Sustainability at PwC
Renarena te ara ki Te Ao Tūroa
Strengthen our pathway to an enduring world.
We are committed to being a kaitiaki (steward) to pursue Te Ao Tūroa - an enduring world, and solve important problems to deliver sustained outcomes across Aotearoa.
Our Strategy
Sustainability is a complex concept that encompasses environmental, social, and economic aspects.PwC New Zealand has a responsibility to lead and role model the way forward by promoting sustainable practices that drive innovation and contribute to a prosperous society. We are taking a comprehensive approach, both in what we want to achieve and how we get there.
Our strategy draws inspiration from te ao Māori perspectives. Working with our Manukura team we have drawn on our karakia, vision, purpose, values and mātāpono leading us to Te Ao Tūroa. The concept and essence of Te Ao Tūroa is the ability to continue to support life now and for future generations.
Te Ao Tūroa is the aspiration of our sustainability strategy. We will pursue Te Ao Tūroa along our four chosen pathways (ngā ara):
- Te ara ā one - environmental stewardship
- Te ara ā mahuta - social equity
- Te ara ā rongo - trust and transparency
- Te ara ā nuku - responsible business
Within each pathway we have made commitments, and prioritised six of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) where we believe PwC New Zealand can have the greatest impact.
Pathway one:
Te ara ā one
Environmental Stewardship
Te ara ā one (earth) reminds us of our deep connection to our planet.
Pathway two:
Te ara ā mahuta
Social Equity
Te ara ā mahuta represents the action of moving forward with knowledge and understanding.
Pathway three:
Te ara ā rongo
Trust and Transparency
Te ara ā rongo represents the sense of shared understanding that drives us to operate in a way that is trustworthy, transparent and accountable.
Pathway four:
Te ara ā nuku
Responsible Business
Te ara ā nuku represents the movement and shifts we make to respond to a constantly changing environment.
Pathway one:
Te ara ā one
Environmental Stewardship
Te ara ā one (earth) reminds us of our deep connection to our planet.
Te ara ā one (earth) represents the birth of humankind through the story of Hineahuone, the first woman formed from clay/earth by Tāne. She symbolises the view that we are intimately connected to the environment and that, as kaitiaki (stewards), we have a responsibility to care for and protect it.
Our commitments
1. Decarbonise our own business
Transition our business in line with a 1.5 degree climate scenario by:
Sustaining minimal Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
Continuing to be powered by 100% renewable electricity in line with our RE100 membership.
Continuing to reduce our Scope 3 business travel emissions through minimising travel and having a policy framework in place.
Offsetting our emissions through high-quality carbon credits and transitioning our carbon credit portfolio to 100% carbon removals.
Engaging with our suppliers to encourage them to set science based targets.
Identify our climate risks and opportunities.
| Greenhouse gas emissions (in tCO2e)* | |||||
| FY23 | FY22 | FY21 | FY20 | FY19 | |
| Scope 1 - Direct emissions** | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Scope 2 - Indirect emission from energy use*** | - | - | 38 | 147 | 191 |
| Scope 3 - Business Travel | 2,348 | 768 | 729 | 2,862 | 4,413 |
2. Help our clients to adapt to a sustainable and low carbon Aotearoa
Continue to grow our specialist sustainability capabilities and expertise across all our business units to support our clients in their transition to a sustainable and low carbon economy.
Through our global training programmes, we offer sustainability upskilling to all employees, enabling them to assist clients in understanding and navigating the challenges they face from the environmental agenda.
3. Collaborate and partner locally and globally to accelerate the climate change agenda
Support key businesses, policymakers, NGOs and governmental organisations that are working to accelerate the climate agenda through membership and active participation.
* (tonnes of C02 equivalents). The New Zealand network firm’s organisational boundaries were determined using the operational control consolidation approach. In short, this means that all emissions reported are under the control of PwC staff employed in New Zealand. The overview includes all Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 - Business travel emissions, which were concluded to be one of the most relevant, material, critical emission sources that we can influence. PwC New Zealand calculates its GHG emissions in line with the GHG Protocol. We use emission factors used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), conversion factors provided by the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS, formerly DEFRA) or the International Energy Agency (IEA).
** Direct GHG emissions/GHG emissions caused by assets owned by the New Zealand member firm.
*** Electricity Indirect GHG emissions/GHG emissions from electricity use by the New Zealand member firm. PwC New Zealand receives power from the New Zealand electricity grid and pays for the same amount of renewable electricity being fed into the grid as it uses in its operations.
Pathway two:
Te ara ā mahuta
Social Equity
Te ara ā mahuta represents the action of moving forward with knowledge and understanding.
Te ara ā mahuta is inspired by Tāne Mahuta, a figure of action moving forward. He brought knowledge, wisdom and understanding from the heavens to humankind. The poutama pattern symbolises levels of advancement striving upwards for growth and development.
Our commitments
1. Help to rebalance social outcomes for Aotearoa
Continue to help clients identify and remove barriers to achieving equity through the mahi of our Equity and Hauora practice.
Collaborate with communities and policymakers to create policies, systems and services to drive increased equality.
Play an active role in providing equitable career pathways into and within our organisation.
2. Make a positive impact in our local communities
Provide support through volunteering, disaster response activity, and charitable giving.
Through our Foundation programmes, leverage our skills and relationships with other businesses and the wider community to positively impact children’s well-being through quality education.
Pathway three:
Te ara ā rongo
Trust and Transparency
Te ara ā rongo represents the sense of shared understanding that drives us to operate in a way that is trustworthy, transparent and accountable.
Te ara ā rongo is inspired and guided by Rongamātāne, as kaitiaki of cultivated food and peace, which requires patience, strength, foresight, and advanced thinking and techniques. The kārearea (New Zealand falcon) symbolises strength, flying at the top of the world, bringing focus to the journey ahead.
Our commitments
1. Demonstrate strong, authentic leadership and governance within PwC New Zealand
- Continuously improve our strong governance structures in order to operate responsibly, ethically, and to the highest professional standards.
2. Promote diverse leadership and improve governance within organisations in Aotearoa
- Play a role in enabling best practice governance across Aotearoa and champion diversity in leadership and board roles through partnering and collaborating with like minded organisations.
Advance governance in the not-for-profit sector through the PwC Foundation ‘On Board’ and ‘On Board Shadow’ programmes.
Empower and equip individuals for future senior leadership or governance roles in Aotearoa via our role as a training organisation.
3. Build confidence through quality and transparency
Remain transparent and accountable by:
Continuing to publish our Audit Transparency report.
Aligning our sustainability reporting with the WEF stakeholders metrics framework.
Continuing to publicly report our gender and ethnicity pay gaps.
Support accountability and transparency in Aotearoa through collaboration partnerships, advocacy and submissions on policy and regulatory change.
4. Nurture a strong purpose-driven culture built on quality, ethics, risk management and independence
- Reinforce our commitment to quality, strong ethics and robust risk management through annual training programmes and our tone at the top.
Pathway four:
Te ara ā nuku
Responsible Business
Te ara ā nuku represents the movement and shifts we make to respond to a constantly changing environment.
Te ara ā nuku is inspired by events within the creation story that led to Papatūānuku (earth mother) and Ranginui (sky father) being separated (Te Wehenga), to form the sky above and earth below. The land represents a source of strength and nourishment enabling life to thrive. The harakeke (flax) plant symbolises life flourishing in an environment that is constantly evolving.
Our commitments
1. Create sustainable workplaces
- Continually seek new opportunities to become a cleaner, greener firm through action and innovation. With an initial focus on energy consumption and e-waste.
Establish our sustainable procurement approach through developing policies and processes aligned with this objective.
2. Incorporate a kaupapa Māori approach to the way we work
Continue to incorporate a kaupapa Māori approach into all aspects of the firm such as strategies, policies, processes and practices.
Enhance cultural confidence and increase engagement in cultural practices.
3. Nurture an inclusive culture that fosters a sense of belonging, learning and connection
- Continue with activities to increase and retain our people engagement across the firm.
Progress initiatives to achieve our gender target.
Increase ethnic identification at all levels, particularly for Māori and Pacific peoples through attraction, retention, progression and promotion of talent into leadership roles.
Upskill our team to give them the knowledge, capabilities and tools to adapt to the digital future.
4. Prioritise the wellbeing of our whānau
Incorporate new reporting measures to understand and ensure the overall wellness of our people.
Develop our wellbeing strategy Te Hā.
Explore more
Building prosperity
The last few years have been some of the more challenging in Aotearoa New Zealand’s history. The COVID-19 pandemic, fractured geopolitics, social tension, supply chain issues and rising inflation have, and are, affecting our communities in ways we previously couldn’t have imagined.
PwC Foundation
Our goal is to leverage our skills, our financial and intellectual resources, other businesses and the wider community to help to resolve the societal issue of ‘children’s wellbeing’ in New Zealand.
Reporting our gender and ethnicity pay gaps
At PwC New Zealand we are committed to building a workforce that reflects, and is inclusive of, the diverse communities of Aotearoa.
