PwC launches new global Centre for Nature Positive Business
PwC last week announced the launch of a new global Centre for Nature Positive Business, which will collect and expand its capabilities in areas including biodiversity, water, regenerative agriculture, and forestry.
The firm said it would double the size of its team of “nature specialists” in the next 12 month from 500 to 1,000. PwC’s specialists work on engagements in “nature positive strategy and transformation, nature risk management and reporting, nature technology, data and measurement, and nature finance and fund management,” according to a press release from the Big Four accounting network.
Large management consultancies and engineering consultancies traffic in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) consulting services, with engineering firms providing more technical offerings in addition to growing sustainability strategy practices.
ESG consulting practices are expanding as more clients seek guidance on how to green their supply chains, reduce emissions, and meet emerging government regulations – including reporting.
Emissions reduction is existential work for humankind, and by extension businesses. Recent research from PwC says 55% of the world’s GDP – equivalent to $58 trillion – is exposed to material nature risk without immediate action. More than half (50.6%) of the market value of listed companies on 19 major stock exchanges, meanwhile, is exposed to material risks from the degradation of natural ecosystems and biodiversity.
“If organizations are to be equipped to mitigate their impacts on nature, manage the risks and deliver sustained outcomes, the time to transform business models is now,” said Daniel O’Brien, partner, sustainability and climate change, PwC Canada. “Our new Centre for Nature Positive Business will provide access to leading expertise to help organizations address the declining health of our natural ecosystems, which threaten to erode the foundation of our economies, livelihoods, health, and quality of life worldwide.”
The company further said it will offer nature and biodiversity training to its 328,000-person global workforce through bespoke online learning in its Sustainability Academy. The training will help employees “understand nature impacts and embed nature positive outcomes in service offerings to clients.”
PwC also said it is conducting an assessment to identify which of its offices are in or adjacent to key biodiversity areas, as well as assessing nature-related impacts in its supply chain.
The Big Four firm currently collaborates with various sustainability-focused organizations, including supporting the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the World Economic Forum’s Global Biodiversity Framework.
