Planet

64% of our people believe that PwC drives positive societal change through our environmental initiatives.

PwC Global People Survey 2017

Although PwC has a relatively low environmental footprint, and we are committed to doing our part in safeguarding our planet by practising good environmental stewardship.

We believe our greatest potential for influence is to impact the environment positively through our work with clients, which is driven primarily by our Sustainability and Climate Change team (from our Consulting practice).

Internally, we continuously look into developing more environmentally-efficient business practices, improving our awareness and understanding of our environmental impacts through carbon measurement and reporting, as well as implementing behavioural change programmes.

We also continue to monitor our carbon emissions with intentions to set targets for FY18 and beyond. In FY17 our total carbon emission was 3,700 tonnes CO2e*, based on business related flights, electricity consumption and vehicles owned by the firm.

*10 tonnes CO2e (Scope 1); 1,806 tonnes CO2e (Scope 2); and 1,882 tonnes CO2e (Scope 3)

Here are a few initiatives we have put in place for the betterment of our Planet:

We continuously look for ways to reduce the use of paper in the office. For example, we made the decision in 2016 to give our new joiners a paper-less onboarding experience, using our ‘IQ app’ to share information instead. We realise it was essential to change mindsets, so we regularly send out internal communications that share tips on how to reduce paper usage (i.e. printing double-sided), as well as on the importance of recycling.

We run a recycling campaign throughout the year (separate from ‘Recycle for life’), where the proceeds of recycled paper go towards our Corporate Responsibility fund. The fund is set aside to help our people who may be in need of financial aid.

Reducing landfill waste, decreasing the negative impact on society

In FY17, we recycled 22.44 tonnes of paper, compared to 23.22 tonnes in FY16. We estimate our societal impact* of waste averted from landfills due to our recycling efforts in FY17 to be RM4,620. We will continue to do our part in reducing the amount of waste that’s deposited into landfills, therefore helping to decrease disamenity costs (disadvantages due to location), as well as the release of GHG emissions and leachate into the environment.

*This impact indicator measures the costs averted from recycling waste instead of sending them to landfills, which is the typical practice in Malaysia. Based on the European Commission’s external cost estimates for landfills without leachate management.

‘Recycle for Life’ is a recycling programme that rewards PwC employees with cash in exchange for their recyclables.

The programme is initiated by Cenviro Sdn Bhd (a PwC client) in partnership with MyKasih Foundation. Powered by their cashless payment system, credit received for recyclables is stored in a smart card, which can be used in selected restaurants.

We implemented the programme in June 2017, and now have 61 employees signed up (as of June 2018). In 2017, we recycled 820kg of waste, which earned our people a total of RM300.

In a bid to minimise the use of plastic and paper cups, we introduced the ‘Bring your own cup’ programme in our Kuala Lumpur office last year. Under this programme, employees who bring their own reusable cups to PwC’s in-house café will receive a free drink after their 10^th purchase.