Read about Luisa and Theo’s experiences in the One Young World Summit

Luisa, member of the Corporate Sustainability team, and Theo, Associate in Advisory, took part in the One Young World Summit in Belfast this October. Read about their experiences, key takeaways and the suggested way forward after the summit.

"I realised how important it is to speak up and talk about issues and challenges concerning sustainability and the climate emergency. Only by increasing our awareness and upskilling ourselves, change can happen."

1. Why did you attend the One Young World Summit?

Luisa: In Corporate Sustainability, our focus is on creating a positive impact as a firm for our environment and society. The summit was a great opportunity to get inspired by the other organisations’ sustainability activities, get to know impact start-ups, and find out how individuals get engaged. Most importantly, I learnt a lot on how to increase my contribution for sustainable change.

Theo: My focus areas in the summit were corporate sustainability, talent attraction and retention, as well as ESG values benchmarking. Together with Luisa and two other people from our firm, we were able to get insights into the topics such as climate change, human rights, as well as peace and reconciliation. We all learnt a lot and were able to discuss pressing global challenges with peers.

2. What are your key takeaways?

Luisa: I realised how important it is to speak up and talk about issues and challenges concerning sustainability and the climate emergency. Only by increasing our awareness and upskilling ourselves, change can happen. On top of that, I learned how powerful collaboration is and that working together creates a much bigger impact.

Theo: I agree. One of my key takeaways is also recognising the power of collective action. In addition, I gained many insights from global leaders and experts on critical issues like the climate emergency and mental health. Participating in discussions on critical plenary topics and strengthening relationships with PwC colleagues worldwide were also very valuable.

3. Which learnings can you transfer into your activities and role at PwC?

Theo: I intend to apply the summit insights by enhancing our sustainability initiatives, cultivating client relationships, optimising our talent strategies, and initiating projects aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals to deliver services that are more impactful.

Luisa: All in all, we aim to convert our insights into projects that increase the impact of our firm and our services. It is our responsibility to act as One Young World Ambassadors now.