Christina Broder, Big4.com Staff Reporter
The global network of professional service firms KPMG, today announced a global approach to fight the climate change taking place across the globe. Named as “KPMG’s Global Green Initiative”, this three tiered approach has been developed by the firm which provides audit, tax and advisory services.
Timothy P. Flynn, Chairman, KPMG International, said, “KPMG’s Global Green Initiative is a global commitment by KPMG member firms on a very serious issue. Climate change is now widely regarded as one of the most serious challenges the world faces. It has reached a tipping point in global awareness and demands a global response.”
“The principal ambition of ‘KPMG’s Global Green Initiative’ will be to reduce our member firms’ combined carbon footprint by 25 percent by the year 2010 from a 2007 baseline, through emission reduction schemes and the use of renewable energy in our member firms,” Flynn said. “In addition, we will provide our member firms’ employees with the information and tools that they need to improve their own climate impacts both in the workplace and at home.”
“KPMG’s Global Green Initiative is centered on three commitments,” Flynn said, “first, measuring, reducing and reporting KPMG’s carbon footprint; second, supporting environmental projects to help address the challenges of climate change within our wider commitment to our communities, and third, working with our employees, suppliers and clients to help them improve their climate change impacts.
“Many KPMG member firms around the world have already set out ambitious climate change programs — from reducing our energy consumption through energy-efficient buildings and finding alternatives to business travel, to working with our business partners and selected not-for-profit organizations on verifiable and credible environmental program,” he added.
Talking about KPMG’s Global Green Initiative, Lord Michael Hastings, KPMG International’s Global Head of Citizenship and Diversity, added, “We are committed to addressing climate change by acting as good corporate citizens, and KPMG’s Global Green Initiative is a vital part of KPMG’s global corporate citizenship, sustainability and social responsibility programs.We observe among our firms’ clients around the world that the subject is steadily moving up their agendas. They recognize that climate change has strategic and financial implications for their businesses, presenting both risks and opportunities. Business can, and should, be part of the solution,” he said.
“KPMG’s Global Green Initiative represents a realistic and attainable set of goals. We have utilized the experience of KPMG’s Global Sustainability Services® network, which has more than 15 year’s sustainability experience and provides services to our firms’ clients on meeting, managing, and reporting their carbon emissions, and of many of our member firms who have already made impressive reductions themselves,” Lord Hastings said.