Williams & Connolly tries to foster sustainability within the firm, with our clients, and within our community. The firm’s efforts are led by the Sustainability Committee, a collaborative group of attorneys and staff, that hosts speakers to present on various green initiatives and environmental topics, conducts surveys on the firm’s sustainability practices, and organizes donation drives throughout the year.
680 Maine Avenue
In May 2022, Williams & Connolly moved into a brand new office at 680 Maine Avenue SW. The new building is LEED Certified Gold. LEED certification is a recognition that a building can attain by using environmentally friendly building practices during construction and operation. The firm was directly involved in designing and planning the space. Our office boasts a number of state of the art energy-saving features designed to reduce the firm’s carbon footprint. Each office and conference room is outfitted with a vacancy sensor to ensure that energy is not wasted on space not in use. Additionally, select offices and the entirety of our second floor and penthouse conference centers meet daylight harvesting requirements. The lights in these areas automatically dim based on the level of natural light detected in the space. Both the firm’s private parking garage and the public portion of the garage include parking spaces with charging stations for electric vehicles. With D.C.’s growing network of bike lanes, the firm built a secure space for bike storage to accommodate the increasing number of employees who bike to work on a regular basis. The firm also participates in the D.C. region’s annual Bike to Work Day.
Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
At Williams & Connolly, the offices, conference rooms, work stations, and common spaces are outfitted with recycling bins for paper products and for cans and bottles. All firm letterhead, attorney letterhead, and envelopes are made from 25% recycled paper, and we continue to encourage use of digital letterhead. To minimize the use of plastic water bottles, kitchens and pantries include filtered water and seltzer taps, and water bottle refill stations can be found throughout the firm, including in the firm’s gym. The conference center is outfitted with filtered water taps in each room to eliminate the need for plastic water bottles. The firm also donates office supplies and furniture items that might otherwise be discarded.
Purchasing Power
In showing our appreciation to our clients during holidays and when celebrating successes, the firm prioritizes purchasing consumable gifts from environmentally conscious small businesses. In past years, we offered artisan olive oils from a woman-owned small business that sources from family-run U.S. farms, wines and liquors from small businesses including distilleries and wineries located in Washington, D.C., and fruit baskets from regenerative farms certified as California Certified Organic Farmers. Recognizing that our clients have invested time and resources into local organizations, we join in their efforts by donating to area food banks nationwide and World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization founded by D.C. Chef José Andrés that works with local chefs to provide meals immediately following worldwide disasters.
Our Community
Williams & Connolly invests time and resources in our local community to promote sustainability and environmental responsibility. Partnering with City Blossoms, a non-profit that cultivates well-being of our communities through creative programming in kid-driver gardens, our employees volunteer to rebuild community gardens in D.C.’s Shaw and Anacostia neighborhoods. The firm also hosts work days in conjunction with the Anacostia Watershed Society, which ensures protection and restoration of the Anacostia River by helping clean wetlands and collect seeds for planting.