Our commitment to the environment
PwC works to reduce our environmental footprint in order to protect all of the earth's inhabitants.
Starting our journey to net zero
In 2020 PwC US joined PwC network firms in a commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. This commitment includes a science based target to reduce absolute emissions by 50% against a 2019 baseline, which is aligned to a 1.5 degree global temperature rise scenario.
Our Purpose & Inclusion Leader is driving and guiding our efforts, heading a cross-functional net zero committee, which provides oversight and advice on the implementation of our commitment. We aspire to achieve this goal through continued enhancements in our use of space, energy efficiency improvements in our offices and balancing the on-site and virtual delivery of our services, as air travel is the largest source of our emissions, and the continued use of 100% renewable electricity. We provide our firm leadership quarterly updates on our progress, and report externally in our Purpose Report.
We will also work with our clients and suppliers to help reduce emissions up and down our value chain and support efforts to decarbonize the economy. Finally, we will continue to invest in high quality carbon removal projects in areas such as forestry to cover any residual emissions that we are unable to avoid.
2020, in the wake of societal racial unrest, also saw the firm take further action in support of diversity and inclusion - building on and maintaining a culture of belonging, and helping to launch CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion. We see a clear overlap of these societal issues with the environmental agenda. Underserved communities often face increased risks from climate change, such as poor air quality and increased temperatures where they live and work. These communities may also be simultaneously more vulnerable to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, flooding and wildfires and poorly placed to adapt to a changing climate.
Managing our environmental footprint is one of the ways that we are working to create a more equitable society.
-50%
GHG emissions from our offices have fallen by 50% per FTE since FY15.
100%*
We cover 100% of the carbon emissions we generate from our office electricity use through the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
100%*
All of our e-waste is diverted from landfills through reuse or recycling.
Sources
*Per PwC internal analysis
Here’s how we’re helping
Supporting reforestation efforts
We complement reductions in our operational footprint with the purchase of carbon offsets. These include forestry credits from a reforestation project in seven states along the Mississippi River Valley, a multi-regional project that has to date has planted more than 42 million trees.
Rethinking efficiency
Almost two-thirds of our office space is certified through the LEED® green building program. In addition, we’ve reduced our energy consumption by 40% per employee through more efficient use of our space.
Making recycling easier
We are renovating our offices to include implementing centralized waste and recycling programs. By doing so, we simplify waste and recycling collection across our largest offices leading to improvements in landfill diversion. In collaboration with a third party provider, we also continue to divert almost 100% of our used electronic waste from landfills, instead having it refurbished, reused or recycled.
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