Why So Green? The Move Towards More Sustainable Arbitrations and How ACICA's Sustainability Protocol Will Get Us There

Sustainability is a topic of considerable interest in present times. Governments and businesses alike have introduced various measures in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and reach net-zero targets by 2050, and significant investment is being made in the clean energy transition, exceeding US$2 trillion globally for the first time in 2024, according to a 2025 United Nations report.

The International Court of Justice's (“ICJ”) advisory opinion issued on 23 July 2025, as previously discussed on the blog here, concluded, among other things, that states have an obligation to ensure the protection of climate, and the environment overall, from GHG emissions. While not binding, the opinion will influence policymaking and business decisions for many years.

Arbitrations are not immune from this influence. The 2025 Queen Mary University of London (“QMUL”) International Arbitration Survey found that 30% of respondents had encountered environmental issues in their arbitrations, with interviewees observing these becoming increasingly central, rather than peripheral, features of disputes. It is estimated that international arbitration globally generates approximately 293 million kg of CO₂ emissions annually, equivalent to the emissions from over 63,000 petrol-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year.

The "Campaign for Greener Arbitrations", a flagship initiative providing guidance on minimising the impacts of the practice of arbitration on the environment, addresses these issues. The Campaign's Green Pledge is widely supported by several arbitration users, and the Campaign's history and its Green Protocols and Model Clause have previously featured in this Blog. 

Building on the Campaign's work, the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (“ACICA”) launched its Sustainability Protocol (“Protocol”) in early 2025. The Protocol has been well received and won the "Campaign for Greener Arbitrations Award for Sustainable Behaviour" at the 2025 GAR Awards in Paris.  

The ACICA Sustainability Protocol

The Protocol was developed by the ACICA Sustainability Taskforce ("Taskforce"), established in response to the growing awareness of the environmental impacts of arbitration and increased interest in adopting more sustainable practices.  The Taskforce that drafted the Protocol comprised:

• Daisy Mallett (Independent Arbitrator) (Chair);
• Mark Mangan (Partner, Lindsay Francis Mangan & Lee);
• Deborah Tomkinson (Director of Corporate Strategy, Peter & Kim and past ACICA Secretary-General);
• Amanda Murphy (Principal of Sustainability and ESG, BHP) (in her personal capacity); and
• Caroline Swartz-Zern (Legal Counsel, SMEC and past ACICA Special Counsel).

The Protocol encourages the adoption of sustainable measures in ACICA arbitrations to align arbitral practice with global efforts, and can be adopted in ad hoc arbitrations or arbitrations subject to other institutional rules. While it is primarily directed at the reduction of GHG emissions, it also encourages users to consider other aspects of sustainability and their interconnectivity with climate change, including labour and working conditions in supply chains, heritage and human rights aspects.

Key features and themes include:

1. Carbon budgets and scorecards: a central innovation of the Protocol involves estimating and recording the carbon emissions associated with various activities and considering ways to reduce them. At the commencement of proceedings, each party (and tribunal members, if applicable) may prepare a "Carbon Budget" based on a reasonable estimate of anticipated GHG emissions, having regard to factors such as the number of witnesses and experts, the distance and frequency of travel required, and the anticipated procedural steps. Importantly, this is not intended to set a limit on any party’s actual emissions or to penalise any party that is geographically remote. Rather, its purpose is to encourage parties to monitor the aspects of the arbitration likely to generate the most significant emissions. At the conclusion of proceedings, parties are encouraged to prepare a Carbon Emissions Scorecard recording their actual emissions, using the template in Annex A to the Protocol which covers flights, hotel stays, local transport, printing, deliveries and emails. ACICA may collate and publish anonymised data from the scorecards to provide benchmarks for future proceedings.
2. Carbon credits: parties and arbitrators may also agree to mitigate unavoidable emissions by purchasing carbon credits corresponding to their estimated emissions attributable to the arbitration. Parties are encouraged to make reasonable efforts to consider the integrity of carbon offset schemes and aim to purchase high-quality credits which generate real and additional GHG emission abatement, such as through accredited schemes. The costs of purchasing carbon credits (including those purchased by arbitrators to offset the impact of their flights) may be included in cost submissions and allocated between the parties by the tribunal.
3. Travel reduction: the Protocol identifies the transport of people and paper across borders and hotel stays among the primary sources of CO₂ emissions in international arbitration. It encourages parties and arbitrators to avoid unnecessary air travel and, where necessary, to carefully consider the emissions associated with different classes of travel. For hearings, the Protocol encourages the use of video-conferencing for witnesses and experts where possible, limiting travel to those deemed absolutely necessary, and engaging local interpreters and e-hearing providers.
4. Procedural alternatives: measures to reduce document proliferation and ensure procedural efficiency are generally encouraged. For example, written submissions should be served electronically. Printing should be avoided, but where deemed necessary, parties are encouraged to use recycled or tree-free paper, print in grayscale, and use energy-efficient printers. Shorter submissions save paper, but they are also more likely to enhance procedural efficiency and, in turn, shorten the proceedings. The Protocol also encourages parties to use shared technology platforms or case management systems (such as the ACICA Connect platform) and to securely recycle all printed documents at the conclusion of proceedings. Parties are further encouraged to work with hearing centres that have adopted the Green Protocol for Arbitral Hearing Venues.
5. Allocation of costs: the Protocol empowers tribunals, with the consent of the parties, to consider the parties' reported GHG emissions when allocating the costs of the arbitration. While there are no cost consequences for a party’s failure to meet its Carbon Budget unless agreed otherwise, parties may agree to share their Carbon Budgets so the tribunal can assess their efforts to reduce emissions. In a notable provision, the Protocol provides that, failing agreement between the parties, the tribunal shall apply a default 10% weighting to the parties’ environmental performance when allocating the monetary costs of the proceedings, alongside standard factors such as relative success on the merits and procedural conduct.

Where Do We Go From Here?

There is opportunity for arbitration institutions and other groups to do more work in this space. Responses to the QMUL 2025 Survey, for example, suggest that many arbitration users consider that sustainability measures which should be implemented (such as the adoption of soft law instruments and guidance such as the Green Pledge, and carbon offsetting of flights and printing) were rarely seen in practice. The Survey also highlighted that ESG-related disputes, including those arising from the misrepresentation of ESG credentials, are increasingly triggering post-M&A, shareholder and regulatory disputes, underscoring the growing relevance of sustainability across all facets of arbitral practice. ACICA has released the Protocol in the hopes that it will provide the practical guidance needed to support this work.

ACICA is, of course, not alone in these endeavours. Many institutions have already taken steps to move filings and case management from paper to electronic format. Electronic platforms are now the default for many major arbitration institutions including the SCC Arbitration Institute’s SCC Platform (launched 2019), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (“HKIAC”) Case Connect (launched 2021), ACICA Connect and Singapore International Arbitration Centre (“SIAC”) Gateway (both launched 2024), and ICC Case Connect (first launched 2022, updated and relaunched 2025).

Going forward, institutions are likely to address sustainability more expressly in institutional rules and binding or highly influential protocols and guidelines. ACICA is currently considering the viability of inserting sustainability-related mandates into its revised rules (to be released later in 2026), having raised the issue with the market in its public consultation survey circulated in early 2026. In the meantime, ACICA will continue to draw the attention of both parties and arbitrators to the Sustainability Protocol in its early correspondence in ACICA-administered cases. It expects to continue to see instances of arbitrators raising the Sustainability Protocol for discussion with the parties at an early procedural stage and/or referring to it in Procedural Order No. 1.

Some have already begun implementing such measures. For example, the HKIAC Arbitration Rules 2024 provide for tribunals to take environmental impact into consideration when adopting suitable procedures for the conduct of the arbitration and when apportioning costs (Articles 13.1 and 34.4 respectively). Similarly, the SIAC Rules 2025 provide that tribunals may consult with parties on whether it would be appropriate to adopt environmentally sustainable procedures for the arbitration (Rule 32.4). The ICC Rules, however, which were recently updated and released on 1 June 2026, remain silent on sustainability-related provisions.

Final thoughts

It is clear that the Protocol is leading the way for impactful change. The combination of a prospective carbon budget agreed by the parties at the outset, retrospective carbon emissions scorecards submitted together with costs, and a default 10% weighting to environmental performance in costs allocation, is and remains a novel but useful framework. Tools such as the recently launched "Carbon Impact Calculator" by the Campaign for Greener Arbitrations in April 2026, which assists with quantifying the carbon footprint of arbitration proceedings from initial filing to final award, are an example of the kind of change that the Protocol endeavours to lead. The message is clear: arbitration users want visibility over their environmental impact.

To conclude, we leave you with the reflections of Daisy Mallett, Chair of the Taskforce, on the impact of the Protocol and its future:

"One year on, it is great to see a growing level of awareness regarding the protocol among users of ACICA arbitration. We anticipate that users of arbitration will continue experimenting with adopting parts of the Protocol that are suitable for their cases. As a Taskforce, we are working on a guidance note to provide more practical information for users seeking to implement the Protocol, as well as a note on how to adopt the Protocol part way through an arbitration. We encourage users to provide any feedback on the Protocol to the Taskforce or ACICA as we strive to improve and adapt to the rapidly evolving context."