In recent years climate change and sustainability issues have frequently been in the media and this is unlikely to change any time soon. Much attention has been focussed on the ecological impact of the industries that use arbitration. However, the impact of arbitrations themselves also merits consideration
To this end, the arbitrator Lucy Greenwood has devised a "Green Pledge" which practitioners can sign up to. The full text is available at www. greenwoodarbitration.com/greenpledge. In summary, it asks arbitrators and other practitioners to, wherever possible:
- Consider and question the need to fly/ travel rather than use screen-sharing/ video technology.
- Offset carbon emissions of any flights taken.
- Give consideration to witnesses giving evidence at hearings via video-link.
- Not request hard copies of documents and discourage the use of hard copy bundles. Correspondence should be electronic unless hard copies are expressly required.
The Pledge is to be welcomed and, indeed, won the 2020 Best Development GAR Award. There is already progress in some quarters e.g. email communication regarding procedural matters is almost ubiquitous. However, there is much room for improvement, especially as regards unnecessary flights and hard-copy documentation.
As the Pledge recognises, there will always remain occasions when flights or hard copy documents are necessary. Anyone who has ever witnessed e.g. cross-examination via video-link will recognise the potential for technological problems or confusion. However, such problems can be overstated and, given modern technology, the starting point should now be as set out in the Pledge.
While focused on sustainability, the Pledge raises general issues of efficiency and costeffectiveness. Unnecessary documents and lengthy witness evidence should be avoided where possible in any event. Furthermore, in these times of COVID-19, remote/electronic working methods and technology have proved vital. Even with many countries in lockdown conditions, some arbitrations continue to take place using electronic bundles and/or video-link. As practitioners become more familiar with this technology, the Pledge requirements may come to represent the usual way of proceeding.
Originally published 05 August, 2020
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
