In 2007, the American Bar Association, working primarily through its Section of Environment, Energy and Resources (SEER) teamed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and launched the Law Office Climate Challenge. Chief among the program’s goals is to encourage law firms to use less paper. More than 200 law firms and other organizations are now participating. This year, SEER launched a nationwide public service project to plant one million trees across the United States in the next five years. Spearheaded by the Section’s Environmental Transactions and Brownfields Committee chaired by Amy L. Edwards of Holland & Knight, the project calls on America’s lawyers to plant trees and raise awareness of their value in combating climate change.

"I’m extremely proud of the One Million Trees Project and what it aims to accomplish," said Edwards. “Climate change is an important issue that America faces today, and by planting trees you can reduce your carbon footprint." She commended the work done by her Public Service Vice Chairs, Maki Iatridis and Harry Weiss, in getting the initiative off the ground. "It seemed like something that our committee had a natural interest in, in terms of our focus on sustainability issues in urban environments," says Edwards.

In addition to planting trees, the project will participate in public outreach and partnering efforts with the Alliance for Community Trees, which specializes in planting trees in urban areas; the Arbor Day Foundation and American Forests, which focus on restoring ecologically distressed woodlands; and TreeLink/TreeBank, which distributes funds to support local tree-planting efforts, all of which are non-profits. Members of SEER will engage in publicity and educational efforts throughout the year, including planned tree plantings on Earth Day and Arbor Day. Lawyers are encouraged to organize and get involved in hands-on tree planting activities in their communities in addition to purchasing a tree or trees through the program partners.

A lot of trees have to die so lawyers can do their work. Even in this age of digital communications, most of a typical lawyer’s work output—all those briefs, pleadings, contracts, letters and memos to file—ends up on paper. And we all know where paper comes from. Depending on his or her practice setting, a lawyer uses anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 sheets of paper a year, according to an informal sampling of law firms conducted in 2006 by Arnold & Porter. It takes a dozen trees to feed the paper needs of one lawyer at the upper end of that scale annually.

"There are a lot of good reasons for the initiative", says Ann M. Rhodes, a member of the environmental transactions committee. "Trees combat climate change by pulling carbon dioxide out of the air and replacing it with fresh oxygen. They also provide shade and cooling, which reduces the need for air conditioning and saves energy. They protect water supplies by preventing erosion and runoff, helping to keep sediment and chemicals out of streams."

A million trees in the next five years is an ambitious goal, concedes Rhodes, who is an associate at Berg Hill Greenleaf & Ruscitti in Boulder, Colorado. But, she says, "if only half of the 400,000 members of the ABA plant one tree a year, in five years we will meet our goal.
And of course they’re beautiful, and a lot of studies show that people in urban areas feel better with trees in their environment," says Rhodes, who helped identify partners for the project.
"Trees are important to the environment because of their ability to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide," said Maki Iatridis, committee vice chair. "Trees also contribute to the overall health of communities, wildlife and aesthetics."

In a sense, the Million Trees Project is an ecological extension of a sensibility already present among lawyers - it's another form of pro bono work. The legal profession in the United States is among the very few that calls on its members to make a difference in their communities through pro bono work. And nearly three-quarters of lawyers - 73 percent - report providing free legal services for people of limited means, according to an ABA study released in February 2009 on the pro bono work of America's lawyers.

The trees lawyers will plant sustain the planet in very specific ways. Trees:

• Remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis. Planting trees remains one of the most cost-effective means of drawing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.
• Reduce energy use by shading homes and office buildings.
• Remove other gaseous pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, ozone, and nitrogen oxides by absorbing them with normal air components through the stomata in the leaf surface.
• Reduce topsoil erosion, prevent harmful land pollutants contained in the soil from getting into our waterways, slow down water run-off, and ensure that our groundwater supplies are continually being replenished.

The West Baltimore planting is an opportunity for the Franklin Square Elementary/Middle School students to learn these benefits in a hands-on way. Perhaps more important, the event sets an example of the value of service and demonstrates the good that can happen when a community comes together. That lesson is one that no amount of textbook learning can teach.
Lawyers are known as defenders of justice. This project demonstrates their broader responsibility to be community leaders who can lead the charge to improve the environment and create more neighborly, supportive communities.

Lawyers interested in a more significant contribution can fund the effort of these partner organizations to reforest public lands and rural spaces. Those looking to make an impact on the urban landscape, can earmark their contributions to ACT, Tree People, or TreeLink/Tree Bank for urban landscape renewal.

Project partners can also direct lawyers to hands-on tree planting efforts in regions throughout the country.

“With trees costing as little as $1 each, the section is optimistic that its goal can be met, and even exceeded,” said Harry Weiss, committee vice chair.

To participate in the One Million Trees Project, please visit the SEER website at teh ABA located at http://www.abanet.org/environ/projects/million_trees/home.shtml. Be sure to report your contributions by completing the form found at http://www.abanet.org/environ/projects/million_trees/form.shtml, so that the ABA can track accomplishments towards SEER’s goal.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

RESOURCES:

The Green Business Alliance (http://www.greenbusinessalliance.com/Green-Business-Alliance-Opens-Legal...)

See “Ending the Paper Chase,” ABA Journal, January 2008 (http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/ending_the_paper_chase)

See "Its a New Green World at California Law Firms", California Bar Journal, June 2008 (http://www.calbar.ca.gov/state/calbar/calbar_cbj.jsp?sCategoryPath=/Home...)

See "The Wonders of A Green Law Office", Montana Lawyer, July 2009 (http://www.montanabar.org/associations/7121/July%202009%20mt%20lawyer.pd...)

See "Going, Going, Going Green", Hennipen Lawyer, June 2008 (http://hennepin.timberlakepublishing.com/article.asp?article=1238&paper=...)

See "Ethical Implications of Web 2.0 Technology, Green Marketing, Rainmaking in a Recession Among Law Practice Topics to be Explored at ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago", ABA News Release, July 2009 (https://www.abanet.org/abanet/media/release/news_release.cfm?releaseid=7...)

See "Top Trends in Legal Technology [Book Excerpt]" ABA Book Briefs Blog, March 2009, (http://new.abanet.org/publishing/bookbriefsblog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID...)

See "Leaving less of a trace behind – guidance in going green", Your ABA e-News, November 2008 (http://www.abanet.org/media/youraba/200811/article08.html)

More on the ABA SEER’s Partners for Planting Trees:

The Alliance for Community Trees (ACT) is dedicated to improving the health and livability of cities by planting and caring for trees. With 160 grassroots affiliates in 40 states and Canada, ACT engages volunteers to take action to improve the environment where 80% of people live – in urban areas. ACT member organizations have planted and cared for 14.9 million trees in cities with help from 4.3 million volunteers. ABA and ACT are partnering to inspire the planting of one million trees nationwide. Get involved by making a donation to plant a tree, or volunteer with one of ACT's local tree planting groups by visiting http://actrees.org/site/stories/aba.php

The Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit tree-planting organization in the country, with nearly one million members nationwide. The mission of the Foundation is to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Founded in 1972, the Foundation has a global impact. This year alone, the Foundation will distribute and plant more than 15 million trees across the United States and around the world. The Foundation provides many ways for members, organizations and corporate partners to plant trees in neighborhoods, communities, and in our nation’s forests. Through the Arbor Day Foundation’s current efforts and partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, supporters are able to plant trees through their donations in forests that have been devastated by wildfires, insects or disease. Visit www.arborday.org/aba to learn more about how you can help.

American Forests is a nonprofit conservation organization working with individuals, communities, and policy makers to protect and restore forest ecosystems since 1875. It is based in Washington, DC and its mission is to grow a healthier world with trees. The Global Releaf tree-planting program works with local organizations and agencies to plant native trees in damaged ecosystems across the globe. These trees provide cleaner air and water, habitats for endangered species, and reduce the effects of climate change on our planet. Every dollar donated plants a tree. So far, this project has planted over 25 million trees. Visitwww.americanforests.org/aba and discover more ways in which to participate.

TreeLink is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise awareness and enable support for healthy urban and community forests. Its goal is long-term impact in urbanized areas. The goal is accomplished by providing information networking and communications tools for urban forestry professionals, nonprofits, government, academics, researchers and the public at large. This is done through resources for education and public policy, best practices, access to government-funded research on all aspects of tree and forest biology, planting guides, volunteer opportunities, listserves and links to other tree-related organizations, information and activities. Visit www.treelink.org – a resource center of inspiration, communication and information.

The TreeBank program was created by TreeLink to enable support for local community tree planting, care and education. TreeBank is a web-based tool that enables any city to develop a community fund for tree planting, care and education. Customized specifically for urban forestry initiatives, TreeBank provides cooperative marketing with a plug-and-play donation system. TreeBank donors can self-direct their contributions to the local TreeBank "branch" in their communities of choice. In this way, TreeBank harnesses the green intentions of donors and accelerates the missions of tree organizations. Visit www.itreebank.org and donate to your local urban forest.”

To speak with someone about this project, please contact any of the public service vice chairs from any of the participating Section committees listed on the section’s web page at http://www.abanet.org/environ/. To participate in this project please visit any of the information pages at our partners’ websites.