Having assisted the community to the tune of $1.6 million last year, KPMG in Bermuda is not resting on its laurels.

The organisation has laid out its intentions and commitments for the future, including its role in the community, and helping to protect the environment, locally and globally.

Its offices are on Par-la-Ville Road, but its reach into the community extends far and wide, from intern, scholarship and graduate programmes, to donating to the Coalition for the Protection of Children’s Toys for Tots holiday programme.

In addition, it stages community events such as the KPMG Round the Grounds children’s running races, and is involved in community initiatives including Ignite Bermuda, the Bermuda Cricket Board Youth League, and supports a wide range of educational outreach organisations.

These achievements and future goals feature in its Corporate Citizen Report 2020, which covers the categories: planet, people, prosperity and governance.

Scholarships, pro bono work, and financial giving totalled more than $1.6 million last year, and there was also 3,500 community service hours performed by staff. Specific Covid-19 relief included $50,000 contributed to healthcare structures and supporting local charities that helped those impacted by the pandemic.

Globally, KPMG has put its environment, social and governance commitments “under one umbrella” in its Impact Plan. KPMG in Bermuda’s corresponding report is titled “Our Impact in Bermuda.”

The KPMG organisation intends to become net-zero carbon by 2030, with a number of offices becoming 100 per cent powered by renewable electricity by next year, and its wider network being powered fully by renewable electricity by 2030.

In Bermuda, KPMG’s carbon footprint reduction efforts have included reducing its overall electricity usage for the past six consecutive years, from 855,000 kWh in 2015, to 497,500 kWh last year.

“The large work from home component of this year lead to a major reduction in our firm’s overall electricity usage,” KPMG said in its report. “As we return back to the office, we’re confident that with our focus, we can keep up the good work, hopeful to reach this number again in the years ahead”

As staff worked from home during the pandemic, they were encouraged to get fresh air “for a good cause”. The green committee challenged staff to take a walk and pick up trash along the way.

KPMG in Bermuda has placed collection boxes in each floor prompting staff to place their plastic take out containers in them so they can be reused. In addition, there are buckets in the kitchens on each floor for coffee grinds, which staff are encouraged to take home for gardening.

Annette Fitzmaurice, manager, facilities and chairwoman of the green committee, said the company was dedicated to reducing its carbon footprint and raising green awareness among colleagues.

Two members of the management team have volunteered assistance to support the early stages of the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme, which is a partnership between the Bermuda Government, the Waitt Institute, and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences. Its goals include creating protected marine areas and sustainably developing Bermuda’s “blue economy“.

Charles Tresh, managing director, head of markets at KPMG in Bermuda, said the impact plan “brings together all our ESG related commitments and provides disclosure on a global basis against the World Economic Forum’s ESG metrics”.

Steve Woodward, KPMG in Bermuda’s managing director and chairman of the corporate citizen committee, said: “Strong corporate citizenship is part of the fabric or our firm. Our staff have done amazing work over the course of 2020 and I look forward to what we will achieve in the future as we continue to align with the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals.”

He said 2020 was a year of transformation, but through it KPMG remained committed to the island’s youth, community and environment. He added: “As the pandemic has evolved, these priorities have shifted into one, where global goals and events have local impacts.”

KPMG in Bermuda’s corporate citizenship report also highlighted its approach to inclusion and diversity. Last year, the company’s staff represented more than 20 different countries, 35 per cent were Bermudian, and 51 per cent were women.

Will McCallum, managing director, head of tax and executive sponsor, inclusion and diversity committee, said: “Embracing our differences empowers us to reach our full potential, pushing us to new heights. We achieve this through our robust programme, which instils a culture of respect, acceptance and celebration of our differences.”

The KPMG in Bermuda Corporate Citizenship Report 2020 can be accessed at https://home.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/bm/pdf/2021/03/corporate-citizenship-report-2020-web.pdf. KPMG’s corporate citizenship page is at https://home.kpmg/bm/en/home/about/corporate-citizenship.html