Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance

Community

We are delighted to be a part of the vibrant Whitechapel community and have recently partnered with the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (THEBP). THEBP provides volunteer-based programmes and workshops aimed at raising the aspirations of young people through developing employability skills and an understanding of the world of work. To get the ball rolling, members of our HR team conducted mock interviews and feedback sessions with students from the Morpeth Secondary School and were very impressed by their mature, “can do” attitude. We regularly invite staff to get involved with similar initiatives and tend to run a number of schemes each year. We also support the various Whitechapel homeless charities like the “Whitechapel Mission” along with a number of causes of special importance to members of staff.

Environment

We are enjoying working with a large number of innovators in the fields of green energy and renewable materials and heartened by the advances they are making. In the office, we are always looking for ways to save energy and reduce waste. To this end, we have installed sensor lights and added multiple recycling points in our offices, radically reduced our use of paper and offer incentive schemes to encourage staff to cycle to work. We also have a very active Sustainability Group who are continually investigating ways in which the firm and individuals can do more to protect the environment.

Wellbeing

We live in stressful times and run initiatives to help staff to protect their mental health. These include Mindfulness sessions and access to BUPA’s Healthy Minds service. We have also run campaigns for Mental Health Awareness and the charity Jonathan’s Voice and signpost various tools for staff via our internal website.

We are keen to provide an inclusive environment and are running a number of initiatives to increase the diversity of our team. We are members of IP Inclusive and have been actively involved in Women in IP, IP & ME, IP Out and IP Ability.

Eco & Sustainability Insights

• EPO Recognises Sustainable Innovation

  Since 2006, the European Patent Office has recognised “the creativity of inventors the world over, who use their technical, scientific and intellec...

• Patenting Simulations in the Renewable Energy Sector

  Renewable energy is more affordable now than it has ever been. According to BloombergNEF, it is now cheaper to build a new solar or wind farm to meet...

• Generating Hydrogen – a potential alternative, or supplement, to batteries?

  We reported last year on a new report from the European Patent Office (EPO) on electricity storage, in particular using batteries. Excluded from that...

• Technology and Innovation on the Path to Net Zero

  As climate change and the energy transition drive fundamental shifts in technology, industry, investment and regulatory policy, innovation and techno...

• Space-Based Solar Power – a patent perspective

  Transmitting solar energy generated in space back to Earth has long been the subject of science fiction, first appearing in Isaac Asimov’s 1941 sho...

• £92 million allocated to funding energy storage, floating wind, and sustainable biomass production in the UK

  This week, the UK government launched 3 new innovation challenges in the green energy sector, with £92 million allocated in funding. The initiative ...