San Diego has made strong commitments to sustainability through its climate action plan, expansion of renewable energy, and efforts to create pedestrian- and bike-friendly neighborhoods. The city promotes green building standards, water conservation, and access to public green spaces, including the expansive Balboa Park and a network of coastal preserves.

While San Diego is a large, spread-out city, La Jolla and the surrounding area are highly walkable. Ride shares, electric scooters, and public transit (via the MTS bus and trolley network) make it easy to explore without a car. Visitors will also find bike lanes and coastal paths that support low-impact travel.  

Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa emphasizes sustainability through various initiatives. These include a lawn revitalization project reducing irrigation, an apiary to support local pollinators, and herb and butterfly gardens that provide ingredients for their food and beverage outlets. The hotel also offers guests a self-guided botanical tour and highlights its commitment to sustainability through its Green Key Global "gold level" certification. 

The ILN has partnered with Dynamic Conferences & Events for our conferences. In 2022, they underwent their first full EcoVadis assessment of their environment, labour and human rights, and ethics practices and procedures, and they were awarded a bronze medal. Since then, they have improved their rating to silver across the three pillars, Environment, Social, and Governance. EcoVadis is the world's biggest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. Learn more here.

As their partners for this conference, we emphasize the use of locally sourced ingredients across our venues. For the gala dinner, we are engaging a local supplier committed to incorporating a substantial portion, if not all, of locally sourced ingredients.  To minimize our ecological footprint, the majority of our chosen venues and tour options are nearby, reducing the necessity for extensive transportation. Moreover, where transportation is required, we are committed to employing larger coaches to minimize additional vehicles and exploring the integration of electric transportation options.

As part of their 50th anniversary celebration, Stadling is proud to present their 50 Acts of Giving campaign — a year-long initiative dedicated to giving back to the community and supporting meaningful causes. They're well underway and have already begun participating in acts of service, support, and generosity. From volunteering and charitable donations to partnerships with purpose-driven organizations, each act reflects their ongoing commitment to making a positive impact in the community. You can explore the acts they've completed so far here and check back as they continue to build on this meaningful milestone throughout the year.

The largest ecological impact of our conferences continues to be delegate travel. To help us better understand and reduce this impact, we are actively collecting data on attendee transportation and sustainability practices through our registration process. This data allows us to measure the environmental footprint of each event and track our progress toward more sustainable conference planning.

We’ve already taken steps to improve the environmental performance of our events, including:

Offering plant-based meals and locally sourced food
Eliminating single-use plastics and bottled water
Transitioning to digital materials and name tag recycling
Providing carbon offset options during registration

Looking ahead, we will continue to explore ways to reduce travel-related emissions—such as:

Prioritizing accessible, transit-friendly host cities
Encouraging train travel when feasible
Evaluating Network-wide offsetting strategies, including programs through the SME Climate Hub and other verified providers

Our goal is to balance the critical value of in-person connection with our responsibility to support a functioning planet, a thriving society, and a resilient legal network for years to come.

In furtherance of our commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles, the International Lawyers Network is elevating its strategic focus on measurable, purpose-driven sustainability. Our efforts are guided by the belief that a thriving legal community requires a thriving planet and society.

In recognition of these efforts, the ILN earned a Bronze rating from EcoVadis in 2024, placing us in the top 35 percent of organizations assessed globally for sustainability performance.

The ILN’s most significant environmental impact comes from travel to its conferences. To address this, we are collecting delegate transportation data to measure our carbon emissions, offering plant-based and locally sourced food at events, eliminating single-use plastics and bottled water, providing carbon offset options during registration, and prioritizing transit-accessible host cities whenever feasible. Since 2022, all ILN conferences and the ILN office have been fully paperless. We have also introduced recyclable name badges to further reduce our environmental footprint.

The ILN offers competitive compensation and benefits to its regular full-time employees, including paid holidays, vacation, and sick time, as well as medical, dental, and vision coverage. We operate with a small and efficient team, minimizing our internal footprint while maximizing our global impact. The ILN is governed by an independent and highly engaged Board of Directors, supported by two committees: the Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee. We promote diversity across all dimensions, including skills, experience, gender, ethnicity, race, and sexuality. Our current Board is composed of 33 percent women, 20 percent Asian, 20 percent Hispanic or Latino, and 60 percent white. The ILN also upholds and promotes internationally recognized human rights principles. Our Human Rights Policy reflects our longstanding dedication to dignity, equality, and ethical conduct, both within our organization and across the jurisdictions in which we operate.