CARBON NEUTRAL
National Carbon Offset Standard and Carbon Neutral Program
CASE STUDY: PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
PwC Australia is part of the PwC professional services global network that provides leading advisory, assurance and tax services. Having grown from a one-man Melbourne accountancy practice in 1874 to the worldwide merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand in 1998, PwC Australia now employs more than 6,000 people.
PwC Australia is committed to managing their impact on the environment, being environmentally responsible, and growing their environmental intelligence more broadly. In 2008, the company was the first professional services firm to be carbon neutral certified under the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS) and PwC Australia continues with this commitment. PwC Australia achieves carbon neutrality through a focus on reducing the impact and then purchasing accredited NCOS eligible carbon offsets for any residual emissions.
The business case for obtaining carbon neutral certification
PwC Australia decided to become carbon neutral as this process formed part of the overall environmental agenda. Carbon neutrality has allowed PwC Australia to align with the firm’s global strategy to account for its greenhouse gas emissions.
Certification against the NCOS was chosen as it is a Government approved standard and represents a robust carbon neutral claim. It has provided PwC with an opportunity to take a leadership position by joining other NCOS certified organisations and leading in the transition towards a low carbon economy.
Achieving carbon neutrality
Carbon footprint
PwC Australia’s emissions boundary includes all of its offices in Australia that are occupied by PwC employees. In PwC Australia’s base reporting year of 2008, total emissions for the organisation were 37,300 tCO2-e. Since 2008, emissions have reduced each year, down to 31,093 t CO2-e in 2014.
Emission reductions
PwC Australia currently uses over 270 societal-relevant champions to create environmental awareness and to deliver corporate responsibility messages firm-wide. Emissions reduction activities have been undertaken across multiple locations. These include promotion of WebEx and internal video conferencing instead of long/short distance travelling to reduce travel emissions, and making all offices activity-based environments to reduce office energy usage. We use the Societal Relevance Index (SRI) to measure our environmental performance every six months, and have relocated five out of eight offices to more energy efficient locations.
Offsetting
Over the past two years, PwC Australia has purchased renewable energy through GoldPower, a high quality renewable energy product sourced from the Changbin and Taichung Wind Project in Taiwan. PwC Australia’s use of GoldPower and purchase of offsets from this project also delivers socio-economic and environmental benefits to local communities surrounding the project. These benefits include creating employment opportunities in remote fishing villages around the wind farms and helping to prevent environmental problems like acid rain.
In 2016, PwC Australia is also supporting the protection of native Tasmanian forest by purchasing offsets to cover emissions associated with paper usage. The project is designed to protect 7,666 hectares of native Tasmanian forest which would, if not for the project, continue to undergo selective logging or be clear-felled and converted to pasture. PwC Australia is proud to be supporting these projects and remain committed to reducing our carbon footprint and energy consumption.
Benefits and outcomes of carbon neutral certification
Going carbon neutral under the NCOS has been beneficial for PwC Australia to demonstrate the importance of its environmental strategy both within and outside of the organisation. PwC Australia has been able to highlight this commitment to the environment when writing proposals and tender responses. Carbon neutrality means the company has access to the NCOS certification trademark and can use this to promote the positive story.
Upon achieving carbon neutral certification under the Carbon Neutral Program, PwC joined a network of corporate, industry and not-for-profit organisations. This network provides the opportunity to engage and stay connected with a group of leading businesses pursuing an environmental agenda.
Challenges and learnings
PwC found the initial application phase of gaining certification through the Carbon Neutral Program time consuming. However, this time commitment was reduced each year as the reporting process became more familiar. Since joining the Program, reporting requirements have also become more streamlined.
Since 2008, PwC has engaged EY to carry out the external audit of its GHG accounts. As part of the NCOS certification requirements, all GHG accounts must be third- party audited every other year.
“At PwC we are committed to managing our impact on the environment. We were the first professional services firm in Australia to become a certified carbon neutral organisation in 2008 and we are proud to remain accredited under the National Carbon Offset Standard.”
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