Bringing our best for ambitious climate action
Environment
Climate change is currently one of our most pressing challenges. A systemic shift that curbs its consequences and preserves the potential for sustainable societal prosperity is in everyone's interest. At PwC, we believe the business community has a key role to play in making that happen. And we’re determined to actively contribute to the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient global economy.
As part of our Corporate Sustainability strategy, our goal is to systematically reduce our own impact on the climate. In September 2020, we announced a network wide commitment to achieve net zero GHG emissions, with near-term science-based targets set for 2030 in line with a 1.5-degree scenario to prevent the worst impacts of climate change, as set out in the Paris Agreement. In July 2021, our near-term emission reduction targets were independently validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). At PwC we are aware, that tackling climate change not only requires a long-term strategy but also swift and decisive actions. Our near-term targets cover emissions along our value chain, including our own operations (Scope 1 & Scope 2) and business travel (Scope 3.6). Against this background, we aim to reduce our GHG emissions by 50% in absolute terms from 2019 levels. We continue to counterbalance our emissions through carbon credits, transitioning our carbon credit portfolio to 100% carbon removals by 2030.
PwC Switzerland’s Journey to sustainable climate action
At PwC Switzerland, we have been calculating, managing and monitoring our carbon footprint since 2015. Over the past seven years, we’ve made great progress in advancing our decarbonization progress.
Our electricity needs are covered by renewable sources and we joined the RE100 initiative. Furthermore, we are actively participating in the dialogue on effective climate policy in Switzerland, for which we joined swisscleantech’s CEO4climate initiative. We have joined the largest public-private coalition to expand the market for high integrity carbon credits and protect tropical forests. And thanks to closing a service contract with the Swiss technology firm Climeworks AG, we will remove CO2 permanently from the atmosphere in the upcoming years. We continuously strive to further decarbonise the way we operate, to support our client’s Net Zero journey and to ensure that our services accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.
If you have questions on how to develop and implement concrete net zero plans and embed ESG across your organization, feel free to contact us. We're excited to help you reach your goals.
Scoreboard Environment
Find out how we were performing in regards of our environmental ambitions
PwC Switzerland’s small but impactful steps for a better environment
We are committed to building a more sustainable future. For this, we are focusing on four key areas that have the biggest environmental impact at PwC Switzerland. By systematically reducing our footprint through a variety of measures, we are taking important steps towards a low-carbon future at PwC Switzerland.
- The Geneva office uses water from the lake for cooling and heating
- Lighting and office equipment are used energy-efficiently, with light sources switched on and off automatically
- Minergie sustainable building standards are applied wherever possible
- Our Zurich staff restaurant is member of the WWF climate group and collaborates with Eaternity, reCIRCLE and Too Good To Go to create climate-friendly food and beverage options as well as fight plastic and food waste.
- Separate disposal of:
- Paper and cardboard
- PET recyclable plastic
- Electrical waste and batteries
- Residual waste, glass, aluminium and tin
- Organic waste
- We only use recycled paper in our printers, double-sided printing is standard and most documents are sent in digital format anyways
- We donate technical office equipment and partnered with Stiftung AfB social & green IT for recycling of utilised laptops
- Our travel policy states that business trips should only be made if the same purpose cannot be achieved by other means of communication. If we travel, we use environmentally-friendly means of transport whenever possible.
- We reimburse half-price tickets to our staff for train journeys and offer preferential rates for car-sharing options
- Our people and the environment benefit from flexible working arrangements and working from home
- Meeting rooms with infrastructure for video conferencing in all offices
- Our goal is to raise awareness among our staff and Swiss society about how important and irreplaceable honey bees and wild bees are. You find more about this project in our flyer: Honey from the rooftops of Geneva
Contact us
Jürgen Baumgärtner
Team Leader Corporate Sustainability, PwC Switzerland