Earth Day 2011

Hunton & Williams offices participated for the third year in a row in a variety of activities in celebration of Earth Day—many of which took place on multiple days throughout the week and some of which extended to Saturday and even Sunday. Volunteer "Green Ambassadors" in each office helped organize and produce the activities designed to raise awareness, educate and entertain. Internal communications were sent highlighting green practices, environmental quizzes were fielded and competitions were held, and employees wore earth colors to work in support of the day.

Below are just a few examples of the multiple activities that took place:

• In Beijing, lawyers and professional staff helped create a better environment by participating in an annual tree planting event.
• In Charlotte, everyone brought in gently used jewelry, kitchen items, books and more to swap with other staff and attorneys—a new way to recycle!
• In Brussels, they coordinated a "green" tea-party with organic biscuits in the afternoon, during which the office's operations supervisor reminded the attendees of ways they could help conserve energy on a daily basis.
• In Los Angeles, they launched an internal "LA Green" newsletter so they could share "green" news throughout the year.
• In Miami, lawyers and professional staff helped clean up the beach and care for injured sea animals as part of a Hands on Miami Earth Day volunteer activity at Pelican Harbor Marina.
• In both New York and Richmond, they collected gently used shoes to support Soles4Souls, a nonprofit organization that distributes shoes worldwide to those in need, including victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
• In Raleigh, extra recycling bins were made available so that everyone could bring in their personal documents to shred throughout the week—a helpful and much appreciated recycling opportunity!

In addition, the firm announced the winner of its inaugural "Green Leader Award" on Earth Day. The monthly award recognizes firm lawyers and professional staff who have given their time and talents to make the firm, their communities or the world a "greener" place.