PricewaterhouseCoopers Malta is launching its sustainability services aimed at assisting businesses and organisations to identify and address economic, environmental and social issues which are relevant to their operations and activities.
A corporate sustainability assessment can help a business get a snapshot of its situation and plan how to improve performance
PwC will assist organisations to identify, understand and manage impacts and risks arising from resource constraints, climate change, energy security and cost; estimate their energy requirements and carbon footprint and reduce these; deal with increased regulation and taxation; develop and implement sustainable procurement and processes; measure and report on their non-financial performance (such as corporate social responsibility reporting); and improve relations and engage with stakeholders.
Nadia Mifsud De Marco recently joined PwC to specifically develop sustainability services in Malta, having moved from there from the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs where she served as a consultant. Ms Mifsud De Marco, who has an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics, says that PwC has been offering these services for over a decade and has developed a network of over 700 global sustainability practitioners.
“Sustainability touches upon various aspects. More often than not, a sustainable solution may require the mobilisation of a multi-disciplinary team. The breadth of skills available at PwC – industry sector experts, economists, tax advisors, lawyers and auditors – makes this possible.
“Having said this, it is not a matter of ‘importing’ business solutions, offered by our colleagues overseas. These solutions need to be relevant to local organisations and valid for the reality of the Maltese economy. And that is why I believe the first step is that of gaining awareness and a good understanding of what the local needs and challenges are. This can only be gained through discussions with our clients themselves,” she tells The Times Business.
Ms Mifsud De Marco said that as with any assistance provided by PwC through its advisory line of service, it is useful for an organisation to get an external and objective outlook of its operations and to have a team of experts to help with specific situations.
“Many organisations have had to bring about changes as a result of regulations. As with other regulations in other areas, we can help organisations understand the requirements and implications and implement the necessary changes in a way that is more conducive to the individual organisation. This marks the difference between compliance and effective implementation.”
She said that whether an organisation is interested in cost savings, or what its immediate stakeholders think, or even how it is perceived by its customers or its shareholders (its credibility and its reputation), it stands to gain from taking a minute to stop and think about sustainability.
“Sustainability relates to the economic, social and environmental aspects of an organisation. We are now conscious that energy and resources are becoming increasingly expensive, if not scarce in some cases. This means that it makes (economic) sense for an organisation to consider its input dependencies and costs and attempt to find and consider alternative production methods. “Export-oriented companies need to be up to speed with the requirements and standards required by their partners and customers; multinationals need to conform to corporate standards and ethical behaviour. Other organisations increasingly rely on their reputation and credibility; in this case stakeholders need an independent party to provide assurance on the company’s performance reporting,” she says.
Most of the efforts made in sustainability, she said, have been largely motivated by regulation. “Some organisations tend to take note of environmental and social factors only when it is mandatory to do so. Cost benefit analyses of projects are carried out for those projects which are subject to EU funding as this type of study is one of the requirements. The same analysis is not usually undertaken with the same rigour, if at all, for other investment decisions. Another example is impact assessment. This type of assessment aimed at identifying the impacts (whether social, economic or environmental) of a policy, a plan or a project, is only carried out where it is required by a legal provision.”
Ms Mifsud De Marco says a number of local companies have been putting more effort into their corporate social responsibility programmes and that corporate social responsibility needs to be seen at a strategic level and include both a company’s internal dimension as well as its external relations.
“Most companies embark on initiatives for the benefit of the community, such as planting of trees, financial assistance to people in need and financial support to restoration of national heritage. All these initiatives are very positive but are all external to the organisation’s core business. Corporate social responsibility is understood by many as those ‘good deeds’ which organisations do to give back something to the community. Coupled with these initiatives, organisations are also increasingly starting initiatives to make their own daily operations ‘greener’ through energy-saving measures and waste separation practices.
“Corporate social responsibility, in its fullest sense, goes beyond these contributions to the community and the safeguarding of the environment, and is ultimately about an organisation being and operating in a sustainable manner,” she insists.
She points out that sustainability is in itself a long term strategy. “Considering this perspective today means making a strategic investment and anticipating the circumstances and constraints any organisation will face over time.
It is an important step in ensuring today the organisation’s viability in the future.
“Taking once again the example of regulation, compliance is costly and represents a recurrent cost. It might be worthwhile looking beyond specific mandatory requirements or initiatives and thinking more strategically by considering all your operations and how these score in terms of sustainability. A corporate sustainability assessment can help a business get a snapshot of its situation and plan how to improve performance, systematically over time to ensure its future survival,” she says.