Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category
Zhang was previously the leader of the PwC sustainability and climate change team based in Beijing, China and joins the UK team on a two year secondment. He will be supporting the firm’s public and private sector clients in understanding and addressing sustainability and climate change issues in China.
Malcolm Preston, global lead sustainability and climate change, PwC said: “Allan’s secondment comes at a critical point in climate change and sustainability agenda for China, and businesses operating there. The 12th Five Year Plan was a clear indication that the pace is picking up on environmental and sustainability issues. With the scale of their economic growth and impact, it will move the issues to the heart of national and global competitiveness for businesses operating in China.”
Zhang is a specialist in Chinese sustainability and climate change policy, including carbon management, environmental due diligence, CSR strategy, reporting and life cycle assessment. He has extensive experience providing support to international brand name companies to help them develop carbon and CSR policies, identify risks and liabilities in transactions, ensure compliance with national or specific industry standards and assess the environmental impacts of business operations.
He has previously worked with PwC’s Economics team in the UK, and the firm’s China Business Desk supporting inward and overseas investment linked to China. Prior to joining PwC, he worked in China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (presently MOFCOM) for 13 years, and was Director for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Asia-Europe Meeting affairs.
KPMG International announced today it achieved a 29 percent reduction in net emissions per full-time equivalent employee over the three-year period from its 2007 baseline of 25 percent. The initiative is part of KPMG’s plan to improve the environmental performance of its business. In addition, KPMG achieved a 7 percent reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions since 2007.
KPMG launched the Global Green Initiative (GGI) in 2008 to support its commitment to reduce its environmental impacts, including establishing an ambition of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2010. More than 40 KPMG member firms, representing 85 percent of full-time equivalent personnel, actively participate in the program.
“We are extremely proud of our accomplishments and the commitment of our people to find innovative means to reduce our environmental impacts,” said Lord Michael Hastings, KPMG International’s Global Head of Citizenship and Diversity. “We estimate the cumulative emission savings from the Global Green Initiative are equivalent to taking 85,000 cars off the road for one year. We will continue to challenge ourselves and build upon the success of the Global Green Initiative by further integrating environmental sustainability within our core operations.”
With the success in surpassing the initial program targets, the KPMG Global Board has approved a new ambition for Phase II of the GGI—seeking a further 15 percent reduction in net emissions per full-time employee by 2015, using a 2010 baseline. To achieve this goal, KPMG member firms will maintain their focus on building efficiency and sustainable procurement, as well as leveraging the insight from KPMG Climate Change and Sustainability professionals.
To achieve its GGI results, KPMG member firms implemented leading practices and established new programs and processes that include:
Greening Offices
KPMG member firms have implemented a variety of energy efficiency programs, as well as moved into offices that meet local green building criteria. A KPMG Building Efficiency Handbook has also been developed to further share and promote environmentally-preferred practices.
Instituting Sustainable IT programs
To reduce energy consumption of KPMG’s member firm IT infrastructure, KPMG International developed a Sustainable IT Tips guide and implemented practices such as server virtualization to reduce emissions.
Reducing Air Travel
With 18 HP Halo telepresence studios in key cities around the world and other types of virtual conferencing technology, KPMG’s member firms are reducing their need for travel.
Engaging Employees and Suppliers
KPMG member firms are engaging employees on climate change through hands-on initiatives, as well as working with suppliers to identify additional opportunities to reduce their environmental impact.
“The role of the business sector in combating climate change is critical,” says Yvo de Boer, KPMG’s Special Global Advisor on Climate Change and Sustainability. “An increasing number of companies are developing sustainable agendas, or planning to start one. Integrating sustainability into the wider business plan is very clearly moving from being a nice-to-do gesture to an essential part of the corporate strategy.
“At KPMG, we are not only working with clients on addressing climate change and sustainability, we are also focused on reducing our own carbon footprint.”
In addition to KPMG’s commitment to reducing its own environmental impacts, KPMG’s global Climate Change & Sustainability practice works with leading companies to establish sustainable and forward looking business models that help reduce costs and boost efficiencies.
Source: www.top-consultant.com
| NEW YORK — PwC US announced that prominent sustainability business consultant Andrew Winston will act as an independent Sustainability Advisor to PwC. Winston, founder of Winston Eco-Strategies, is a recognized expert on green business, helping companies use environmental strategy to expand, create enduring value and build stronger relationships with employees, customers and other stakeholders. He is also the author of Green Recovery, a strategic plan for using environmental thinking to survive hard economic times, and is co-author of Green to Gold, the international best-selling guide for companies “going green.”
“PwC is aggressively growing its sustainability practice, and we see this relationship as an important and timely opportunity through which to bolster PwC’s presence in the US marketplace,” said Kathy Nieland, US Sustainable Business Solutions Leader, PwC. “In a field filled with often discordant voices and points of view, Andrew is a highly respected, well-known individual who will help PwC advise its clients in cutting through the noise, distilling key messages and driving business results,” Nieland added. Companies increasingly recognize sustainability as more than an environmental issue, and are making sustainable business practices core business imperatives. Sustainability is becoming a strategic, compliance, operational, reputational and financial imperative that cuts across the spectrum of business operations, from financial reporting to supply chain management to risk assessment and mitigation. PwC’s agreement with Winston will enable the Sustainable Business Solutions practice to enhance its work in guiding companies as they seek opportunities related to cost containment, revenue enhancement and risk avoidance. “Corporations are facing a dizzying array of new pressures – from rising commodity prices and resource constraints, to business risk from mega-challenges such as climate change and water shortages, to intense questions from new and forceful stakeholders who care deeply about environmental issues,” said Winston. “PwC is in a unique position to help its clients navigate the increasingly complex integration of sustainability strategies into core business practices and build effective, profitable organizations.” Working with PwC, Winston will help PwC offer clients a broader perspective and will share views on dynamics driving the sustainability market. As a result, PwC will better be able to identify for its clients areas where the greatest risks lie and where the greatest business value may be derived, whether through sustainability competitive analysis, reporting and disclosure, revenue enhancement or reputational initiatives. PwC also will leverage Winston’s reputation as a highly respected and dynamic speaker to reach influential audiences both internally and externally through keynote appearances, webinars and trainings. Winston has advised leading companies across all major business sectors. He received his BA in Economics from Princeton, an MBA from Columbia, and a Masters of Environmental Management from Yale. |
|
Source: www.top-consultant.com
The awards recognise leaders and shapers of the emerging low carbon economy. The judging process demanded clear evidence that the firm was promoting sustainable behaviour amongst clients, that the services the firm was providing were helping to reduce environmental impacts and that the team were helping to shape the wider debate on the future of the low carbon economy.
PwC were also recognised for their investment in the Sustainability and Climate Change consultancy team’s development and expansion globally, how they delivered substantial and quantifiable improvements in their environmental performance, and were committed to promoting fundamental changes in business models.
Ian Powell, chairman and senior partner, PwC said: “PwC’s track record in sustainability stretches back over 15 years and we have made a conscious decision to invest in the practice, embedding sustainability in everything we do with our clients and people because we believe that it is fundamentally changing the shape of the economy.”
Malcolm Preston, global leader, PwC sustainability and climate change, said: “We’ve got a dedicated, passionate and high performance team, who work to make business and economic sense of climate change and environmental issues. The award recognises their fantastic work, and their global impact in developing and implementing sustainable business and economic strategies.”
PwC’s global sustainability and climate change team of around 800, is led by the firm’s 100 strong UK practice. Specialists work across the complete range of sustainability impacts and business opportunities including environmental science, economics, carbon reporting and trading, CSR strategy, resource planning and supply chain, reporting and measurement, biodiversity, financing, environmental tax and regulation, renewables and clean tech.
Source: www.top-consultant.com
PwC in the UK has featured in the Top 60 Best Green Companies list for the fourth year running, and is the only Big Four firm on the list.
Credited for its new London headquarters, the first office building in London to be rated outstanding under BREAAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), as well as its green policies and staff commitment to making green improvements, PwC was rated as having a low environmental impact.
Chairman Ian Powell said: “PwC’s place on the Best Green List for the fourth year in a row shows our clients and communities that we don’t just give advice on sustainability in the marketplace; we live it in our day to day work.
“We’re constantly working to improve our green credentials at every level, from the way we power our buildings, to the food we serve in our restaurants to the way our people travel.”
PwC’s More London headquarters generates 60% fewer CO2 emissions than a typical office building and 25% of the building’s power is generated from recycled chip fat from local restaurants via the building’s onsite tri-generator.
The firm was also noted for working with the landlords of its other UK buildings to reduce CO2, and for holding a series of debates with staff about sustainability issues for business and communities; staff in PwC’s global network joined these debates via live webcast.
Source: www.top-consultant.com
Capgemini UK plc has achieved a triple success in the Business in the Community (BITC) annual ‘Awards for Excellence’ for responsible business practice. The company has won the BITC’s prestigious ‘National Big Tick’ in three categories: Climate Change, Sustainable Travel (ways2work) and Healthy Workplaces (WorkWell). The awards recognise inspirational programmes that are making a positive impact on the community, the environment or wider society.
The Capgemini programmes for Climate Change and Sustainable Travel were also shortlisted for the title of ‘Example of Excellence’ – the overall winner – in their respective categories.
Christine Hodgson, chairman of Capgemini UK, commented: “We are delighted to win three Big Tick awards this year in recognition of our sustained and effective approach to corporate responsibility. We are committed to sustainable and responsible business practice, and winning these important awards is a great way to demonstrate that commitment.”
Stephen Howard, chief executive, Business in the Community said: “I congratulate Capgemini on achieving their Big Ticks. It is a challenging time for business, but this is a sign that companies are not losing their focus and are transforming their businesses to make a positive impact on people and society and are prepared to lead by example.”
Capgemini will be presented with its Big Tick awards this month. The company will find out if it has won the Example of Excellence for the Climate Change and ways2 work categories at the Awards for Excellence Gala Event on 5 July.
Source: www.top-consultant.com
PwC will pilot two 100% electric vehicles at the firm’s central London offices as part of a pioneering new scheme to lower the firm’s overall transport emissions, the first of its kind for a corporate fleet.
The deal with Hertz, will encourage employees to swap taxi journeys of over six miles with booking the cars from the firm’s central London offices in Westminster or Southwark.
Bridget Jackson, head of sustainability, PwC said: “The journeys our people take at work in central London can be to locations with no direct transport link, or involve carrying materials either too bulky or confidential for public transport. We only need to convert around two of those journeys a day that currently use cabs, to our new electric vehicles to make this add up for us.
“It’s a pioneering initiative for PwC and fits our commitment to work with new technologies, test how they fit in our mix of needs, so we can reduce our overall environmental impact. We need to understand the day to day reality of working with electric cars, just as we test any other transport on offer, so we can lower our overall emissions, potentially rolling out the scheme nationwide.”
The two five door, small hatch cars have a 90 mile range, are 100% electric, and provide a live member car care support line via the Connect by Hertz in car communications system, including statistics on emissions and usage. The cars will be charged at the two PwC offices or via Hertz’s wider network, or Source London’s network. Employees could also charge them overnight via a three pin socket.
Research by PwC’s automotive practice estimates that by 2020, pure electric vehicles (PEVs) could represent between two and five percent of the total output of light vehicles. The depth and speed at which electric vehicles will be able to penetrate the market will rely on several factors, but there remains little doubt that this technology will have a significant impact on the automotive industry moving forward.
The auto industry is responsible for 15 percent of global carbon emissions, amounting to roughly 8 billion tons annually. Although environmental protection has been the primary driver for change, other factors such as the price volatility of fossil fuels and energy independence have also helped drive a change to alternative and renewable energy sources.
Richard Gane, head of automotive, PwC commented: “Electric vehicles (EV) could play a very big part in the future of the automotive market as firms and individuals becoming increasingly conscious of the need to switch to more environmental alternatives to lower our emissions.
“EVs may well represent a more promising transport option to reducing vehicle emissions and creating a more sustainable passenger vehicle fleet but the sector does face its own challenges.
“Comparative battery performance, availability of battery materials, storage technology, mileage range and the need for a ‘smart grid’ that can recharge millions of EVs using low-carbon electricity without overloading local distribution circuits are all issues manufacturers need to think about. However, the automotive market is ready to take on the challenge.”
Source: Top-Consultant
Atos Origin today announced that it will offer carbon neutral hosting services to support clients on their journey towards more sustainable operations. Clients that choose to outsource their IT infrastructure and applications to Atos Origin’s carbon neutral datacenters, will benefit from the company-wide continuous improvement program aimed at further reducing the CO2 footprint of its data centers.
Atos Origin’s carbon neutral hosting services are the result of three key actions. Firstly, addressing its Power Usage Efficiency (PUE); secondly, applying global Carbon Audit program applied to all its data centers worldwide; and thirdly, engaging The CarbonNeutral Company, recently named Best Offset Retailer by Environmental Finance, to help compensate the carbon footprint produced by its datacenters – 117,000t – CO2 through investment in a windmill turbine project in the Thar Desert, India.
Thierry Breton, chairman & CEO of Atos Origin, said: “Sustainability is at the core of our corporate strategy and we are delighted to be the first global IT provider to offer fully integrated carbon neutral hosting services. We fully understand the importance of technology in reducing the carbon footprint of our own organization and those of our clients, which is why we have developed our Green IT solutions portfolio to support our clients on their journey to a more sustainable business.”
Social responsibility – windmill turbine project in India
Atos Origin has selected a windmill turbine project in the Thar Desert in India because, in addition to enabling the use of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions, the project has made a significant contribution to the local community. This contribution includes the provision of clean water supply to local villages, the facilitation of a vaccination program and the reconstruction of a village school.
The project has been validated to the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) and the credits have been verified and registered on the Voluntary Carbon Standard registry, hosted by APX.
Transforming towards the Firm of the Future
Under the umbrella of the Firm of the Future, Atos Origin works in partnership with clients to create more sustainable business operations. Its Ambition Carbon Neutral approach supports clients in their actions to reduce their footprint and create a more sustainable IT infrastructure.
Based on four simple steps – measure, reduce, report and offset – the program includes a detailed carbon audit, a roadmap and solutions for improvements and finally a performance management dashboard to measure progress. This strategy helps clients transform to a sustainable, collaborative and adaptive organization addressing both strategic and operational levels and the supporting infrastructure.
In 2010, the Group published its first Corporate Responsibility report according to the international Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 guidelines and later in the year became a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).
Source: Top-Consultant
Oil price is viewed as a global, unified measure of the economic recovery and while economic indicators have been bearish of late, oil prices are still rising. Deloitte’s 2011 Oil & Gas Reality Check report, analyses the oil and gas trends and issues for the year ahead, the future of deepwater drilling, where the next alternative energy source will be found, and the growing influence of Asia on the industry.
Carl Hughes, head of Deloitte’s UK Energy practice comments: “Oil continues to be a significant driver of the economic recovery – oil and gas companies need to look beyond the short-term and focus on developing sustainable practices that can stimulate long-term growth.
“The past year has seen the oil and gas industry face some serious challenges. This report shows that predicting the course of the industry over the next year will help executives put in place strategies that will not only help their organisations ride out the economic recovery, but also emerge stronger.”
Key findings:
• Oil and gas companies continue to invest in the North Sea. A record 356 exploration licenses for the North Sea were granted in the most recent round of approvals, with no sign of a slowdown in interest in that area.
• Asia continues to develop as a centre of oil & gas activity. Asian national oil companies have adopted increasingly aggressive tactics in pursuing upstream acquisitions. In particular, China’s domestic unconventional gas production is set to skyrocket. China’s GDP growth, when combined with the Republic’s determination to diversify its fuel supplies and to create a low-emissions environment, bodes particularly well for the future of liquefied natural gas markets. Russia is also increasingly focused on exporting more oil and gas to Asia.
• Oil and gas will continue to constitute the majority of the world’s energy supply over the next 25 years. Despite significant progress in developing renewable and other alternative energy sources, deepwater drilling continues with oil and gas producers re-examining their safety policies.
• Recent discoveries of unconventional gas in North America will demand new markets. According to the report, shale gas in particular is swiftly becoming a game-changer for the US and Canada.
Source: Top-Consultant
Capgemini announced the opening of a new state-of-the-art sustainable data centre in the UK, poised to set new standards for global data centre energy efficiency through its industry-leading energy ratings and modular design.
Amid growing demand for outsourcing and cloud services, Capgemini designed the new data centre from first principles, applying smart engineering to rethink the entire blueprint. Clients who outsource their IT or business processes, or use Capgemini’s cloud offerings will benefit from cost savings and environmental ratings but also a high level of quality and technical service.
The new “Merlin” data centre – built on a brown field site in Swindon, near London – boasts a low power usage effectiveness (PUE) annualised rating of 1.08 (factory tested): a worldwide industry first. As well as featuring a smart modular design which can be individually tailored to suit client needs and is economical in space and resourcing, the facility guarantees a high level of energy efficiency through its use of fresh air cooling, taking advantage of Swindon’s ideal all-year round moderate climate. The data centre was built using eco-considerate materials and sustainable sourcing was encouraged at all points of the build. The electricity consumption of the facility will be just half that of a traditional facility, while maintenance costs will only be a quarter of that of older designs. Merlin is designed to support the full continuum of managed services from legacy and dedicated client infrastructures through to utility and Capgemini’s latest cloud based services.
The new UK facility is a key component of Capgemini’s Global Infrastructure Outsourcing (GIO) strategy which has invested €100million across a global data centre portfolio of 25 facilities in Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the United States, as well as the UK. Capgemini’s GIO supports over 26,000 physical servers of which 8,000 are virtualized1. Capgemini’s key focus is on data centre optimization to respond to client’s demands for security, sustainability and cost efficiency.
“With global demand for our outsourcing and cloud services growing sharply, we needed more space to house such services,” says Capgemini’s CEO of Global Infrastructure Management, Richard Dicketts. “However, we had to develop new facilities that could support the efficiencies our clients seek. Meeting the requirements of 21st century businesses in terms of agility, cost and risk management, fully managed, virtualized and private cloud services need to be delivered alongside the more traditional data center services. The Merlin facility represents a new generation of data center design, which redefines industry standards and has resulted from both our long term drive to improve efficiency and the contractual imperatives to deliver environmental efficiency. Using this blueprint we will be able to set up large or small facilities wherever they are needed around the globe to fulfil demand for services.”
Key features of the “Merlin” data centre
• Output: Merlin has a power usage effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.08 (factory tested)2. Whilst PUE ratings are improving steadily, the industry standard remains between 2.0 and 2.5. The Merlin facility represents a step-change in addressing this industry challenge.
• Fresh air cooling system: Each module is equipped with a highly dedicated Air Optimiser climate control cooling unit which step-cools air in stages, with primary “fresh air” cooling and second stage evaporative cooling.
• BMS and climate control: The bespoke building management system is one of the most sophisticated ever designed. Fully managed hot and cold air flows enable constant peak operational efficiency. • Certified Tier 3: Merlin will be certified as an Uptime Institute certified Tier 3 data center3, one of only three such sites in the UK.
• 60,000 square foot technical floor capacity: The data centre of over 100,000 square feet has the ability to supply 60,000 square feet of available technical floor space, comprising 24 x 2,500 square foot modules.
Source: Top-Consultant