Overview
For progress and innovation to be meaningful, they must be guided by environmental ethics. At BDO, we believe we have a shared responsibility to preserve our planet and natural resources for future generations. Striking a balance between progress and environmental sustainability is fundamental to our firm and our strategy.
In 2023, we made considerable strides in our ESG journey and are determined to take meaningful action in the urgent fight against climate change. With a clear strategy and unwavering resolve, we are actively following through on our environmental commitments, a dedication that positions us as one of the leaders in the BDO Global Net Zero Forum. As a leading voice in this collective of ESG practitioners from BDO firms around the world, we provide guidance on appropriate governance practices as our peers develop their strategies to achieve net zero. We collaborate with this council to implement and align best practices in operations and plan to reach net zero1 by 2050 or sooner.
Metrics and targets
One of our critical environmental goals is to reduce our emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. We continue to support the overall ambition to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
In 2022, we began the process of measuring our carbon footprint and establishing estimates for our Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions.
As we align to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) metrics and targets recommendations, our 2023 carbon footprint continues to be in line with the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) internationally recognized reporting standards:
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol - A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (2015 revised edition)
- GHG Protocol: Scope 2 Guidance (amendment to GHG Protocol) (2015)
- GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting (2011)
- GHG Protocol Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions (version 1.0)
Further details regarding our 2023 greenhouse gas calculations and assumptions are outlined in Appendix D.
Advancing our environmental efforts
In 2023, we aligned our greenhouse gas emissions reporting with the calendar year (January to December), consistent with our 2022 approach.
Following the inaugural process of estimating our Scope 12 and Scope 23 GHG emissions across our Canadian operations for which we maintain operational control, the calculations were completed in accordance with 100-year time-horizon global warming potential (GWP) values from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report (2014).
The WRI’s five reporting principles—relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency, and accuracy—are foundational and underpin our methodologies used to obtain the relevant emissions estimates. We also continued to report on material Scope 34 emissions categories.
For the 2023 reporting period, we implemented internal process enhancements to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the data gathering process on various emission categories. Enhancements were applied in the areas of:
- Electricity
- Natural gas
- Water
- Business travel
We actively encourage our property managers to pursue goals that contribute to their net-zero journey. We also collaborate with our real estate brokerage firm to include ESG requirements in any renewal or new lease agreements, notably the requirement to obtain GHG data.
As a professional services firm, most of our emissions come from within the value chain, particularly business travel. Understanding that business travel volume has increased post-pandemic, we’ve made efforts to reduce it whenever possible, balanced with the need to serve our clients and communities. We included business travel reductions as one of our performance metrics and implemented a hub-and-spoke model for various conferences to help streamline the efficiency of our meetings.
In 2023, we established a procurement group, which collaborated with the ESG team to align on an approach to work with our top suppliers to set science-based targets for emission reductions within our supply chain.
Our decarbonization roadmap
We developed our decarbonization roadmap in preparation for submitting emissions reduction targets through the SBTi and for confirming our baseline year’s emissions. This commitment is aligned with our ESG commitment through BDO Global.
Emissions breakdown
Our 2023 GHG emissions are estimated at 23,161 Mt CO2 eq*, with the largest source being indirect GHG emissions (Scope 3).
* Metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
The Scope 3 categories that were determined to be most relevant and material to our business and most significant in terms of their respective emissions (in Mt CO2 eq) include:
- Purchased goods and services (including capital goods and services): The largest emissions in this category are attributable to expenditures for the delivery of professional services, computer hardware and software, facilities and maintenance, and office supplies.
- Waste: The disposal and treatment of waste generated as part of our operations, including wastewater, landfill garbage, recyclables, and organic waste.
- Employee commuting: Emissions generated by our employees’ commutes between their homes and our offices and client sites using methods not owned or operated by BDO (i.e., private vehicles and public transportation).
- Remote work: Emissions attributed to the remote work activities of our employees.
- Business travel: Business-related travel and transportation undertaken by our employees via methods not owned or operated by BDO, including rail, vehicle, air travel, and ground transportation (i.e., parking, tollway, etc.).
2022 emissions estimate
Scope 1 = 2,537 Mt CO2 eq
Scope 2 = 2,275 Mt CO2 eq
Scope 3 = 19,606 Mt CO2 eq
2023 emissions estimate
Scope 1 = 2,377 Mt CO2 eq
Scope 2 = 1,037 Mt CO2 eq
Scope 3 = 19,746 Mt CO2 eq
Our retrospective internal review and analysis undertaken as part of our 2023 estimation identified certain inputs and factors in our calculations of emissions for procurement of goods and services and capital goods and services that required updating. Following the Greenhouse Gas Protocol's recommended best practices, we have updated our emissions estimate for 2022.
In 2022, due to an incomplete data set, we used assumptions and extrapolation methods from provinces with higher factors to estimate our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The change year-over-year is mainly due to improved data sets in 2023.
Our business operations in 2023 had an impact on Scope 3 that was more consistent with pre-pandemic levels. As a result, this category represented a larger portion of our total emissions. However, our year-over-year emissions remained relatively unchanged following the implementation of an updated set of emission factors.
1 According to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), net zero for an organization involves:
- Setting near- and long-term science-based targets to reduce GHG emissions in line with a 1.5°C trajectory, with the intention to halve emissions by 2030 and cut all possible emissions before 2050.
- Neutralizing residual carbon dioxide emissions either by removing/reducing direct emissions (Scope 1), or by taking steps to reduce emissions indirectly through steps such as purchasing carbon credits from projects that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
2 Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the entity. For example, emissions from combustion in owned or controlled generators, boilers, etc.
3 Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, and cooling consumed by the entity or otherwise brought into the organizational boundary. Scope 2 emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity is generated.
4 Scope 3: Other indirect GHG emissions, which are the consequence of the activities of the entity but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the company. For example, extraction and production of purchased products and services, and employee commuting.