Part of Public trust is making sure we contribute positively to society. We do this by sharing our knowledge and expertise through our thought leadership and pro bono work. We also support good causes and have targets to reduce our impact on the environment.
Across KPMG, we are pursuing our 2022-2025 Impact Plan (new window), which sets out commitments in four areas: Planet, People, Prosperity and Governance. Over the past year, we have translated this plan to KPMG N.V. in the Netherlands, and put clear targets in place, based on an assessment of our impact and contribution to the SDGs:
On climate change, we want to be net-zero by latest 2030 and to halve our CO2 emissions[1].To achieve this goal, we will reduce emissions from air travel and set an internal carbon price. We will also phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2025 and embed circular economy principles throughout the company. Compared to 2020/2021, our total CO2 emissions rose 84% in 2021/2022. This increase was attributable to the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to a significant reduction in emissions the previous year. Despite the increase, we are still on track to meet our 2030 goal.
We also want to step up our help for local communities – our goal is to empower at least 1,000 disadvantaged young people in the Netherlands by 2025 through education and employment opportunities. To do this, we will continue with the existing KPMG Jan Hommen Scholarship (new window), expand youth programs and increase job opportunities for those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. We will also continue with pro bono work – in 2021/2022, KPMG employees volunteered just over 3,200 hours on projects ranging from reviewing company strategies to providing IT solutions. Donations to good causes – including cash, in-kind and volunteer hours – totaled nearly EUR 993,000 in 2021/2022. During the year, we held an appeal for Ukraine, donating EUR 180,000 to the Red Cross from both employees and the firm to help those affected by the war.
In addition, we are pushing ahead with inclusion and diversity initiatives – for example, extending unconscious bias training and upping gender targets for both senior management and our Supervisory Board.
On Governance, we are further strengthening our reporting, aiming for full compliance in 2023/2024 with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (new window) (CSRD) and taxonomy.
Through our Impact Plan (new window) and our work with clients, we also make a positive contribution to the SDGs (new window); this contribution is also incorporated into our value creation model (new window).
Our CO2 emissions (all figures in metric tons of CO2 equivalent)
|
2021/2022 |
2020/2021 |
|
|
Scope 1 |
||
|
Natural gas used |
113 |
114 |
|
Leased vehicles (diesel) |
225 |
279 |
|
Leased vehicles (petrol) |
3,573 |
2,927 |
|
Total scope 1 |
3.911 |
3,320 |
|
Scope 2 |
||
|
Purchased electricity (non-renewable) |
41 |
37 |
|
Purchased electricity (renewable) |
1,321 |
1,528 |
|
Leased vehicles (electric) |
174 |
98 |
|
Total scope 2 |
1.536 |
1,663 |
|
Scope 3 |
||
|
Rail travel |
38 |
10 |
|
Air travel |
2,524 |
160 |
|
Total waste (includes recycled water) |
1 |
1 |
|
Percentage waste recycled |
87% |
86% |
|
Water used |
1 |
3 |
|
Total scope 3 |
2,564 |
174 |
|
Total gross emissions |
8,011 |
5,157 |
|
Net emissions |
6,690 |
3,629 |
Notes
See Greenhouse Gas Protocol (new window) for definitions of scopes 1, 2 and 3.
Scope 3 emissions are reported on for our business travel and waste streams. We are working on completing our scope 3 reporting.
Cars owned privately by KPMG employees are not included in the data above.
Figures for natural gas, purchased electricity (both renewable and non-renewable) and water usage are given for the calendar (rather than the financial) year
Net emissions are calculated by subtracting consumption of renewable energy from gross emissions
Thought leadership and brand
We believe our knowledge and expertise is valuable to society, which is why we want to be the number one thought leader for both Assurance and Advisory. Over the past year, we published dozens of studies and articles on issues ranging from digital strategy and data security to climate risk, human rights due diligence and supply chain management. We also organized regular webinars, courses and other events, and offered training and development through our KPMG Learning Academy (new window).
We also want to be a leader in ESG – in 2021/2022, we held roundtables to help clients prepare for new EU reporting requirements. In March, we announced the creation of the ESG Innovation Institute (new window), a partnership between KPMG N.V. and Nyenrode Business Universiteit. Together with the university, we are setting up an ESG Chair, as well as developing an executive program, research and publications. The goal of the Institute is to encourage a more sustainable approach to transforming business and create a genuine movement of sustainability business leaders in the Netherlands.
Thought leadership in practice: ESG risk for banks
In July, we published a study (new window) into Dutch banks and their management of ESG risks, timed to coincide with similar reviews by the European and Dutch central banks. The study confirmed that banks are making progress – more than 80% of Dutch banks, for example, expect to comply with most of the central banks’ ESG requirements by 2025. Even so, there is more work to be done, particularly when it comes to using data to quantify risk.
Through our regular client satisfaction surveys, we also measure brand attributes, particularly whether clients recognize these attributes in their work with us. In the latest survey – for the first half of 2022 – 99% of clients said our five brand attributes either ‘fitted well’ or ‘mostly fitted’ their experience of KPMG.
KPMG brand attributes
- 1From calendar year 2019 baseline