Lancaster accountants plant 400 trees to mark Earth Day

The donation, representing a tree for each member of staff, was made to mark Earth Day, which took place on Saturday April 22.

It has been made through Ecologi, a B Corp accredited organisation helping companies support global reforestation, carbon avoidance and other schemes.

The Moringa Oleifera trees will be planted as part of the Mbale Trees Programme, which aims to plant one million trees annually in Uganda to tackle deforestation, which is resulting in declining living standards and unpredictable weather.

MHA Moore and Smalley’s managing partner Graham Gordon also planted a symbolic tree close to his home in Lancashire, the county where the organisation was first founded.

The gesture was made to launch the publication of MHA Moore and Smalley’s first ESG Impact Statement, almost a year to the day after the firm started initial discussions.

The Impact Statement contains a number of key commitments, including to be net zero by 2030, to be embedded in its communities by tackling financial and social mobility issues, to encourage diversity and inclusion in its workplaces and to build a robust governance framework.

Mr Gordon said: “MHA Moore and Smalley has always been an organisation committed to investing in and making a difference in the communities we operate. However, we now have a clear set of objectives and goals to reach these.

“Improving our impact on the environment is a key part of our ESG strategy and, as well as our commitment to net zero, we have begun measuring our carbon baseline and asking our stakeholders about their own carbon footprint.

“We will also be measuring our ESG impact against the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and therefore it felt right to make this donation to Ecologi, an organisation that verifies its products by the UN Sustainable Development Goals 13 (climate action) and 15 (life on land).”

The Impact Statement contains a number of key goals for 2023 and 2024, including starting the process of joining the B Corp movement and establishing its own charitable organisation focused on financial education for the next generation.

It also highlights the company’s progress over the past year, including its purpose projects, guided by the company’s missions and values which include partnering with UK Community Foundations to support financial education-focused projects.

As part of this, the firm has partnered with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales’s Rise Initiative to help deliver workshops to secondary school children on key personal, professional and financial skills.

Paul Spencer, ESG partner lead, said: “MHA Moore and Smalley has always looked to lead by example. Publishing our very first Impact Statement represents a recognition that this is still very much the start of our ESG journey, and we have a long way to go to reach our 2030 goals.

“As a growing organisation, we have a moral duty to help create a better earth through social sustainability and our net zero ambitions. We have already made important progress on our journey and our annual report will give accountability and a defined framework to ensure ongoing progress and that each year we can reflect on our journey to date.”