Deloitte expanded its investment Wednesday in its Deloitte Sustainability & Climate practice, with plans to bolster its advisory, assurance, audit, consulting, finance and tax services, and equip its 345,000 professionals with related skills.
To fuel the expansion, the Big Four firm is investing $1 billion in client-related services, data-driven research, assets and capabilities internationally. The plan is to support clients in redefining their strategies, embedding sustainability in their operations, meeting tax, disclosure and regulatory requirements, and helping them accelerate transformation of their organizations and supply chain.
The move is in line with a greater interest in environmental, social and governance issues at accounting firms as the pace of climate change accelerates. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently proposed a climate disclosure rule for public companies, backed by assurance from auditing firms, Meanwhile, various ESG standard-setters are coalescing around an International Sustainability Standards Board overseen by the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, which also oversees the International Accounting Standards Board.
Deloitte is launching a new Deloitte Center for Sustainable Progress, which will work in collaboration with academic, policy, business, and governmental organizations to provide thought leadership, data-driven analysis, and accountability reporting to guide organizations through their sustainability efforts. Deloitte also plans to build on its efforts of empowering individuals as part of its WorldClimate strategy by offering a curriculum of sustainability training courses to all 345,000 of its professionals, along with its clients and suppliers. The curriculum will be offered virtually and through the network of Deloitte Universities.
"Taking action on climate change and sustainability more broadly is not a choice. It's an imperative. And we all have a role to play. But it's the business community that's best positioned to lead the way on this," said Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen in a statement Wednesday. "We have the resources, skills and influence to help build stronger and more sustainable communities. And it's our collective environmental and societal footprint that has the potential to make or break this decade of action. This is why we developed Deloitte Sustainability & Climate. It is our way of not only holding ourselves accountable for accelerating progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and commitments of the Paris Agreement, but effectively facilitating action across the business community."
Jennifer Steinmann will serve as the first-ever Deloitte Global Sustainability & Climate leader. "We believe a better future is possible and getting there will depend on a profound and lasting change in attitude and behavior," she said in a statement. "Deloitte is committed to helping clients move from sustainability and climate commitments to action. We will do so by working with organizations to create a transformation plan as well as helping drive collaboration across a broader ecosystem ― of suppliers, clients and customers, policymakers, and alliance partners across industries.”
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