Responsible business
Ethics and Business Conduct
Our purpose, to build trust in society and solve important problems, combined with our values, provide the highest level guide for our behaviours and actions. Equally important is our infrastructure for sound governance, independence, ethics and compliance. Read more about our approach to ethics and business conduct.
Explore the different ways we are supporting our people, clients and suppliers by helping them to achieve their full potential.
People
Realising the potential of our people
With over 295,000 professionals in 156 countries around the world, we are a dedicated community of solvers. Our vision for PwC, fuelled by our purpose, values and behaviours, is to be the most trusted and relevant professional services business in the world - one that attracts the best talent and combines the most innovative technologies, to help organisations build trust with their stakeholders and deliver sustained outcomes.
Over the past year, our priority has been our people: keeping them safe, protecting jobs, looking after their wellbeing, providing opportunities to learn and grow, and continuing to build a diverse and inclusive workforce.
At PwC, we also recognised that as we continue to evolve as a business we had to upskill our workforce, so we’ve been on a digital transformation journey to change the way we work, while creating space for our people to learn, build and scale innovation.
Clients
Working with clients
At PwC, the biggest impact we make comes from the work we do every day, helping clients navigate many of the complex systems - capital markets, tax and economies - that underpin society. We help clients to operate within these systems effectively. We believe we have a responsibility to also help these systems evolve so that they benefit communities and society more widely.
Success is no longer measured by finances alone, but by how well you prepare for and adapt to the realities of a highly dynamic world. Continual innovation is needed to inspire and lead positive change throughout business communities. From net zero to the circular economy, environmental, social and governance (ESG) is an approach that enables us all to take bold steps forward. PwC brings together an unexpected and dynamic combination of talent and technology- to help clients drive their ESG strategy into the heart of their business.
Suppliers
Working with suppliers for positive change
At PwC, we expect the same level of integrity and business conduct from our Third Parties and their personnel as we do our own people. These standards are explained in our Global Third Party Code of Conduct.
As part of our net zero commitment to reducing emissions in line with a 1.5 degree climate scenario, we want to work with suppliers that have the same level of climate ambition as we do, so we commit that at least 50% of our purchased goods and services suppliers (by emissions) will have set science-based targets to reduce their own climate impact by 2025.
PwC commitment includes:
- 50% absolute reduction of our scope 1 and 2 emissions as well as a 50% reduction in scope 3 business travel (incl. land-based travel, air travel and accommodation) greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (compared to a 2019 base)
- Transition to 100% renewable electricity in all territories by 2030
- Commit to 50% of our global purchased goods and services suppliers (by emissions) will have set science-based targets to reduce their own climate impact by 2025
- Continue to offset our emissions through high-quality carbon credits, transitioning our carbon offset portfolio to 100% carbon removals by 2030.
Additionally, many PwC firms take action to drive positive impact through procurement, such as PwC UK’s Buy Social initiative that aims to bring social enterprises into their supply chain. Another example is PwC Netherlands’ circular procurement policy in line with their ambition to make their operations fully circular by 2030.
Policy and advocacy
Helping shape and accelerate the global climate and ESG policy agenda
PwC’s view is that significant evolution is needed in economic structures that guide the economy; that these changes are in the enlightened self-interest of business as well as the interest of wider society; and that we can contribute to positive change by drawing on our breadth of experience across sectors and countries and our depth of experience in terms of purpose, corporate governance, incentives and reporting.
Our focus has been on supporting policy makers, standard setters and businesses in aligning around a common set of reporting standards for non-financial information. We are deeply supportive of global efforts to develop transparent and robust ESG reporting frameworks and standards, including through work with the World Economic Forum International Business Council¹, the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), among others.
Source: ¹World Economic Forum International Business Council. September, 2020. Measuring Stakeholder Capitalism: Towards Common Metrics and Consistent Reporting of Sustainable Value Creation.
Contact us
Global Corporate Sustainability Senior Manager, PwC Australia
Tel: +61 8603 3346
