2024 Global Impact Report
Environmental
The accelerating effects of climate change, along with the need to move swiftly to a low-carbon economy, constitute one of the greatest challenges facing society. Communities and businesses around the world are grappling with the physical risks of extreme weather, the health impacts of carbon pollution, and the economic effects as industries transition to more sustainable business models and seek to comply with climate-related regulation. These challenges require bold, collaborative solutions.
Deloitte is helping to lead the way toward a low-carbon future by guiding clients on their sustainability journeys, as well as advancing meaningful actions within our own operations and business. Leading significant and lasting change in the world requires collective efforts. To that end, we work with Deloitte clients, our people, suppliers, and ecosystems to develop solutions to a wide range of sustainability and climate challenges.
Guiding clients on the path to net-zero and beyond
Recognizing business leadership and collective action are critical to addressing the climate crisis, we have deepened our collaborations with clients, technology alliances, and non-profits. From implementing technology solutions to responding to changing regulations, Deloitte Sustainability is uniquely positioned to help organizations across industries and around the world move from commitment to action on their climate and sustainability goals, even in the face of competing priorities and complex stakeholder pressures.
We use technology to help our clients tackle some of the toughest climate-related challenges they face and support their strategic decision-making and business decisions around sustainability investment. For example, by combining AI, data, and fire-fighting resources, Deloitte practitioners are collaborating on solutions to help mitigate wildfire risks around the world. Deloitte teams are also working with clients to model, pilot, and scale the circular economy, as organizations seek help to comply with regional zero-waste regulations and reap the benefits of circular business models. In another notable example, Deloitte Asia Pacific launched a digital tool to give Australian farmers free personalized data to help them stay resilient in the face of climate change.
Deeper look: Leading the transition to a more sustainable future through technology and innovation
Deloitte is using the power of AI and geospatial data to help organizations make more sustainable decisions and take action to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Launched in early 2024, Deloitte’s Geospatial and AI Platform for Scenario Planning and Monitoring is powered by a flexible, scalable, modular set of technologies and data, including Google Earth integrations, Google Earth Engine, and GenAI technology from Vertex AI. This dynamic solution draws on cutting-edge, advanced technologies from Google Cloud, a key technology relationship, as well as several niche solution providers and academic collaborators. This offering gives clients new insights and digital capabilities that transform how organizations shape disaster response, infrastructure development, and urban planning processes.
Making progress on our climate commitments
We continue to work across our global network to advance WorldClimate, Deloitte’s environmental sustainability ambition, which includes both actions we take and actions we inspire to promote more sustainable choices. We are embedding sustainability into processes and practices throughout the network through procurement, including how we work and what we buy, and measuring performance against our goals.
Deloitte has committed to reducing absolute scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 90% by 2040 from a 2019 base year and reaching net-zero GHG emissions across our value chain by 2040. Deloitte’s net-zero by 2040 goal has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative in September 2024. Our near-term 2030 goals remain to reduce absolute scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions by 70% and reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from business travel by 55% per full-time equivalent employee (FTE) from a 2019 base year.
Deloitte continues to make progress on our commitments to the three core initiatives of the Climate Group supporting the advancement of renewable electricity (RE100), electric vehicle adoption (EV100), and energy efficiency/productivity (EP100). In FY2024, 93% of the electricity Deloitte purchased was renewable electricity. Additionally, Deloitte US has recently contracted to bring new renewable energy to the grid, through a renewable power purchase agreement. Looking across our global network, Deloitte’s fleet has advanced from 39% electric and hybrid-electric vehicles in FY2023 to 50% in FY2024. We have also advanced on our ambition to have all leased and owned assets within our real estate portfolio operate at net-zero carbon by 2030.
While Deloitte is taking action across our network to reduce our direct carbon emissions, our largest source of carbon emissions occurs indirectly through our supply chain. We are working with suppliers to make progress toward a goal of having 67% of them, by emissions, set science-based targets (SBTs) by 2025. From FY2021 to FY2024, the number of Deloitte’s suppliers with SBTs increased from 8% to 30%. This translates to 30% of our suppliers, by emissions, having set SBTs. Based on this progress, we know we will not meet our 2025 target, but we have taken meaningful steps to begin decarbonizing our supply chain: through targeted supplier engagement efforts, we continue to influence suppliers to set SBTs, we collaborate with them on emissions reduction, and we work together to advance product-level emissions reporting.
Deloitte’s supply chain has thousands of suppliers with a range of readiness in their ability to set SBTs. Year-over-year changes in emissions factors also affect the measurement and tracking of this goal, and we continually enhance our carbon emissions reporting methods in-line with external standards. In addition, we have incorporated sustainability criteria into our procurement processes to support the selection of suppliers that are aligned to our sustainability goals. We continue to work actively with our suppliers to advance progress toward our long-term goals, and include expectations of suppliers as it relates to topics such as sustainability in our Supplier Code of Conduct.
Collaborating across our ecosystem
We are engaging the broader ecosystem to help create solutions that can facilitate the transition to a lower-carbon economy. As part of Deloitte’s commitment to the First Movers Coalition, we participate in aviation sector working groups to drive innovation in practices that support increased use of cutting-edge sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Given our network’s use of air travel in serving Deloitte clients and our commitment to achieving our long-term net-zero goals, Deloitte prioritizes collaborations to help expand the market infrastructure to decarbonize travel and support low-emission transportation solutions. For instance, Deloitte US has entered into agreements with several fuel producers and US airlines to purchase SAF which will cover a portion of its business travel. Several other Deloitte firms have made progress in scaling investment in SAF globally. For example, purchases of Sustainable Aviation Fuel Certificates (SAFc) were made by Deloitte Belgium and Deloitte Australia in FY2024. In addition, Deloitte US participated in the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance’s multi-year RFP process for SAF, executing our first multi-year SAF transaction. As processes for reporting and accounting of SAF purchases continue to evolve, Deloitte Global has also helped to develop a chain of custody framework for transport decarbonization through membership in the governing board of the Book and Claim Community.
In addition to Deloitte’s own efforts, we are also exploring how business can help advance SAF. For example, Aviation’s Ticket to Decarbonisation, a report by Deloitte Asia Pacific, highlights the potential of SAF to help drive decarbonization by changing the way airlines and industry interact across the value chain and outlines what businesses can do to help increase SAF uptake.
As part of the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, Deloitte Global works alongside other members from diverse sectors to help accelerate net-zero transition activities by setting SBTs, disclosing emissions, and advancing decarbonization efforts across global value chains. Deloitte also serves as a technical advisor for the First Suppliers Hub, a global repository that helps companies decarbonize their supply chains. This first-of-its kind platform facilitates procurement and collaborations across emissions-intensive sectors and advances the market for critical, emerging technologies needed to help achieve aggressive climate goals within the next decade and meet decarbonization targets by 2050.
In June 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published its first two standards addressing general requirements for disclosure of sustainability information and climate-related matters. Deloitte joined nearly 400 organizations from 64 jurisdictions in signing a statement of support for the ISSB Standards to be used to form the global baseline for reporting on climate, released by the ISSB during COP28.
Deloitte is also a contributor to the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) and collaborates with SMI on its mission to build a coordinated global effort within the private sector to help accelerate the achievement of global climate, biodiversity, and Sustainable Development Goal targets.
Advancing societal net-zero by helping to reduce emissions beyond our value chain
In addition to reducing Deloitte’s own emissions, Deloitte firms are investing in solutions that can deliver carbon emission reductions and help drive the scale-up of early-stage clean-tech and nature-based solutions to help accelerate societal decarbonization.
Over the past two years, we have developed a more proactive, forward-looking approach where we look beyond taking responsibility for our own emissions to focusing on actively contributing to reducing and removing emissions beyond our value chain. This means channeling investments (through a combination of direct funding and carbon credits) and providing pro bono support to a diverse portfolio of high-impact external climate projects and solutions.
For example, combining our knowledge and funding, Deloitte NSE and Deloitte Africa have joined forces to help social enterprise The Sanergy Collaborative to scale its circular organic waste solution, which turns human and other organic waste into sustainable fertilizer. The Deloitte NSE and Deloitte Africa teams are also working with The Sanergy Collaborative to help increase sanitation in Kenya and engage more small-scale farmers to use regenerative inputs by innovating their commercial model. Deloitte DCE1 is supporting WeForest’s mission to conserve and restore forest landscapes with local communities to maximize the impact of trees for people, nature, and climate. Deloitte DCE is helping WeForest to strengthen the resilience of pastoral communities to climate change and prevent lands from becoming desert by restoring a biosphere reserve in Senegal within the Great Green Wall.
Expanding our focus to nature and biodiversity
We recognize that climate change is not the only environmental crisis we face. Nature—including land, fresh water, oceans, and the atmosphere—provides the essentials for individuals, societies, and economies to thrive. While our environmental sustainability commitments have focused on climate action for the past decade, over the past year Deloitte has taken steps to better understand nature-related risks, impacts, and dependencies, and begun to address the broader threats facing nature and biodiversity. Deloitte’s Commitment to responsible business practices reflects our belief that business shares a responsibility to address climate change and preserve the planet and natural resources for future generations.
Although Deloitte’s impacts on nature are largely indirect, we are committed to supporting nature-positive solutions and addressing impacts throughout our operations and supply chain. Water stress is a growing problem, with 50% or more of the world living under highly water-stressed conditions for at least one month each year, according to the World Resources Institute. Given that a number of Deloitte offices are located in such areas, we have started to measure our facilities’ water use annually in water-stressed areas, as a way to focus on improving water management.
We are also investing in projects that support communities facing water stress. For example, Deloitte Global supports the Upper-Tana Nairobi Water Fund, which aims to provide water security to the communities surrounding Kenya’s most important watershed. The Fund does this by empowering farmers and educating them about sustainable land management and agricultural practices that enhance water quality and maintain biodiversity.
- Deloitte DCE is a member firm bringing together seven Deloitte firms (Austria, Central Europe, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Turkey). ↵