Our DMA identified Scope 1,2, and 3[1] GHG emissions as a material sustainability matter where our operations have a negative environmental impact that contribute to climate change due to global warming. Our main activities causing GHG emissions are energy consumption in buildings, air travel, and our lease fleet’s fuel use. We acknowledge our responsibility to reduce this negative impact and contribute to a more sustainable future.
Our commitment to reduced emissions is described in our KPMG Global Impact Plan, which forms the basis for our KPMG NL Impact Plan, which we consider to be our transition plan for climate change mitigation, as described in section 2.1.1 (new window). Decarbonization is critical to curbing the harmful effects of climate change. While we recognize that this is a difficult journey, especially regarding our Scope 3 emissions, we continue to focus on quantifying and mitigating the impact of our operations and the services we provide.
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This section provides an overview of our current impact related to GHG emissions and includes forward-looking statements aligned with the ESRS E1 guidelines detailing our strategy for emission reductions. These statements encompass our NL Impact Plan along with our policies, actions, targets, and metrics pertaining to GHG emissions.
Responsibility for climate action – including implementing and monitoring climate-related policies, targets, and action plans at KPMG N.V. – is anchored with our COO, on behalf of the Board of Management. Meanwhile, relevant operational department leads support with policymaking and in the implementation of action plans. Progress on policy objectives, targets, and action-plan implementation is tracked through internal controls using dashboards. We are currently working to improve data collection and quality through automation to enhance monitoring and better inform our strategy. The negative impacts of emissions affect our employees, suppliers, and clients as well as the general public. We communicate our policies to affected stakeholders, via multiple channels, including our intranet, integrated reports, and Impact Plan. Stakeholders are also involved in setting targets that are realistic, inclusive, and effective. Our engagement process typically includes consultation, collaboration, and active participation, through our annual GPS and other employee surveys and through engagement with the Young Board Now, topical experts, and department leads within representative bodies, such as the Leadership Team Business Services led by our COO.
2.1.1 Strategy for climate change mitigation
Our NL Impact Plan describes our strategy for transforming our business model to combat climate change and contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. We are not excluded from the EU Paris-Aligned Benchmarks and are actively engaged in reducing our carbon emissions. The transition plan outlines our priorities and levers, along with the policies and actions we have implemented to meet our targets. We share the results we have achieved so far and describe the future measures we will take to reach our objectives.
2.1.1.1 Our strategy toward decarbonization
In reducing our carbon footprint, KPMG N.V. adheres to KPMG International's commitment to achieving a near-term science-based target (SBT) to decarbonize our business by 50% across scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 2029/2030, compared to our 2018/2019 baseline. This target aligns with the aim of limiting global warming to 1.5°C in line with the Paris Agreement and was validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in 2021. We adopted this target and specified it per scope using our 2018/2019 baseline data.
To reduce our carbon footprint effectively and meet our 2029/2030 reduction target of 50%, we have identified four major sources of GHG emission reduction. These “decarbonization levers” are:
improving our energy efficiency;
transitioning to renewables;
reducing emissions from our travel;
decarbonizing our supply chain and embedding circularity.
The main levers in our journey to net zero
Key actions on these decarbonization levers are explained in section 2.2.2 (new window), but have no expected impact on our service portfolio, nor on expected used technologies.
As of 2023/2024, we have reduced emissions directly linked to our operations (Scope 1 and 2) by around 56% compared to our 2018/2019 baseline. Our overall Scope 3 emissions increased by 28% compared to our baseline, mainly as a result of increasing emissions from business travel and purchased goods and services. In 2023/2024, we focused on collecting the right data for these categories to help us steer our Scope 3 emissions more efficiently; in the next financial year, we will focus on updating our policies and making concrete action plans for Scope 3 emission reductions.
Over the years, KPMG N.V. has been investing in moving toward sustainable alternatives and in reducing our emissions. While most investments are made as part of our annual business plan, initiatives such as internal carbon pricing (ICP) further enhance awareness of and mobilize funds for our carbon footprint reduction initiatives. We evaluate our ICP every year, with the aim of increasing it when needed; in 2023/2024, we raised our ICP from EUR 15 to EUR 50 per CO2 ton. We spent this year’s ICP budget - which is included in our OpEx - on renewable energy, smart building systems in our headquarters, and more charging points for our electric car fleet.
Our NL Impact Plan is reviewed annually and reflected in our strategy, yearly business plan, and financial planning. Progress is measured and reported to our Board of Management every quarter and discussed in our Leadership Team Business Services every six weeks.
2.1.2 Climate scenario modeling and risk assessment
KPMG International has conducted a climate risk assessment with quantitative scenario modeling using 1.5°C- and 4°C-scenario pathways to represent, respectively, a baseline or “business-as-usual” pathway and a Paris‑aligned trajectory. KPMG N.V. was not involved in this process; however, none of the physical risks identified are considered material for our firm.
Our primary transition risks and opportunities stem from the predicted shifts in sector growth and contraction where KPMG member firms provide services. Given our multi-disciplinary model and diverse geographic and sector exposures, we believe these transition risks are unlikely to substantially affect our business model or overall revenue goals.
Nevertheless, we plan to conduct our own risk assessment over the next five years, likely in collaboration with other European member firms, to ensure a comprehensive understanding of our specific climate risks, address them, and incorporate them into both our business strategy and our climate risk and decarbonization strategy.