Business and Environment: Sustainability through responsibility

5 July 2007

Cine Studio - Intercollege

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Chair in Applied Accounting Research at Intercollege and PricewaterhouseCoopers organised a conference with the title “Business and Environment: Sustainability through responsibility” on 5 July 2007.

During the event the results of a quantitative research were presented, by the owner of the Chair, Prof. Maria Krambia - Kapardis, which record the opinions of more than 200 large organisations in Cyprus in connection with the environment.

The survey participants consider environmental pollution to be a serious problem for Cyprus and accept that there is a direct link between human activities and environmental pollution. They consider air pollution, waste management and sea/water/groundwater contamination as the biggest environmental problems in Cyprus. The findings also show that a significant number of companies believe that they should keep a record of the quantities and types of waste generated by their operations and to commence implementing on-site facilities for minimising atmospheric emissions.

The participants to the conference were welcomed by the Executive Dean of Intercollege, Mr Nicos Peristianis.

The Minister of Agriculture Natural Resources and Environment Mr Photis Photiou addressed the event and Mr Charalambos Theopemptou, Commissioner for the Environment of the Republic of Cyprus talked to the participants about the efforts of the Cyprus Government on environmental issues.

In his introductory speech, Mr Phidias Pilides, Chief Executive Officer of PricewaterhouseCoopers noted: «Τhe environment is closely associated with the peace of mind, physical health, the effective operation of the economy, and the quality of life. It should therefore be an immediate concern. And it should be each and everyone’s responsibility, from our position, to respond to the environmental distraction on our planet.” In addition to the various environmental activities of the organisation he was committed “that PwC will contribute, on an annual basis, to the reforestation of the locations which were burned recently on the Troodos mountain area”.

Professor Adele Thomas of the University of Johannesburg of South Africa shared with the participants her knowledge and experiences on the challenges faced today by the leaders for the development of environmentally responsible organisations. Mr Tassos Procopiou, Member of the Board of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Advisory Services, together with Prof. Maria Krambia – Kapardis coordinated the survey and the whole event. He noted: “The complexity of the environmental issues demands a new relationship between science, business and the society. It constitutes a firm commitment and consistency to practices that respect and protect the environment.”

For more detailed information view:

Invitation and Programme: Greek - (334 KB) and English - (333 KB)

Survey on environmental pollution in Cyprus: Business executives' opinion: Greek - (858 KB) and English - (865 KB)

Presentations/speeches:

Phidias Pilides, Chief Executive Officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers Cyprus - Greek - (117 KB)

Tassos Procopiou, Partner, Advisory Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers Cyprus - Greek - (781 KB)

Prof. Maria Kramvia-Kapardis, Holder of PricewaterhouseCoopers Chair in Applied Accounting Research at Intercollege - Greek - (515 KB)

Charalambos Theopemptou, Commissioner for the Environment, Republic of Cyprus - Greek - (2,7 MB)

Prof. Adele Thomas, University of Johannesburg - English - (117 KB)

Contact Information