PwC’s Climate Targets Were Validated by the SBTi Initiative

PwC’s climate goals, which include reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% by 2030, were validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

PwC said it has committed to reducing GHG emissions by 50% in absolute terms from 2019 levels by 2030, in line with a scenario of limiting the Earth’s temperature rise to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era.

The consultancy highlighted that its climate targets ‘go beyond Scope 1 and 2 emissions to include PwC’s largest Scope 3 indirect emissions’.

The GHG Protocol has defined three scopes of emissions: scope 1 and 2 relate to systems that are within an entity’s reasonable control, such as energy consumed in its facilities or by the vehicles it uses, while scope 3 are the more external sources of emissions such as those found throughout the supply chain.

With this approach, which is aligned with SBTi’s highest level of ambition, PwC is committed to decarbonizing the way it operates and decoupling its business growth from emissions, said the company, a network of firms in 155 countries with more than 284,000 people.

Global leader of Purpose, Policy, and Corporate Responsibility for the PwC for the PwC Network, Colm Kelly, said climate change is one of the ‘most pressing issues facing the planet and ‘PwC has a key role to play in creating a more sustainable world.’

‘Like our clients, we need to build trust with our stakeholders and deliver sustained results, and addressing our climate impact is central to both. As we support our customers and suppliers in transforming their businesses to achieve ‘net zero’ (carbon neutral), we recognize the importance of actively reducing the climate impact of our own operational footprint, including Scope 3 emissions,’ said Kelly.

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PwC’S climate targets

As outlined in PwC’s new global strategy, ‘The New Equation’, the firm is committed to transforming its business model to decarbonize its value chain, increase transparency and support the development of robust ESG’ or sustainability reporting frameworks and standards. The PwC network will also engage its clients and suppliers to help them address their climate impact.

PwC’s climate commitment to achieve a ‘net zero’ or carbon-neutral commitment by 2030 involves four key areas: operations, clients, suppliers, and climate agenda.

In the area of operations, ‘PwC will reduce its emissions in line with a 1.5-degree climate scenario, including a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 50% absolute reduction in business travel emissions from a 2019 baseline by 2030. In addition, it will accelerate its transition to 100 % renewable electricity, and to mitigate its impacts today, it will continue to offset its emissions through high-quality carbon credits’.

On the client side, the consulting firm will work with clients ‘to support their efforts to make a net-zero future a reality for all, building on existing clients’ work on sustainability and net-zero transformation’.

Likewise, as for suppliers PwC will collaborate with them to ‘encourage and support them to achieve net zero’. The consultancy firm ‘commits that 50% of its ‘global suppliers of emission-based purchased goods and services will have set their own science-based targets to reduce their climate impact by 2025’.

On the climate agenda, ‘PwC will continue its long-standing program of research and collaboration with businesses, policymakers, and NGOs to accelerate a net-zero economy’.

The firm assured that using 2019 levels as a base year, it will report regularly and transparently on the progress of its operations’ targets, enhancing its GHG emissions reporting from 2023 onwards, using expanded reporting based on World Economic Forum/International Business Council (IBC) metrics, as well as recommendations from the World Business Council on Sustainable Development.

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(Featured image by Marcin Jozwiak via Unsplash)

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