Our purpose is to make an impact that matters, and we recognize the need to report our impact to others—not just the ways in which we affect Deloitte clients through the services provided, but the ways in which we impact the economy, environment, and our people (including human rights) across our activities and business relationships.

Our Global Impact Report is our primary mechanism to report our impact. By reviewing and understanding topics material to Deloitte, our stakeholders are provided with the data and insights that are most valuable to them. These topics are relevant beyond our annual reporting; they are a critical guidepost in setting our strategy around Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) matters, and understanding how our organization can lead the way in making an impact that matters around the world.

Deloitte structures the reporting of its most significant impacts in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2016 Standards: Core Option. In 2021, the GRI revised these standards through the issuance of the GRI Universal Standards 2021. Among other changes, the revised standards provide an updated approach to assessing materiality, specifically to assist disclosing organizations in identifying and discussing their management approach for specified material topics.

Deloitte’s impact reporting will be updated to further align with the GRI 2021 standards in FY2023. This year we took the critical step of using the revised standards to refresh our list of material topics, allowing us to inform our FY2022 reporting and define our priority areas in the years to come. Deloitte’s approach to stakeholder engagement and related disclosures has been updated to align with GRI 3: Material Topics 2021.

Identifying material topics

To arrive at a preliminary list of topics, previously identified material topics were combined with analysis of peer-reported topics and those common within the industries where Deloitte operates, relevant reporting standards such as the GRI, and Deloitte-specific factors.

Key internal and external stakeholders were engaged to understand who Deloitte impacts as well as how such groups are impacted by the day-to-day operations of Deloitte. Stakeholders were selected based on responsibility, influence, proximity, dependency and representation.

Internal stakeholders included Deloitte leadership and Deloitte people, while external stakeholders included suppliers, clients, academia and non-governmental organizations. To compile the list of material topics, stakeholder insights about actual and potential, positive and negative impacts on the economy, environment, and people (including human rights) were obtained through direct interviews, desktop research, and through the use of proprietary social listening tools. The preliminary list of topics was refined, scored, and systematically evaluated to arrive at the “significant” and “more significant” topics for Deloitte to prioritize. The significance of impact was assessed both in terms of severity and likelihood. The impacts considered were those that impact people and the environment outside the organization. These impacts were aligned with the list of topics and scored for prioritization.

At the completion of our materiality exercise, new topics were introduced, and some existing topics were merged together; no prior year topics were deprioritized as a result of the updated assessment. Changes from the previous materiality assessment include:

• Combination of labor conditions, compensation and benefits, and work/life fit into a single topic: talent experience

• Combination of paper management, waste management, and water management into a single topic: sustainable operations

• Reclassification of client satisfaction as economic performance

• Addition of new topics identified during the assessment: board and corporate governance, impact of client services, and biodiversity and natural capital

In addition to the formal materiality exercise undertaken to update our list of material topics, Deloitte engages with stakeholders directly and indirectly on a continuous basis. Processes to engage with stakeholders exist at multiple levels within the Deloitte organization, both within Deloitte Global and at the Deloitte firm level, and allow topics and concerns with impacts on business activities and relationships to be discussed regularly with groups having varying insights on such topics. These ongoing interactions with stakeholders influence our reporting and shaping of material topics.

Management of material topics and impacts

Deloitte’s material topics are overseen by the WorldImpact Council (WIC), co-chaired by the Deloitte Global Deputy CEO and Chief People and Purpose Officer, together with the Deloitte Global Board Chair. WIC membership is drawn from the Deloitte Global Board, the Deloitte Global Executive and other senior Deloitte leaders, including Deloitte member firm Purpose leaders. Several junior Deloitte professionals, drawn from participants in the One Young World program, are also members of the WIC. To finalize Deloitte’s updated materiality assessment, the prioritized list of material topics was presented to, and approved by, the WIC and will be embedded in Deloitte’s management of ESG matters going forward.

When considering the actual and potential risks and opportunities of material topics identified throughout the assessment process, Deloitte recognizes its positive and negative impacts on the economy, environment and people. Deloitte leadership recognizes the importance of the three ESG pillars and has supported an increase in ESG-related services provided to clients, ESG programs such as WorldClimate and WorldClass, and tools and trainings for our people, with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion.

Deloitte’s impact extends beyond its direct operations, and includes reputational impacts that could arise from engaging with clients that may not fully align with Deloitte’s Purpose and Shared Values. Deloitte’s negative impacts as a result of its activities include greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, and creation of electronic and technology waste. Deloitte acknowledges these negative impacts and is actively working to mitigate these impacts through internal and external programs, as discussed throughout the FY2022 Global Impact Report.

As part of Deloitte’s WorldImpact programs, including WorldClimate, WorldClass and All IN, Deloitte has established goals that align with leading practices, frameworks and benchmarks to drive positive impacts on stakeholders. Performance against these goals is reported annually within the Global Impact Report.

*Definitions of material topics