Interview with Bassam Hajhamad, first appeared in Qatar Tribune
1- What is the significance of PwC Global Chairman Bob Moritz’s participation in Qatar Economic Forum?
At PwC, we believe that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) imperatives can accelerate the massive and fast transformation of our region. At this year's Qatar Economic Forum, our Global Chairman, Bob Moritz, participated in the ‘Building a Net Zero Economy’ panel to represent the PwC global perspective on this hugely important issue.
Bob Moritz emphasised that when it comes to net zero, we are committed to leading by example. In 2020, we made a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2030 and have achieved various milestones on that front:
Our climate targets were independently validated as being in line with the 1.5 degrees celsius scenario.
Recognising that our commitment is going to take an effort across our whole business; we have a net zero leader in each country in which we operate around the world to drive execution.
We are contributing to the broader transition to net zero around the world; for example we are a proud member of the UN’s Race to Zero and the business ambition for 1.5 degrees celsius. We have also joined the LEAF coalition which is the largest public-private coalition to expand the market for high integrity carbon credits.
We continue to support the development of globally aligned ESG reporting standards.
We are upskilling all our people on the importance and relevance of climate ESG and all of the related issues, and we are supporting our clients as they develop and implement concrete net zero plans and embed ESG across the entirety of their organisations. As a community of solvers, we are uniquely positioned to bring the right combination of people, capabilities and technology together.
2- Can you please elaborate upon the issues around goal setting and reaching a net zero economy which Moritz spoke about at the Qatar Economic Forum?
According to Bob, there has been tremendous progress in terms of the net zero goals that have been set, but there has not been a reconciliation of goals throughout the entire system. While governments have made their commitments and businesses have made theirs too, in between the two, they are not meeting yet. We need comprehensive system-wide goal setting to enable the reconciliation of these goals.
He shared research we have done, which found that the world needs to decarbonize 11 times faster than the rate achieved over the past two decades. It is a social responsibility for all of us to drive the net zero transformation in order to protect the societies we serve.
This is why cutting our emissions in absolute terms is at the core of our commitment, which means decoupling our growth from our climate impact. Furthermore, our net zero goal means we are committed to reducing our emissions across our operations and supply chain, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, by 2030 - from a 2019 baseline.
Other issues discussed by Moritz were the allocation of capital and the need for more accountability. It is clear we have a long way to go in terms of the progress versus the commitments and the goals that we set as a society at large.
3- What according to you would change in the net-zero transition?
In order to avert the worst of climate change and work towards the net-zero transition, we need public-private partnerships in at least four interconnected areas:
Innovation and product development to make green options feasible, affordable and appealing.
Functioning markets where business can exercise its creative power to deliver a green transition at speed.
Government policies and regulations to incentivise actions aligned with net zero and to provide the clear market signals business requires in order to act and invest with confidence.
Political and public will for deep change.
4- How prepared is the Middle East region to achieve net-zero emission?
As per our latest ESG survey that was issued this month, there is evidence of increasing maturity in the region in its thinking around ESG and how Middle East businesses are progressing to a scale-up mode on this critical agenda.
There is progress in ESG adoption as 64% of respondents from the Middle East have adopted a formal ESG strategy in the last 12 months and many are embedding ESG priorities across their organisations. Last year, Only 18% of respondents had teams and systems in place to cover the full remit of ESG functions in the region.
Moreover, the percentage of companies without any ESG strategies dropped from 16% in the previous year to 7%.
On the ESG reporting front, 70% of respondents in the Middle East say that their companies report on ESG impact, which is encouraging - with a quarter doing so in a stand-alone ESG report. Almost 59% state that their reporting is formally audited or assured. And 25% plan to have their ESG reporting formally audited or assured in the next year.
There is also an increasing Chief Sustainability Office (CSO)/sustainability executive mandate where 27% of companies now have a CSO in place, with the CSO having primary responsibility for ESG in almost half of those companies. This year, only 20% of companies have CEOs with overall control of ESG, compared to 55% last year, as this remit shifts more fully toCSO roles.
We are noting that more ESG leaders are taking responsibility for all six areas that PwC identified as hallmarks of ESG good practice. More than three-quarters are responsible for 4 activities or more and nearly a third are responsible for all six. The hallmarks are 1) setting ESG strategy and policy 2) ESG monitoring and reporting 3) ESG risk management 4) stakeholder and partnership engagement 5) ESG input on product and service offerings; and 6) communicating the ESG strategy, achievements and challenges.
5- How do you see Qatar Economic Forum as a platform to identify the latest economic trends that will drive us towards a new global growth story?
The Qatar Economic Forum is a significant platform for important dialogues. Bob Moritz joined a panel discussion on Building a Net Zero economy, reflecting Qatar's progress in its ESG journey. The forum fosters collaboration and addresses global challenges for sustainable economic development.
