Interview with our Climate Change Group (CCG)

We are incredibly fortunate that our employees are passionate about climate change. So much so that we have a trainee-founded Climate Change Group (CCG) within our firm.

To provide more insight, we sat down with the CCG leadership team, Lisa Weigand, Noah Friend, and Favour Olatunde, to ask them some questions.

What is it? Who are you? And what do you do?

The CCG is a trainee-led initiative, founded in February 2020 by Zaneta Sedilekova. It brings together trainees, paralegals and apprentices from across our UK offices to provide support to the firm’s fee earners and pro-bono clients on topics related to climate change. It gives trainees the opportunity to gain first-hand experience in business development.

The CCG comprises of 5 different sub-teams: Climate Equality, Energy, Biodiversity, Legal Response International and Climate Calendar. Each team operates differently but they all serve to allow members to expand on their climate change knowledge by sending out weekly, monthly and/or yearly updates on climate change, energy, finance and technology developments; all whilst attending events to share with the wider CCG. These include the Legal Voices for Future events organised by members of our Climate Risk Team.

What are your aspirations?

This year (2024), we hope to help play an even greater role in the firm’s expanding climate change offering. The CCG already acts as an important resource for the firm’s fee earners on work related to climate change. We are looking to develop this relationship further, while also working to strengthen relationships with the firm’s non-fee-earning teams and pro bono clients in this space. Additionally, we hope to oversee greater CCG involvement in the development of thought leadership on topics related to climate change and in the hosting of climate-related events.

More generally, we will be looking to ensure that the CCG functions as effectively as possible as a group through which paralegals, apprentices and trainees can gain experience of climate change-related work and develop their interests, knowledge and skills in this area.

How do people at Clyde & Co get involved?

The CCG is open to all trainees, paralegals and apprentices at the firm. If anyone is interested in getting involved or has any questions about the CCG, including the level of commitment involved, they can reach out to any of the CCG leadership team.

Do you have support from the firm?

The firm allows us to use our non-chargeable hours to focus on this work and encourages us to find opportunities to partner with relevant people and groups which highlights this work as a priority. Furthermore, the CCG is looking to address climate change, sustainability and ESG and its impacts beyond corporation and state levels. Particularly through the Climate Equality sub-team, we hope to address all things climate change on a more individual basis.

The CCG also works closely with the Climate Risk Team who provide the CCG with exciting opportunities to get involved in chargeable work for our key clients across a multitude of sectors.