling climate change and reaching net zero.    

You would be forgiven if the University’s Legal Services team is not at the top of your list of key teams to help achieve this goal.  After all, we are property and contracts lawyers, not environmental specialists.  Our potential, however, as in-house lawyers and business advisors, to support the University to act on climate change, has never been stronger. 

We are all familiar with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report in which the UN issued a ‘code red for humanity’.  We as a team absolutely include ourselves – both personally and professionally – in responding to this call to arms.   

Our day-to-day work for the University touches many different aspects of University life through advising on and negotiating contracts and agreements.  Climate change will affect (and in many respects, already is affecting) all areas of our lives and every contractual relationship we create can either have a positive impact on our journey to net zero or a negative impact.  Each contract is an opportunity to do something different, something better. 

Climate-aligned contracting is a ‘win-win’.  It can help all parties to any contract work towards achieving their net-zero ambitions.  There is a wide range of tools and clauses that we have available to help achieve this.  We believe that as time goes on, climate-aligned contracting can (and should) become the default position.  The sooner that the potential for climate-aligned obligations is raised in the negotiations, the more likely it is that the deal will have net zero as part of the commercial discussion and ultimate delivery. 

If climate-aligned contracting isn’t something you have considered to date then don’t worry!  That’s where we come in.  In taking this route we can influence the journey to net zero in a way that supports the University’s objectives and future prosperity and has a positive impact on global environmental outcomes. 

If you would like to discuss this further with us, then please do get in touch by emailing us here.  There are opportunities to start the conversation on this topic all around us and we’d love to explore how we can help you make changes for the good of the planet through the contracts you create.     

The more we talk about what can be done, the more actually doing it becomes achievable and the sooner it will become our ‘new normal’.