Legal
Ashurst builds a data-driven sustainability strategy with Normative
How a global law firm replaced consultants with transparent carbon accounting
Executive summary
Ashurst is a global law firm with more than 200 years of history, operating in major financial centers including London, Sydney, Singapore and Tokyo. The firm advises clients on complex transactions and regulatory challenges while navigating an increasingly demanding sustainability landscape.
As Ashurst’s sustainability ambitions expanded, the firm needed to move beyond a traditional consultancy model to build internal capability and gain deeper insight into its emissions data. Normative’s platform combines expert advisory support with a transparent platform, giving the team full visibility and control over their data. The result is greater confidence in advising leadership and embedding sustainability across operations.
Key outcomes
- Validated science-based targets: 42% reduction across Scope 1 and 2 emissions and business travel by FY2030 from a FY2023 baseline, with a long-term target of 90% reduction across Scope 1, 2 and 3 by FY2050. Targets validated by SBTi in 2024.
- Better data, better decisions: Improved data accuracy, enabling more strategic energy procurement and clearer operational insight.
- Stronger competitive position: Improved submissions such as EcoVadis while cutting consultancy costs and embedding sustainability into procurement and operations.
Outpacing change
Ashurst’s sustainability ambition is closely aligned with its wider strategy, “Outpacing Change”. The goal is not to meet minimum standards, but to remain forward-looking in the sectors it advises.
Since 2022, the firm has ramped up internal capability, moving toward a reduction-first approach supported by validated science-based targets and high-integrity carbon removals.
Delivering on that ambition required clear, defensible data. In 2023, Ashurst partnered with Normative to replace a costly, opaque consultancy model with a hybrid approach combining advisory expertise and software. This gave the team full visibility and ownership of their emissions data, turning carbon accounting into a strategic capability rather than a reporting exercise.
Building credibility with science-based targets
Ashurst committed to science-based targets to demonstrate leadership and drive meaningful internal change. The firm’s near-term targets include a 42% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by FY2030 from a FY2023 baseline, alongside a 42% reduction in Scope 3 business travel emissions over the same period.
For Rebecca Mitchell, Sustainability Lead at Ashurst, validation was about accountability as much as ambition:
“Having science-based targets raised the stakes internally. It gave colleagues something tangible to work towards and showed that we were serious about leading from the front. It wasn’t just about saying we’re sustainable, it was about committing to measurable reductions and being held accountable.”
Rebecca Mitchell,
Sustainability Lead; Ashurst
Normative provided technical guidance throughout the Science Based Targets initiative submission process, supporting methodology alignment, modelling, and documentation. Validation was completed in late 2024.
From data to influence
Full transparency into calculations and methodologies fundamentally changed sustainability conversations across the firm. The team can now clearly demonstrate where emissions originate and how they are calculated. It also enabled evidence-based decisions on renewable electricity and energy attribute certificates in cost-sensitive markets. Sustainability shifted from reactive reporting to proactive planning.
As Rebecca Mitchell explains:
“We feel like we own our data in a way we didn’t before. If someone questions our recommendations, we can be confident in our response because we can evidence what we’re saying. Normative helped us build trust across the firm.”
Rebecca Mitchell,
Sustainability Lead; Ashurst
Validated targets and transparent carbon accounting have also strengthened Ashurst’s commercial position. Clients increasingly expect detailed emissions disclosures and measurable progress. The firm can now demonstrate both.
For a global law firm operating in highly scrutinised sectors, that credibility supports competitive tenders, client trust, and long-term resilience.
What’s next
Ashurst is focused on delivering measurable reductions while continuing to grow globally. Priorities include improving Scope 3 data quality beyond spend-based methods, deepening supplier engagement, and strengthening client-facing transparency.
What began as a shift away from a costly, opaque consultancy model has become a structural transformation. Sustainability is now embedded in procurement, operations and leadership decision-making, supported by data the team understands and owns.
Find out how Normative can help your business
Speak with one of our experts today to uncover how our carbon accounting platform and GHGP-certified climate strategy experts could future-proof your business.
