A clearer picture of our environmental impact in FY2026

Taking responsibility for our environmental impact starts with understanding it.

For PKF Australia, FY2026 has been an important year in establishing that understanding. Across our network, we have begun putting clearer measures around our environmental footprint, while continuing to look at the everyday operational choices our offices make around energy, waste and resources. 

Environmental responsibility is also part of how we think about the communities in which we operate. Looking after communities for the long-term means considering the environment they depend on too.

And while we are a relatively low-footprint business, we also advise organisations navigating their own ESG and sustainability reporting journeys. That makes it important that we are willing to examine our own impact with the same transparency and accountability we encourage in others. 

Drawing a line in the sand

One of the most significant steps for us in FY2026 was establishing a baseline.
For the FY2026 reporting period, our consolidated greenhouse gas emissions reporting covered 12 PKF offices across Australia. We reported total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of 351.94 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e).

Of this, 350.07 tCO2e, or 99.47%, related to Scope 2 emissions, primarily purchased electricity. Scope 1 emissions accounted for the remaining 1.87 tCO2e, or 0.53%. 
FY2026 effectively draws a line in the sand, giving us an initial consolidated view of our footprint that we can use to understand changes over time and inform the work that comes next. 

We are not presenting this baseline as an achievement in itself, but it is an important step towards understanding our position more clearly and being accountable for where we go from here.

As Jim Allenby, Managing Director of PKF Sustainability, explains: “Given we are advising many businesses on their own sustainability journeys, it became even more important to make sure we had our own house in order.” 

Looking at waste across our network

Waste management is another area we have begun looking at collectively.
Across our offices, 100% reported recycling paper and printer cartridges, 80% recycle plastic, cans and glass, 50% recycle electronics and 62.5% recycle batteries. 
The report also found a common move towards reducing paper use, with offices citing improved digital workflows, e-signatures, clear desk policies and paperless-office policies among their current practices. 

There are also different approaches being taken at individual offices.

Our Adelaide team plants a tree for every operational day through Trees for Life, while partners individually offset flight emissions when travelling for business. Our Sydney office has introduced compostable organics bins, and our Perth office provides new starters with a reusable coffee cup and water bottle.

On the Gold Coast, coffee capsules are collected as a specialised recycling stream, while our New England North West - Tamworth and Walcha team takes batteries and cartridges to the local post office for recycling.

Establishing a baseline for what comes next

FY2026 has given us a clearer view of our environmental position than we had before.
We now have an initial consolidated baseline for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, greater visibility over waste management practices across our offices, and a clearer picture of some of the environmental initiatives already underway around the network.

The Impact Sustainability Report identifies further work ahead, including a more considered approach to business travel, balancing the importance of face-to-face connection with reducing unnecessary travel where meaningful alternatives exist. 

The work from here is about building on that baseline and continuing to improve our understanding of the environmental impact of our network.