Message from our CEO

As we reflect on the past year, I am extremely proud of Deloitte’s strides in driving meaningful change within our business, across our communities and for the environment. This report represents an important moment to pause and to highlight the impact our teams have made over the last twelve months. Making an impact that matters is our collective purpose, it is the grounding concept that underpins all our activities. In a world of rapid transformation and complex challenges, having this clarity of purpose is both reassuring and exacting. It grounds us, yet it constantly pushes us to surpass expectations. Sharing the stories contained in this report is one way we can remain accountable while inviting scrutiny.

While this report has a broad focus on how Deloitte has supported our clients, colleagues, and communities, all the content has a common strand. Each story is underpinned by one recurring theme - choice. On every occasion, be it preparing a materiality assessment for the Irish dairy industry, delivering a financial literacy programme in schools, or opening our environmental policies to independent assessment, these are all choices our colleagues have made. They were not always easy or safe choices. Often, it would have been easier to stay the course, or not to push for such robust change, but our teams chose to challenge the status quo.

For us as a firm, we strive to create an environment where our individuals and our teams feel not only supported and empowered, but also see that they are required to make these choices. As a leadership team we have sought to be deliberate and to accentuate occasions and instances where our colleagues have made an impact on their clients and communities. We have led the way by publishing our Gender Pay Gap report in a level of detail that far exceeds the minimum legal requirement. We are also systematically reporting on our progress to equalise any gender disparities. We have made steady progress on our diversity targets, following the appointment of partners in June 2024, 33% of our partner group were female, 50% of the partner council are female and 50% of the executive leadership team are female. There is a need to maintain our focus on gender inclusion and to accelerate our efforts.

Social mobility is a phrase we encounter a lot, both in conversation and in power point. The omnipresence of the phrase has the potential to lose its meaning. At its core when we speak about social mobility in Deloitte, we mean that we need to constantly seek to provide avenues for all members of society, irrespective of background, race, gender, or religious belief, to fulfil their potential. We strive to embed social mobility into the core of activities by being aware of and challenging any bias, and we do this in a number of ways. We collect and monitor the diversity of our candidates and colleagues to ensure we reflect the profile of the external population. We have launched an inclusion passport for our people to allow them to have meaningful conversations around any supports or accommodations they may require to help them achieve their full potential. The development internship developed with the Irish Refugee Council, DLA Piper and Business in the Community Ireland assists those in the international protection system to build their professional skills. 20% of the places on our Transition Year programme are ringfenced for students in DEIS schools.

Environmental stewardship is also a critical area of focus for us. The climate crisis demands bold and sustained actions. This year, Deloitte has expanded its sustainability initiatives, including our commitment to innovating waste management projects and supporting our employees globally through environmental education. For a response to environmental impact to be meaningful it needs to be consistently measured, there must be a metric. This can be uncomfortable initially, but the longer terms benefits will be material. This year, Deloitte Ireland once again led our competitors by opening ourselves up to be assessed by EcoVadis to measure our sustainability and decarbonisation programmes. In early September, we succeeded in achieving a Silver Badge and ranked in the 93rd percentile. This is just the start – we must continue collaborating, innovating, and undergoing external scrutiny to drive meaningful change.

Looking ahead, I hope you join me in continuing to challenge ourselves to achieve more. Together let’s challenge the status quo. Let’s push the boundaries of what’s possible. Let’s build on our progress. This commitment to environmental sustainability and social responsibility isn’t just a component of our strategy, it is central to our purpose. By joining forces and taking bold, concerted actions, we can accelerate our shared vision of a more sustainable and equitable world.

Most importantly, let’s continue to make a lasting impact together.

Harry Goddard, CEO, Deloitte Ireland