Our world is more interconnected than ever, and businesses can no longer consider the economy as separate to society, nor climate-related risks as a fringe concern. Customers, employees, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders are increasingly looking at how companies are addressing their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) responsibilities when making decisions about which organizations to support and which to penalize. In other words, not only is acting with purpose and accountability when it comes to ESG the right thing to do, it’s also good long-term business sense.
As a global network of multidisciplinary professional services firms, few organizations in the world have as much potential influence on the business sector as KPMG does – which means that though our activities may not have the largest direct impact on the environment, our indirect impact through the services we provide to other businesses is still significant.
We also recognize that addressing these challenges takes a collective effort - both through individual, everyday actions, such as reducing plastic and paper waste, and through strategic corporate decision-making, such as the vehicles we choose to include in our fleet or the source of energy we use in our buildings. With our latest KPMG Impact Plan, not only are we renewing our existing commitments to good ESG practices, we’re also expanding our approach.
Read on to find out more about KPMG’s commitments in Belgium.
Decarbonization – our commitment
Decarbonization is one of the most critical pillars of any approach to reducing negative impact on the climate, protecting our environment and our wellbeing. No serious corporate ESG strategy can afford to overlook the importance of addressing emissions caused by business activity.
That’s why, at KPMG in Belgium, decarbonization is a core priority that underpins our broader impact plan. In line with our purpose-based approach (see above), we also firmly believe that we should lead by example, taking actions that are rooted in evidence, with realistic, measurable timelines for achieving our goals.
KPMG in Belgium is therefore committed to actions that contribute to achieving the global 1.5°C science-based target laid out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 12).
In practical terms, this means improving our impact on climate change through more sustainable consumption and allocation of resources, as well as conscious emissions-reducing initiatives, starting with:
- Financing external green solutions to offset our carbon footprint and become a net-zero organization by 2026.
- Reducing our direct and indirect emissions by 50% by 2030 in line with the UN’s 1.5° science-based target for global warming.
We will achieve these targets by taking the following actions:
Mobility
- Transform to a greener fleet, with a pilot project of 25 plug-in hybrid and full electric cars in 2021
- Stimulate alternative mobility, with an increase of 10% of commutes by 2025
- Encourage working from home, with an average of 25% of time performed at home by 2025
- Implement updated travel policy, to achieve a 25% reduction of CO2 emissions by 2025 and 50% by 2030
Our commitments in action
Move to a greener fleet
Before the pandemic, almost half of our CO2 emissions (48.5%) came from our car fleet, which is why we’ve decided to accelerate our ambition to transition to a green(er) fleet and invest further in full electric vehicles (EVs).
In 2021, we launched a pilot program to test electrification solutions for our fleet. The primary purpose was to assess charging options at home and on the road, taking into account our employees’ needs and experiences. The pilot program had a positive outcome. By the end of 2021, we adjusted our entire fleet offering, with at least 50% electric vehicles to choose from.
In the first half of 2022, we ordered 211 fully electric cars. This represents 40% of all orders placed by our employees having to renew their lease. However, to achieve our decarbonization goals faster, we are suggesting that more employees choose a fully electric car.
To encourage our people to choose full EV vehicles, KPMG will install a home charging point for the employee whenever feasible, and will reimburse all costs related to charging of the vehicle. Employees who cannot charge at home can charge their car at the office or at public charging stations.
Despite challenges like lead times and limited public charging stations, we will continue to increase the share of electric cars in the KPMG fleet.
Promote alternative mobility and working from home
At KPMG, we encourage our employees to use alternative mobility solutions (train/tram/bus/bike) for commuting and professional travel. All these solutions are embedded in our Flex Reward plan, which can be activated by the employee in function of their individual needs.
The structure of our flexible compensation system is simple. The year-end premium is estimated and activated in our Flex Reward plan every January. Throughout the year, employees can decide to invest (part of) this amount in alternative mobility solutions. Sustainable alternatives, such as leasing bikes and the Olympus Mobility app, are a popular choice. KPMG also promotes the use of alternative solutions by providing a financial incentive for each day that an employee travels by alternative means of transport. That money is earned in addition to their current budget, which enables them to earn back (part of) the investment they initially made.
Next to the alternative mobility solutions that we offer, working from home (with a target of 25% of time worked at home by 2025) also impacts the travel behavior of our employees.
The Flex Reward plan is not designed to reduce the number of cars, but to decrease car usage, and to minimize our CO2 emissions. In addition to our transition to a greener fleet, we will continue to promote alternative mobility, with a commitment to increase our commutes through other forms of mobility by 10% by 2025.
Buildings
- Procure and certify 100 percent renewable electricity by 2022
Overall
- Inventory of emissions in line with the GHG protocol
- Yearly offsetting of emissions we cannot remove from our operations by 2026
Waste and circularity – our commitment
Taking a circular approach to resource consumption is one of the most efficient ways to improve resource efficiency and reduce waste.
This includes attention to details such as the interior decoration of our offices. For example, the flooring in our Zaventem HQ is made from 100% regenerated ECONYL® yarn, which is sourced from recovered fishing nets and other waste materials. The carpet tile backing also includes recycled material, and KPMG ensured that the total production of the carpet tiles was made CO2 neutral by participating in modulyss' CO2-reducing CO2RE carbon capture initiative.
As standard practice, we actively recycle all paper, cans, plastic and glass in all our offices. We have also replaced all our plastic drinking cups with reusable mugs and water bottles. This action represents a reduction of approximately 100 thousand cups per month and over 1.2 million cups per year. We will be further looking for ways to improve our recycling approach with a new internal campaign to be launched this year.
We also recycle our printer toners and ink cartridges and give our old ICT equipment a new life, such as by donating laptops to schools so that children who do not already have IT equipment at home can continue to learn remotely during Covid. Similar previous initiatives include working with organizations such as Close the Gap, which provides high-quality, refurbished IT equipment for social and educational projects in emerging and developing countries and coordinates the supply chain to ensure the IT projects are implemented successfully.
Water – our commitment
Did you know that Belgium is actually a water-scarce country? Due to high population density and large percentage of artificial ground coverage (concrete, paving etc.) fresh, potable water is in increasingly short supply, meaning that water is a precious resource that needs to be used thoughtfully. That’s why we’re recommitting to finding new ways to improve the efficiency of our water usage in all our KPMG offices in Belgium.
We’ll do this through measuring and analysing the water usage throughout the different spaces of each office - from common areas and kitchens to bathrooms and other areas - monitoring and identifying ways to improve our overall water efficiency performance and then implementing solutions accordingly.
In terms of wider impact, KPMG has also contributed to the Flemish government’s plan to reduce the impact of drought through smart water planning and control measures.
Our contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)
