{{item.videoDuration}}
{{item.title}}
{{item.text}}
{{item.videoDuration}}
{{item.title}}
{{item.text}}
We kept our commitment to sustainability at the heart of our recent move to new office buildings in downtown Auckland. Through the PwC Foundation we donated 759 cubic meters or approximately 27 truckloads of chairs, desks, stools, stationery and various office equipment from our vacated Auckland premises to nine schools and several charities across the region and Pacific Islands.
Our intention was to reduce waste and seek new locations and uses for furniture, equipment and office fittings when we moved to the new PwC Tower in Commercial Bay. We worked in close collaboration with the PwC Foundation, which has existing close connections with communities, and this ensured that 99% was either donated or recycled.
Glenbrae Primary School in Glen Innes was the recipient of the largest number of donations, as our office move coincided with their planned refit. The school had received no prior funding for furniture and so several truckloads of PwC furniture including desks, chairs, coffee tables, dining tables and other items were delivered and housed in the school hall ready for distribution in the new building.
Cristina Patea, Glenbrae Primary School Principal said:
"This kind gesture is a blessing for Glenbrae school. The furniture provided by PwC will make a difference to our learning environments and the money we would have spent on buying school furniture is now available to buy valuable resources for teaching and learning. We cannot thank PwC enough for their efforts to help our students, teachers and the school in general."
PwC Foundation Co-leaders Jan Gatley and Peter Boyce were thrilled to be able to support Glenbrae Primary and other local schools.
“The PwC Foundation's core focus is child welfare through education. We are delighted that we were able to live our purpose and support our Auckland schools that engage in our literacy programmes by rehoming practical items such as technology and furniture items from our recent office move. Our school contacts have expressed their gratitude as they are now able to redirect funding into educational resources benefitting more children with their learning".
Another recipient of our donated items was Youthline Auckland, a local charity that PwC has supported for many years. CEO Shae Ronald said:
“Youthline was very grateful to receive furniture and other office items for use in our community centres across Auckland. The donation from the PwC Foundation made a big difference in making our community centres more welcoming and comfortable places for young people and their families and better equipped for our staff and volunteers. We’d like to say a huge thank you to the PwC Foundation for their generosity, particularly at such a difficult time.”
In addition to community donations, over 350 of our own people were also able to take items home, which has helped support our commitment to flexible working. The arrival of COVID-19 in New Zealand this year and the associated lockdowns have made home-office resources even more critical for employees and the equipment is helping our people carry out their jobs remotely.
Over 900 boxes of paper materials were originally marked for moving into our new PwC Tower. Through careful planning and encouraging teams to be paper-free, the final number of boxes was reduced to less than 250. All unused paper material was recycled to avoid waste.
Pauline Parsons, PwC Operations Director, led our project.
“We were absolutely determined to see communities benefit from the resources and also minimise our environmental impact so it’s great to see the results of the hard work of our team. This was a logistically complex effort that has been in train for around three years,” said Pauline.
“In cases where materials had no onward use, almost everything was recycled. This included the dismantling of an enormous 70 square metre metal Lundia, which was removed from the old building at cost to the business and sent to a metal recycling depot. The potential for landfill from leftover chattels and furniture during office moves is huge. We had to pay attention to every item regarding its end-point.”
As part of our sustainability commitments, we have set clear targets to reduce our environmental impact to become net carbon zero by 2030 and drive efficiencies to manage and promote positive environmental outcomes. This includes reducing carbon impact throughout our business and using 100% renewable energy in all our offices throughout New Zealand.
Schools and charities that received our donations:
Beach Haven Primary School
De Paul House
Dominion Road School
Glenbrae School
Pacific Charity
Parakai School
Park Estate School
Ruapotaka School
St Mary's School
Swanson School
Tamaki Primary School
Youthline Auckland
{{filterContent.facetedTitle}}
{{contentList.loadingText}}
{{contentList.loadingText}}
Contact us
Partner, Sustainability, Climate & Nature Leader, PwC New Zealand
Tel: +64 21 799 927
Follow us
