Environmentally friendly website puts law firm in the top 1%

Wilkin Chapman has received an A+ rating for its energy-efficient web presence

Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire’s largest law firm has one of the greenest websites in the UK, according to a new survey.

The carbon footprint of the websites owned by the UK’s largest 200 law firms was carried out by TBD Marketing. It revealed that Wilkin Chapman’s website produces 98% less carbon dioxide (CO₂) per page view than the average website.

Websites contribute to carbon emissions through energy consumption and hosting infrastructure. Page sizes and load times therefore impact energy use.

Gaius Powell, director of marketing & business development at Wilkin Chapman, said: “We’re very pleased to have received this recognition for our ongoing efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and fight against climate change every day in a clear, practical and measurable way.

“The carbon footprint of our website, wilkinchapman.co.uk, is very important to us. There’s twin benefits here: faster page load times not only help minimise carbon emission but it significantly enhances the user experience and enables quicker, more effective access to essential legal support.”

Just 0.09g of CO₂ is produced each time the firm’s website is visited, compared to 4.61 grams for the average site. In the last year, Wilkin Chapman’s website welcomed more than 82,000 visitors – meaning it produced 7.38 kg of CO₂ in total – approximately the same amount of carbon dioxide as a vehicle emits over a 32 mile drive. Compared to a standard website, this is a saving of the equivalent of driving over 1,642 miles – or 370kg of CO₂.

This means Wilkin Chapman’s website’s carbon performance is cleaner than 92% of websites globally, according to the Website Carbon Calculator websitecarbon.com.

During the creation of the firm’s website www.wilkinchapman.co.uk, the firm worked closely with its web and design agency, Root Studio, on a coordinated approach to carbon emission reduction, and it continues to work with the studio to maintain and optimise the site.

Lea Chapman, partner at Root Studio, said: “As a carbon neutral design studio working on many clients’ websites, we have a robust approach to carbon emission management. One of the ways that we do this is by ensuring that the data centre we use to host sites etc is solely powered by renewable energy.

“We are naturally really pleased that our work with Wilkin Chapman has led the firm to this impressive rating.”

Wilkin Chapman has over 420 partners and staff located across a network of legal offices in  Grimsby, Lincoln, Beverley and Louth, making it the largest law firm in the Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire area. Wilkin Chapman provides trusted legal and insolvency advice to both private and commercial clients who are based locally, nationally and internationally.

To learn more about Wilkin Chapman and its range of legal services, visit www.wilkinchapman.co.uk