UIA Sustainability Internal Guidelines

Introduction and caveat

These internal Guidelines are aimed at implementing the “Resolution on Sustainability and the Role of the Legal Profession.” approved by the General Assembly of the UIA held in Rome on 25 October 2023 on the occasion of the 67th Congress, whereby, the UIA resolved, inter alia: “To view its internal practices through the lens of sustainability and, where practicable, institute policies that reflect that view.”

These internal Guidelines are aspirational in nature and contain recommendations that do not create any legal obligations for the UIA, its members, staff, vendors, or any other stakeholders or with respect to any beneficiaries.

The UIA will endeavour to use good faith efforts to achieve the proposed objectives.

These Guidelines are subject to the limitations and other events beyond the control of the UIA.

Policy Commitment

Integrate and implement sustainability principles within the UIA’s Strategic Plan.
Support awareness-raising activities on sustainable development issues among members and staff.

Non-Discrimination and Equality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Bearing in mind the Statutes of the UIA:
Art. 2. Universality - engages the UIA to” take all measures necessary to promote within the UIA respect for the principles of non-discrimination and gender equality, principles to which the UIA is committed.”
Art 15 - calls upon the Governing Board to – “Ensure compliance with the principles of non-discrimination and equality, diversity and the universal nature of the Association, within the bodies of the association. It also ensures the presence of youth among its members and reports annually to the General Assembly on these aspects;”
Art. 18 - calls upon the President of the UIA to “endeavour to abide by the principles of non-discrimination, equality, diversity and the universal nature of the Association in the composition of” the Executive Committee.

The UIA should continue to apply and expand the principles of non-discrimination and equality to ensure they are implemented widely so as to ensure diversity, equity  and inclusion of women lawyers and young lawyers, lawyers with disabilities, single mothers/parents with small children, neurodivergent lawyers, etc. and also considering geographical and linguistic diversity, both when we choose our leaders - the members of the UIA corporate bodies – the Governing Board and the Executive Committee; the leaders of our Commissions and Committees; and when we select the organisers, coordinators and speakers for all UIA events - Congress main themes and working sessions, seminars, and training courses, etc.

Choosing the Venues for our Events – Congress, Seminars, Trainings, Institutional Meetings

Prefer, insofar as practical and within the boundaries of budgetary constraints of the organization, sustainable event venues managed by conference centres or hotels that are committed to a sustainability policy and are duly accredited, along the following lines:

• carbon neutral - a carbon neutral/environmentally friendly convention centre/hotel
• with a waste management policy in place
• sustainable hospitality - using eco-friendly/recycled products and food (coordinating the menu to include plant-based options and sustainable food choices), with a water usage and lighting and energy policy focused on reducing consumption
• located within walking distance from hotels and easily accessible by public transport.

Insofar as practical: duly accredited, such as event Sustainability Management ISO 20121, Quality Standard ISO 9001; Environmental Standard ISO 14001.

The UIA should be aware of the organisation’s carbon footprint: https://www.envirly.com.

Choosing our Sponsors

Prefer sponsors that are committed to a sustainability policy and who comply with the applicable sustainability reporting duties.

Insofar as practical: duly accredited for ISO purposes – ; ISO 26000 on Social Responsibility; ISO 14001 Environmental Management System; ISO 45001 Health & Safety Management System; ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Management System.

THE “E” OF ESG

Go Paperless (Circular Economy)

Encourage using only recycled paper for the Juriste International and the Members Directory, etc.

Encourage using only recycled paper for books; offer the option of electronic books.

Consider offering to members the option to receive the Juriste International, the UIA membership cards, and all communications from the UIA Centre in electronic/paperless form.

Use recycled paper for note pads, etc.

To the extent practical, record attendance at institutional meetings using a paperless format, using digital signatures and digital proxy forms.

Use an event app rather than print programs. Allows attendees to use their phones and have a more customised experience without paper or printing.

The “S” of SG

Always consider social inclusion

Recognising the strong social value of in-person events, consider that online access to our “in person” events and a limited number of online-only events will allow more social inclusion (as well as reducing carbon footprint and costs). Younger lawyers and lawyers coming from less developed countries often cannot afford to attend events in person and are therefore excluded from the life of the organisation. There are also lawyers with disabilities who cannot attend in person, single mothers with small children, and neurodivergent lawyers who do not feel comfortable in crowded conferences.
Each of these individuals might be experts in their fields who could contribute greatly. At a minimum, providing them with online access to UIA’s meetings, events and activities, where practical, would allow them to have some meaningful participation in our organisation, as well as creating a sense of community and belonging.

The UIA should establish itself as THE WORLDWIDE LAWYERS ASSOCIATION that is sensitive to these needs and that provides an opportunity for all lawyers.

Evaluate a social inclusion policy for speakers at UIA events - when selecting the most qualified speakers,  consider reducing or waving registration fees of full-time practitioners (therefore not only of academics and institutional or industry representatives) and covering or contributing to travel and lodging expenses (insofar as possible through sponsorships), not only based on the “category” of the speakers’ country of practice, their professional status and age, but also their financial conditions. Consider setting up a “DEI” (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Fund specifically aimed at supporting those UIA members who have difficulty in attending in-person UIA events due to financial reasons. The Fund would be created from UIA members’ donations and would be supervised by a dedicated team.

“S” means quality of life - Encourage all UIA events to include a “quality of life” optional component in the programme, to send a positive message – such as: offer yoga and meditation plus a 30-minute talk on wellness in the 21st century.

Implement a local “human rights” public service project at each Congress- like the Animal Public Service Project initiated at the Rome Congress.

UIA Staff diversity, equality and inclusion

Adopt Best Practices so as to ensure that we continue to apply to our Staff the principles of Non-Discrimination and Equality, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The “G” Of ESG

On Governance, implementing actions could include the establishment of an ESG/Sustainability Officer to report directly to the ExCo/Bureau on the progress towards attaining the ESG objectives, ensuring that ESG forms part of a continuous dialogue and that UIA makes efforts to consider the ESG implications of material business decisions.

Establish rules regarding the composition / structure of the Commissions, working groups, and committees’ leadership, to provide (1) more communication about the Commissions, working groups and committees’ leadership, which would allow for meaningful contributions by members, and (2) more transparency and information sharing about the rules governing participation in and contributions to seminar & Congress panels, which would encourage diversity in participation.

Sustainable Merchandising

Prefer sustainable promotional items and merchandising as an integral part of the UIA marketing strategy.

Incorporate Sustainability into Every Congress

Initiatives could include giving an award to a Commission and/or to a particular member or law firm for their efforts to achieve sustainability, or creating and awarding a “public service for the planet” recognition/award.

Pro Bono

Encourage commissions, committees, etc. and members, individual and collective, to find and support pro bono projects and to support nonprofit sustainability efforts.