September 14, 2020

National PwC Cut All Ties Campaign

The campaign to get PwC, one of Australia’s major auditing and business consulting firms, to cut its ties with the Minerals Council of Australia began by flooding CEO Tom Seymour’s office with over 300 individual hand-written letters.

By Rosa Hicks and Rhiannon Hardwick

People from all over Australia expressed their concerns about PwC’s membership of the Minerals council, a pro-coal lobby which has been holding back government action on climate change for over 20 years.

letters to pwc

Once restrictions began lifting across the country, volunteers took conversations with staff from LinkedIn to outside PwC offices across the country – with Victorians joining in the fun by calling from the safety of their homes.

pwc protests Australia-wide

As Tom Seymour failed to respond to the hundreds of letters we sent, or accept the multiple invitations to meet with our very own CEO Lucy Manne, we cranked the campaign up a notch.

Activists made over 200 calls to Tom Seymour’s office, filling up his answering machine with a clear message: it’s time for PwC to take its environmental commitments seriously and leave the Minerals Council.

 

The following week, people texted Tom Seymour’s mobile – just to make sure he REALLY got the message.

 

We also have a cheeky trick up our sleeves that involves filling up his entire calendar with reminders to leave the Minerals Council.

 

This campaign has definitely caught PwC’s attention. Even if the CEO continues to ignore us, we have raised awareness both with the public and PwC’s own staff members, some of whom are keen to bring up the issue internally.

 

It’s imperative that we continue this fight: the fossil fuel lobbies – and the corporations that fund them – have a powerful influence on politics in Australia and our country’s shameful lack of action on climate change is the result.

It’s up to us to keep companies and politicians accountable.

<< Don’t forget to sign the petition >> and join in on the online rally!

 

Here in Perth we have continued making a presence at the Brookfield building. After our first time, where we hit a nerve with Ian Campbell, some employees were still reluctant to talk to us. Additionally, the security tried to trick us into thinking we were not allowed to be stood outside.

 

Nonetheless we persevered and have returned for the past couple of weeks. This has resulted in us having some very fulfilling conversations with employees and prospective employees. Hopefully this has resulted in some important discussions happening inside the building too!

 

Thanks to everyone who took part in these early Friday morning actions, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the online rally on the 29th September.

 

<< Don’t forget to sign the petition >>