PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in the Caribbean is increasing the dialogue on environmental social and governance (ESG) among its clients, stakeholders, partners, people and local interest groups.

The company hosted its inaugural ESG week recently which focused on sustainability while embracing digital technologies such as the PwC metaverse.

“At PwC we believe that every government and business in the region needs to make ESG its priority. Our ESG week is the beginning of a deeper collective conversation about how we can all work together to make a difference, as governments and businesses,” said Carolyn Bell-Wisdom, PwC Jamaica ESG leader.

One of the week’s key events was a regional webcast that engaged international and regional business and government leaders on the topic: ‘ESG and Net Zero: Securing a sustainable future for the Caribbean’.

In 2021 PwC announced it received validation for its science-based targets and reaffirmed its commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030.

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated PwC’s targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent in absolute terms from 2019 levels by 2030. This is in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.

PwC’s targets go beyond scope one and two emissions to include PwC’s largest indirect scope three emissions.

PwC committed to decarbonising the way it operates and decoupling its business growth from emissions.

“ESG is more than about good intentions, it’s about creating and implementing a tangible practical plan that achieves real results,” Bell-Wisdom stated.

In the meantime, Gerry Mahon, partner and net zero leader for PwC in the Caribbean said “like our clients, we need to build trust with our stakeholders and deliver sustained outcomes — and tackling our climate impact is critical to both. We’re proud of the progress PwC has made to reduce our operational carbon footprint and with initiatives like ESG Week, we can continue to support the creation of a sustainable tomorrow for generations to come. No one individual, organisation or government can tackle these problems alone. We need collective awareness and action to create change.”

PwC in the Caribbean continues its roll-out of ‘The New Equation’— its strategy to help clients build trust and deliver sustained outcomes — the strategy identifies ESG as critical to answering the defining challenges for business and commits PwC to supporting the transformation needed in the global economy.

To that end, PwC has committed to transforming its business model to decarbonise its value chain, increasing transparency, and supporting the development of robust ESG reporting frameworks and standards. The PwC network is also engaging its clients and suppliers to support them to tackle their climate issues and develop solutions to deliver sustained outcomes.