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The Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted in 2015 by the 193 United Nations (UN) member states. There are 17 goals which address economic, environmental and social impacts, and are designed to form a blueprint for good growth, nationally and internationally, by 2030. They’re underpinned by 169 targets to help define progress.

The SDGs apply to both developed and developing countries, and governments expect business to help achieve the goals, which are expected to frame the agendas and policies of member states until 2030. As part of Agenda 2030, all 193 UN member states are required to produce at least one Voluntary National Review, measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of their interventions, so businesses will need to be aware of national ambitions and how they contribute to them.

Our SDG prioritisation matrix

Our SDG prioritisation matrix

Our approach

Our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems, such as those outlined in the UN SDGs. As a firm, we contribute to them in a number of ways. Firstly, we create economic and social value through our core services - using our people’s skills and experience.

Our market-leading Sustainability team has been collaborating with the United Nations to develop tools to help businesses understand the SDGs, as well as how to prioritise areas for action.

We also address issues directly in our operations through our approach to Corporate Sustainability and Diversity & Inclusion. Finally, we contribute to the global goals through Community Engagement.

Opportunities and risks

We’ve identified and prioritised the SDGs most relevant for our business by applying the same criteria we use when advising our clients, accounting for the countries, territories and sectors in which we operate. Our Sustainability team’s research into the impacts and opportunities for our sector draws on over 200 data sources, scoring each country against each SDG target, to anticipate potential areas of focus for future government policy - recognising that our business depends on a thriving UK economy.

We cross referenced the output to ensure it aligned to our materiality matrix, and other considerations relating to our client delivery, our operations and our communities - to determine the priority goals for our business. We’ll still refer to the full list as a ‘sense check’ to make sure that we’re helping to contribute to all of the goals in some way.

We haven’t ascribed a priority level to Goal 17, however all of the SDGs are dependent on effective partnerships and collaboration. In solving important problems we work with all sectors of society, providing technical advice and resources as appropriate, such as our work with the UN Global Compact and Global Reporting Initiative on prioritising and reporting the SDGs. In some cases, where we believe it will advance the common good, we’ve made our intellectual property ‘open source’ – as in the case of our Total Impact and Natural Capital Accounting methodologies.  

Download a copy of our SDG prioritisation matrix

Programmes

The priority we’ve initially attributed to each goal, together with key actions we’re taking to support them, are set out below. We’ll keep this prioritisation under review.

Click below to explore each set of goals:

High priority  Medium priority  Low priority

High priority

4. Quality education

We're one of the largest graduate recruiters in the UK, and in 2023 were voted by students as the UK’s number one graduate employer in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers list. The majority of our graduate and school leaver joiners undertake study for a professional qualification. We train hundreds of students to become qualified accountants each year, while our Consulting graduates work towards obtaining the Chartered Management Consultant Award.

As the skills our people need evolve, the learning we offer continues to reflect that - for example, upskilling Gen AI and other technologies. We facilitate equal access to education for minority groups, women and people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, both in our workplace and our community work. 

  • Each year, we provide thousands of opportunities for school leavers and students of all backgrounds to learn more about business and to apply to work with us, providing many ways to access the profession. This includes our ‘Flying Start’ degree programme and technology apprenticeships. Our recruitment processes are designed to be open and attractive to people of all backgrounds. (Target 4.3)

  • As part of our Community Engagement strategy, our ‘New World. New Skills’ programme supports thousands of school students each year from lower socio-economic backgrounds by bringing them into our offices throughout the UK. The work we do helps inspire students to reach their full potential and provides them with skills they can use for any chosen career. Place-based investments are also important so we also fund targeted skills and education projects proposed and led by our people around the UK. (Target 4.4) 

8. Decent work and economic growth

As one of the largest professional services firms in the UK, our role in helping clients of all sizes and in all sectors to grow makes this one of our most significant areas of positive contribution. 

  • Our strategy is built on using technology, delivering exceptional client outcomes, empowering our people, and on being committed to investing in high-quality and sustainable profitable growth. (Target 8.1) 

  • We use the World Economic Forum (WEF) metrics as a framework to provide transparency on our own impacts over time on our Integrated Reporting Hub, including Prosperity metrics. (Target 8.2) 

  • We use our convening power to support inclusive economic growth - for example, in July 2024, we launched our Framework for Growth giving a voice to UK business leaders and identifying the components they believe would be most effective in breaking down barriers to growth and productivity. (Target 8.3)  

  • As set out under Goal 5, we have an extensive diversity and inclusion programme, with transparent reporting against public targets, and were among the first businesses to voluntarily publish both our gender and ethnicity pay gaps. (Target 8.5, 8.6)

  • As founding members of the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, we have spent over £1 million annually with close to 50 social enterprises since 2016. Our PwC Social Entrepreneurs Club offers coaching, workshops, and bespoke support to over 400 members across the UK, helping them grow sustainable businesses that tackle society’s most important problems. (Target 8.3, 8.6)

  • We set challenging, long-term, public targets to decouple our environmental impact from our economic growth, and publish our achievements each year in our Annual Report and Integrated Reporting Hub. (Target 8.4)

  • We have a programme addressing human rights and modern slavery risks in our operations and supply chain. (Target 8.7, 8.8)

10. Reduced inequalities

In a diverse and competitive world, we need to make sure that we can bring the best talent to our clients, regardless of race, gender or background. We pride ourselves on our approach to diversity and inclusion.

  • In our Annual Report and on our Integrated Reporting Hub, we publish our ethnicity pay and bonus gap (first published in 2018), our disability and social mobility (since 2021), and our sexual orientation gap (since 2022). And in 2014, we were the first professional services firm to voluntarily publish our gender pay gap, before it was a legal requirement. Data driven insights allow us to be bold and intentional in taking action on the issues that matter most and have the biggest impact for our people, support our communities and benefit our clients. (Target 10.2, 10.3, 10.4)

  • We have robust policies in place to prevent discrimination in the workplace. Our internal training programmes, such as ‘Open Mind’ and ‘Great Minds (don’t think alike)’ are designed to make our people think about the impact of unconscious bias and neurodivergence on their relationships. (Target 10.2)

  • As part of our five point social mobility action plan, we’re working with schools with higher than average free school meals, in social mobility cold spots and areas of deprivation. Our investments in Bradford, Belfast and Cardiff are key examples of our work to reduce regional inequalities. We’re also a founder of the Social Mobility Pledge and were ranked the number one UK employer in the Social Mobility Employer Index 2023. (Target 10.2) 

  • As the leading provider of tax services in the UK, we’re well placed to help governments understand how the tax system might be reformed for greater equality. Our goal is to help consumers, businesses, and policy makers make informed tax choices - weighing the advantages and trade offs. We are at the forefront of tax transparency developments, including the development of the Total Tax Contribution (TTC) framework, informing the debate over how much tax large corporates pay. (Target 10.3)

12. Responsible consumption & production

Although we’re not an intensive user of natural resources, we spend a significant amount with suppliers each year, which offers a way to indirectly influence some of the other social and environmental Goals. We also work extensively with clients and other organisations on integrating relevant sustainability information into their businesses and reporting cycles.

  • We’ve set energy transition and responsible consumption targets to support our Net Zero commitment. (Target 12.2)

  • We’re progressively adopting the principles of the circular economy – avoiding consumption where possible, increasing the proportion of materials we divert to reuse or recycling, and exploring circular solutions with our suppliers. (Target 12.5)

  • As members of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), we helped to develop the recommendations for companies to use in disclosing information to investors about the impacts of climate change on their financial performance; and we’ve worked with the UN Global Compact and the GRI on guidelines for prioritising and reporting on the SDGs. We also work with clients on circular economy solutions, and sustainable operations and procurement. In particular, our work on Total Impact Measurement & Management (TIMM) is helping clients to assign a financial value to the impact they have on natural capital. In the interest of transparency, and to help accelerate the pace of advancement of such approaches, we’ve also made our methodology papers public. (Target 12.6)

  • We report extensively on our own sustainability practices and progress against targets - including our supply chain work - in our Annual Report and Integrated Reporting Hub, which is externally assured by our financial auditors. We’ve also published our first response to the TCFD recommendations for our UK business. (Target 12.6)

  • We have embedded responsible consumption into our procurement process, including contractual clauses for a number of ‘key’ suppliers, that collectively account for the majority of our managed supplier spend. We're also one of the first businesses to achieve the Carbon Trust Supply Chain Standard (level 2). (Target 12.6, 12.7).

13. Climate action

Following the Paris Climate Agreement and IPCC reports, there’s a global imperative to address climate change. Our carbon emissions are relatively low compared to many sectors, but they’re the biggest environmental impact for our business, so we’ve made their reduction central to our sustainability strategy and invested to make a step change in our impact and resilience.

  • Our ISO22301- certified business continuity management system has been developed to minimise the risks of extreme weather to our offices, whilst locations for new offices and data centres are assessed for potential climate change impacts. (Target 13.1)

  • As set out under Goal 16, as members of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), we helped to develop the recommendations for companies to use in disclosing information to investors about the impacts of climate change on their financial performance. We’ve also developed climate scenario analysis and TCFD readiness diagnostic tools, as well as publishing TCFD guides for business leaders. (Target 13.2)

  • We continue to publish our Net Zero Economy Index, tracking the progress G20 countries have made since 2000 to decarbonise their economies. (Target 13.3, 13.b)

We’ve committed to net zero, and set near term targets to reduce our absolute carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2 & 3). We've also offset all of our ‘direct’ emissions, as reported in each financial year since 2007. All of the projects we support are REDD+ certified, and have also achieved Gold Level status under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) Standard. (Target 13.2, 13.b)

Medium priority

3. Good health and wellbeing

Our people are our biggest strength as a firm, so their physical and mental health is critical for our business.

  • We aim to create a health promoting workplace where our people can be themselves, to feel and perform at their best. Our approach - Be Well, Work Well - encourages our people to focus on six dimensions of wellbeing: mental, emotional, physical, social, financial, and spiritual health. We have a range of tools and resources available, from mental health advocates, counselling programmes and access to mindfulness apps. In 2024, we were awarded the status of 'Health Creating' organisation by the MindForward Alliance for the third successive year. (Target 3.4)
  • Through our PwC Foundation, we’ve partnered with charities that are addressing mental health issues, and funding research into improving the wellbeing of women and babies. (Target 3.1, 3.2, 3.4)
  • We were pleased to provide evidence and insight to the Times Health Commission report on the state of health and social care in Britain, through both our role as a major employer and also the work we deliver to clients across the public and private health sectors. (Target 3.8)

 

 

5. Gender equality

Our diverse workforce makes us a better firm. We’re committed to creating an inclusive workplace and culture where everyone can reach their full potential.

  • Our five point action plan sets out the steps we’re taking to promote diversity and inclusion across the firm and the areas we’re focusing on for the greatest impact. We share our progress against our gender targets, and details of all our gender pay/bonus gaps in our and the Diversity Pay Report. In 2024, we were recognised as a Times Top 50 Employer for Gender Equality for the 14th consecutive year. (Target 5.c)   
  • We recognise the changing needs of women in the workplace. To ensure our culture is as inclusive as possible, we offer the Deal and empowered flexibility for all our people. In 2023, we increased the number of funded back up childcare sessions to 20 per year, extended our private medical cover to support women going through the menopause, and expanded support such as access to Peppy and fertility support groups. (Target 5.4, 5.5, 5.6) 
  • We continue to publish our assessment of female economic empowerment across OECD countries in our annual Women in Work Index, which shows the ongoing disparities women face at work compared to men. (Target 5.5) 

7. Affordable and clean energy

We use our operations and skills to accelerate the transition to clean energy, to reduce our overall consumption.

  • To support the demand for – and delivery of – renewable energy, we continue to use 100% renewable electricity, backed by Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) certificates. We’ve also moved to a renewable gas tariff, backed by Renewable Gas Guarantee of Origin (RGGO) certificates. These arrangements apply to all mainland UK offices that we operate ourselves. Find out more about the progress we’ve been making towards our energy consumption targets on our Integrated Reporting Hub. (Target 7.2)
  • We’ve been confirmed as an Approved Verifier under the Climate Bond Standards and Certification Scheme, to support green bond issuers globally in scaling the green bonds market. (Target 7.a)
  • We supported developing countries to deliver climate-compatible development, including renewable energy, through our leadership of the Climate Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), and continue to support them in the international climate change negotiations. (Target 7.b)

9. Industry, innovation & infrastructure

As a people-based professional services firm, our most significant positive contribution to industry, innovation and infrastructure is through our work with clients. 

  • In 2024 we published our Framework For Growth, canvassing UK businesses for their views on what the Labour government should include in any future Industrial Strategy. This mainly focused on skills, building digital resilience and improving infrastructure. (Target 9.2)

  • We invested in a technology hub in our Manchester office to act as a centre of excellence for technical innovation outside of London. This included our Frictionless Futures immersive experience, which brought to life our tailor-made, comprehensive and secure technology solutions. (Target 9.5) 

  • For the first time in 2023, we published our UK Energy Survey. This examined how organisations across the government and health services, industrial and manufacturing, consumer markets, and technology and telecommunications industries use energy, and manage volatile prices while meeting their decarbonisation commitments. (Target 9.4) 

  • We run a series of Scale-up programmes across the UK and internationally. These aim to foster commercial opportunities between fast-growth companies, post-startup, and large organisations. (Target 9.3)

15. Life on land

Our core business doesn’t have a significant impact on life on land directly, however, nature recovery and biodiversity protection is a UK priority, brought into focus by the recent Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) agreement, and a key part of PwC UK’s Corporate Sustainability strategy. So, we’re committed to using our technical skills to drive operational change where possible, and work with our supply chain to contribute to a nature positive world by 2030. This includes taking action to minimise our negative impacts on nature, whilst contributing to reversing nature loss - complementing our existing net zero strategy. We will contribute to Target 15 of GBF, and support our clients on their nature journey.

  • We are a Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) Early Adopter and we will start making disclosures aligned with the TNFD recommendations in our corporate reporting, supporting us in identifying and assessing our nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. (Target 15.5)

  • Part of our environmental volunteering programme has focused on woodland management and conservation work to support biodiversity and ecosystem services, linking local volunteering activity to global environmental issues. (Target 15.1, 15.2)

  • We’re also a leading adviser on forestry, helping clients with issues relating to sustainable forestry, biodiversity and climate change. This includes structuring afforestation, reforestation and forest conservation projects, and carbon credit transactions. (Target 15.2)

  • We support our clients through our Global Centre for Nature Positive Business, which brings together expertise and expands capabilities to accelerate the global transition to a nature positive and net zero future. Our nature experts were also directly involved in the development of frameworks including the TNFD, SBTN and the Business for Nature: Nature Strategy Handbook. (Target 15.5)

  • We use our carbon offsets to conserve life on land. 100% of the carbon credits we purchase to offset our residual Scope 1, 2 & 3 carbon emissions each year are from projects which have achieved gold level status under the Climate, Community and Biodiversity (CCB) standard, and are REDD+ certified, meaning that they focus on the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in supporting and working with local communities. As we transition to 100% carbon removals by 2030, we’ll ensure these adhere to the same principles, and align to our nature goals. (Target 15.2, 15.5, 15.b)

  • We’ve collaborated with some of the world’s leading organisations in the technical development and launch of the Natural Capital Protocol, which aims to support better business decisions through a standardised framework to identify, measure, and value impacts and dependencies on natural capital. (Target 15.9, 15.a)

  • We’re working with our suppliers to embed nature-positive practices, with a focus on our high impact suppliers, and those operating in nature hotspots. This includes introducing nature-related requirements such as developing a nature and biodiversity policy, and minimising the use of water, paper and other natural resources.

16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

As a professional services firm, and given the breadth and quantity of clients we work with, our core services and operational practices play an important role in upholding effective and accountable institutions that society can trust. 

  • The work we do to audit the financial accounts and non-financial reporting of listed companies plays a key role in helping to underpin trust in business and confidence in the capital markets. We’re committed to continual improvement in audit quality, and with important questions being asked about whether the audit still meets society's expectations we’re playing an active role in the discussion. (Target 16.5, 16.6)
  • Since 2002, we’ve hosted the PwC Building Trust Awards (formerly the Building Public Trust Awards) for the private, public and third sectors, recognising those that are leading the way in delivering sustainable outcomes through insightful reporting. (Target 16.6)
  • We operate in line with our Code of Conduct, and all of our partners, staff and contractors undertake regular mandatory training to help them understand our ethical requirements, including those relating to corruption and bribery. (Target 16.5)
  • We voluntarily publish a comprehensive and externally assured Integrated Reporting Hub, which includes metrics on breaches of personal independence regulations, dismissals for misconduct, and issues raised through our confidential ‘Speak Up’ helpline and other channels. (Target 16.6)
  • As members of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), we played an active role in developing the recommendations for companies to use in disclosing information to investors about the impacts of climate change on their financial performance. (Target 16.6)
  • Our Modern Slavery Statement sets out our approach to identify and prevent exploitation, trafficking and other human rights infringements, in both our operations and our supply chain. (Target 16.2)

Low priority

1. No poverty

We primarily tackle poverty in the UK through our recruitment, community engagement programmes and operations. 

  • We’ve been an accredited Real Living Wage employer for many years, so our employees and supplier staff working permanently at our mainland UK offices earn, as a minimum, a wage that helps to keep them out of poverty. (Target 1.3)
  • Many of our community programmes aim to increase employability, which helps to lift people out of poverty. For example, Brigade – a joint-venture social enterprise which provides training and employment opportunities for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Read our 2024 Impact Report. (Target 1.2)
  • Our social mobility action plan aims to give young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to develop skills for a successful future and to access careers in business. (Target 1.4) 
  • We are widening entry to the tax profession through our Tax Compliance Academy, which is challenging the traditional entry routes to technical roles at PwC. (Target 1.b) 
  • Our international development work for clients, such as our support to the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, contributes toward eradicating poverty by focusing on girls education and women’s economic empowerment in developing countries. (Target 1.1, 1.4)

2. Zero hunger

Our business isn’t closely linked to the systemic issues that drive hunger, but we contribute where we can.

  • By eliminating our food waste, and pursuing opportunities to redistribute unused food from our on-site kitchens, we’re helping to reduce the pressure on food availability. (Target 2.1)

  • We have partnered with Waste Knot to use surplus fruit & vegetables in our kitchens, reducing food waste and supporting UK farmers; and we work with Olio to safely redistribute our surplus food to local communities, reducing our food waste. (Target 2.4)

  • We have also participated in the Veganuary Workplace Challenge since 2019, and were the first major employer to promote the challenge to our people. Veganuary is a charity aiming to support and inspire people to try a vegan diet for 31 days each January and beyond. The campaign is part of our wider sustainability strategy, part of which aims to accelerate a just transition by compelling our people to act sustainably, and play their part in addressing the climate and nature crisis. (Target 2.4)

6. Clean water and sanitation

We don't have a large water footprint in our direct operations. However, we monitor our consumption and have been investing to reduce it.

  • Read about the progress towards our water consumption goals on the Integrated Reporting Hub. (Target 6.4)

  • As we report under Goal 15, we’ve also played a key role in the technical development and launch of the Natural Capital Protocol. (Target 6.6)

  • At a global level, PwC is also a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact's (UNGC) CEO Water Mandate. (Target 6.6)

  • We audit WaterAid, the international not-for-profit that is determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. By providing an independent opinion we help it to build and maintain trust with its stakeholders. (Target 6.5)

11. Sustainable cities and communities

We make a contribution to sustainable cities through our client work to help improve the infrastructure of urban areas in developing nations, and locally by upgrading our offices in the UK.

  • A key element of transitioning to a more sustainable economy is dealing with old building stock, so we built sustainability criteria into the upgrade of our UK offices. In particular, our London offices at More London and Embankment Place, and our Leeds office have all achieved the ‘Outstanding’ rating under BREEAM, the world’s foremost environmental rating system for buildings. (Target 11.6)

  • The firm developed a GreenHouse Toolkit that uses machine learning and building physics to model the country’s 29 million houses and evaluate the impact of a range of retrofit measures. The toolkit is supporting government and broader public sector engagements, and helping several local authorities to scope their retrofit programmes. (Target 11.4)

14. Life below water

Our business isn’t directly linked with oceans and marine resources, but we’re making a contribution through our operations and our community volunteering.

  • We’ve worked with a range of partners – including the Marine Conservation Society and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust – as part of our environmental volunteering programme, to monitor and reduce water pollution. This has included events focused on ocean plastics and highlighting the polluting impact of single-use plastic on marine life. (Target 14.1)

  • We’re also reducing the amount of plastic in our business. We replaced plastic bottles in our client meeting rooms with refillable glass bottles several years ago, and moved to fully compostable consumable products for food and drinks prepared in our offices as part of our ‘Going Circular’ programme. Additionally, we’ve undertaken a comprehensive review of the major sources of plastic across key categories of spend, and have identified a number of potential solutions that we’ll continue to evaluate as part of our Going Circular ambition. (Target 14.1)

  • Through our catering supplier we ensure that seafood in our office restaurants is sourced from MSC-certified fisheries, and that we don’t purchase from the MCS red list of 'fish to avoid', or from the IUCN red list of endangered fish. (Target 14.2, 14.4)

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