As the world struggles with ever-depleting resources, it’s becoming increasingly crucial that businesses, governments and individuals use, re-use and conserve natural resources in a way that takes full and balanced account of the interests of society today, as well as future generations. For a business like ours, that means the day-to-day management of our buildings and utilities, and all aspects of the health and safety of our people.
Opened in Fy22, PwC Campus in Brussels has been designed to be (almost) energy neutral with an energy performance (EPB) figure of 49. PwC House in Antwerp is also (almost) energy neutral, with an energy grade of E41. We’ve implemented a number of measures to save electricity in our buildings, namely lights with motion sensors and automatic timers to switch lights off. PwC Campus also features borehole thermal energy storage. We only purchase green energy and use solar panels. For our Liège office, the electricity that the solar panels provide is used in the building’s communal areas. The 105 solar panels at PwC Campus in Brussels are expected to deliver approx. 30,000 kWh/m2 of electricity annually. Their output generates green electricity onsite.
To reduce our usage of municipal water, we’ve introduced rainwater capture systems in five of our offices (Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Hasselt and Liège) which recycle captured water for use in our toilets and to irrigate our green roof spaces.
Seeking to limit waste to the greatest extent possible, PwC Belgium works with an external partner to define an action plan with clear targets to enable us to reach our zero waste goal. Activities include:
Donation of office furniture we no longer use to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and schools.
Food waste from the PwC Campus kitchen is dealt with in a composting machine.
Each floor of the Brussels office features a waste corner where bio waste is collected and composted. The compost is made available to employees for use in their gardens or donated to local school(s).
The Too Good to Go app is in use in our Antwerp and Brussels restaurants. Each meal purchased through the app represents a saving of +/- 2.5kg of CO2 emissions.
We’ve replaced all cups in our offices with 100%-recyclable and compostable alternatives.
All food packaging in our catering facilities is recycled and recyclable.
We increased our digitalisation of materials with a lot of old paper files being put online. Going further, we’re continually decreasing the amount of paper we print in all our offices. Each year, our people are given a target to meet in terms of paper reduction and offered a bonus for doing so.
Reception staff in each of our offices, as well as people who work in our catering and hospitality areas and our cleaners, all live in the area around the office in which they work, meaning we’re able to provide employment to local people. We also work closely with our service provider for these positions to make sure we offer equal opportunities, regardless of gender and ethnicity, in line with our internal inclusion and diversity (I&D) policy. Our catering services provider also strives to ensure that, where possible, food served in our offices is sourced locally (30-40%) and is seasonal.