Insights
26 Mar 24
Diversity and inclusion in the financial services and insurance sectors — implementing key initiatives
Abhay Srivastava
The trio began their nine month experience in London this month
Three aspiring lawyers from national law firm Weightmans joined peers from across the UK to identify ESG challenges and opportunities at the UN SDG Innovation Accelerator programme for Young Professionals last week.
Apprentice Solicitor Hanna McRobbie and Trainee Solicitors Benjamin Turner and Carly Grimason met with over 50 fellow innovators from 14 UK companies to network and learn more about the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the first full day workshop of the programme. Over a nine-month period, they will develop and drive innovative solutions through new technologies, initiatives, and business models to deliver on the firm’s sustainability objectives.
Weightmans joined the UN Global Compact Initiative in Summer 2022. The UN Global Compact initiative is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the SDGs.
Abhay Srivastava, ESG Manager at Weightmans said:
“The first UN SDG Innovation Accelerator camp was a great success for team Weightmans; it was clear they gained so much from the day, and left feeling motivated and inspired. At Weightmans, we take the training and nurturing of emerging talent very seriously – their learning journey is so much more than legal knowledge and by supporting them to learn more about ESG early in their career we are not only offering a rounded education but helping to co-create real changemakers in the organisation. We can’t wait to see what the programme holds for them.”
Hanna said:
“Our first camp together was a fantastic day. It was a great opportunity to collaborate as a team but also to engage with the other teams and bounce ideas off each other.”
Benjamin said:
“The Innovation Accelerator Camp got off to a great start. Gaining perspectives from the other companies involved really got us thinking about our own project and what we wanted to get out of the programme.”
Carly added:
“An important interest for our team is what can our company as a law firm do to make an impact and how can we take the SDG goals forward in the corporate environment and what will that look like from a legal perspective. Being able to collaborate with people from different industries and backgrounds can help us shape our mindset on how to push the SDG goals forward within our company.”
ENDS
