KINGSTON, Jamaica — PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Jamaica has committed to reducing its carbon footprint by offsetting air travel emissions and energy consumption by 100 per cent.

PwC Jamaica territory leader Leighton McKnight, in a statement announcing the move today, said: “If ever there was a time to act, it’s now. The impacts of global warming and climate change can be seen every day and everywhere around the globe.

“But we don’t have to look far beyond our shores, rising sea levels and coastal flooding are issues that small island developing states like ours are vulnerable to and so the threats are right here and right now. While our carbon impact here in the Caribbean is low, it’s still important for us to take action to reduce our absolute carbon emissions, switching to renewables and offsetting our air travel.”

McKnight stated that PwC’s commitment is part of a larger global effort by the firm to be part of the solution.

“Without convincing global action, average temperatures are predicted to increase by more than two degrees celcius, a threshold at which scientists believe potentially irreversible environmental changes will occur,” he continued.

Gail Moore, Environment Lead partner, PwC Jamaica, said: “While our priority is reducing our absolute carbon impact, offsetting is an important part of our strategy to mitigate the impact of our unavoidable emissions. Our biggest carbon impact comes from our business travel and the energy we use in our offices (and data centres). This is why we have decided to take the extra steps of offsetting residual air travel emissions and energy consumption.”

The PwC global network has joined the RE100 initiative of over 150 global businesses dedicated to growing the global demand for renewable energy, led by The Climate Group, an international non-profit, whose mission is accelerating climate action.

PwC said it is proud to be aligned with some of the world’s most influential companies in moving to renewable energy and are the first of our big four competitors to make this commitment.

“At no time has the need for alignment of economic growth, social progress and environmental sustainability been more important – and at no time have we been better positioned to tackle the challenge ahead.  The world’s current economic model is pushing beyond the limits of the planet’s ability to cope. And healthy environmental ecosystems are critical to healthy economies. It’s time to accelerate the pace of change,” commented Bob Moritz Global Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited.

A carbon offset is a way to compensate for our emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere.

With support from Natural Capital Partners, PwC said its member firms will select portfolios to reflect local priorities.

“Underpinning our approach is a set of strict quality criteria, including ensuring our offsets are verified by an independent third party to an established standard or protocol. Through our purchasing we seek to drive projects with multiple benefits, including helping to create renewables markets, to support local economic and social development and to create and sustain sustainable landscapes,” the statement added.

Through these projects the PwC global network of firms is projected to have collectively impacted nearly three million people worldwide, protected or restored 656,000 hectares of forest, generated 209,000 MWh of clean energy and created over 570 new full time jobs.