On August 4, 2024, the American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates (HOD) overwhelmingly approved Resolution 513, which reaffirms its long-standing support for sustainable development and emphasizes the importance of incorporating sustainability into the practice of law. The adopted resolution authorizes the ABA to provide continuing and strengthened leadership, domestically and internationally, on sustainable development. Sustainable development is not just another term for green; it is a decision-making process for furthering economic and social development and environmental protection at the same time—for the benefit of present and future generations.
This resolution is the fourth resolution focused on sustainable development that the HOD has adopted since 1991. The 1991 resolution was adopted one year before the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development, or Earth Summit, at which the U.S. government endorsed sustainable development.
The HOD adopted two subsequent resolutions—in 2003 and 2013. Resolution 513 represents the continued incremental evolution of these resolutions. It has four clauses.
The first clause in the current Resolution 513 reaffirms the 2013 resolution. That resolution “urges all governments, lawyers, and ABA entities to act in ways that accelerate progress toward sustainability,” and “encourages law schools, legal education providers, and others” to “help promote a better understanding of the principles of sustainable development in relevant fields of law.”
Many other HOD resolutions are also based on sustainable development. The HOD’s 2019 resolution on climate change, for example, urges governments and the private sector to recognize and incorporate sustainable development principles in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change.
On the basis of these resolutions, a great many ABA entities carry out a wide variety of sustainable development activities. These entities include not only the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, but also the Center for Global Programs, the Section on International Law, the Business Law Section, the Science and Technology Law Section, and the Civil Rights and Social Justice Section.
The remaining clauses of Resolution 513 address two developments since the prior resolution was adopted in 2013. In 2015, the U.N. General Assembly, with U.S. support, adopted 17 nonbinding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that countries are to implement between 2015 and 2030. Resolution 513’s second clause supports implementation of the SDGs. Speaking in support on the HOD floor, Richard Field (Science and Technology Law Section) emphasized the importance of the SDGs to practicing lawyers and said practicing lawyers need to learn more about the SDGs.
The final two clauses in the resolution relate to the other major change in the sustainable development landscape that has occurred since 2013—the enormous growth of sustainable development activities and challenges.
Resolution 513’s third clause “urges lawyers to learn about sustainable development, and to counsel their clients on related risks and opportunities.” The 2019 climate resolution contains similar language. Clients increasingly want lawyers who can competently provide legal services related to sustainable development. And there are many opportunities for lawyers to add value.
Resolution 513’s fourth and final clause commits the ABA to “provid[ing] resources such as educational materials, practical tools, training programs, best practices, and guidance to assist lawyers to incorporate sustainable development into their practice and pro bono activities.” The ABA is already doing this to some degree (e.g., Sustainability Essentials: A Leadership Guide for Lawyers, a short how-to-get-started book on incorporating sustainability into one’s law practice).
Resolution 513 received strong support from many other ABA entities. It was co-sponsored by three ABA sections: Civil Rights and Social Justice, International Law, and State and Local Government Law. It was also supported by the Science and Technology Law Section, the Senior Lawyers Division, the Young Lawyers Division, and the Business Law Section.
Other supporting speeches on the House floor emphasized the importance of the resolution to ABA’s UN work (Steve Richman, International Law Section), and to state and local governments (Andrew Gower, State and Local Government Law Section).
The crucial next step is implementation. If you are interested, please contact the Sections, Divisions, Centers, or Committees to which you belong, or contact me.
