Environmental

Consistently working towards a better tomorrow should come naturally, however it takes hard work and ambition to actually make a solid impact that matters. As we look back at our sustainability achievements in the past year, we see steady steps of action ennobling our mission to drive a positive sustainable change. Our journey involved the engagement of various stakeholders in our WorldClimate ambitions, launching internal climate policies, embedding sustainability in the ways we work, minimizing and offsetting our unabated emissions, empowering our people with year-round sustainability learning programs and climate volunteering opportunities, creating a culture of cooperation around sustainability, and contributing to the wider ecosystem by driving eminence and foresight in the sustainability field. Below are a few picks of our sustainability stories, spotlighting our carbon reduction, care for trees, and love of bees!

In FY2022, Deloitte Middle East’s business travel emissions totaled 2,097 tCO2e, achieving a 71% reduction compared to the FY2019 baseline. Our employee commuting and homeworking emissions ² totaled 2,255 tCO2e achieving an 8.4% reduction compared to the FY2019 baseline. Our electricity (location-based) emissions totaled 5,740 tCO2e, reflecting a 1.5% reduction compared to the FY2019 baseline, prior to purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). Those latter emissions were then completely eliminated following the purchase of RECs, achieving 0 tCO2e of electricity emissions for FY2022. Emissions from purchased goods and services³totaled 11,797 tCO2e, leading to gross total emissions of: 16,149 tCO2e in FY2022, achieving a 37.6% reduction compared to our gross total emissions in FY2019.⁴ .

Acknowledging that most of the reductions in emissions are globally linked to the recent pandemic and its effect on travel activities and working models - which makes it hard to assess the direct impact of our reduction initiatives - we are striving to manage the post-COVID-19 bounce back and to ensure, through our sustainability strategy and programs, that we are moving steadily towards achieving our WorldClimate emissions reduction goals.

Recognizing that the need to reduce emissions is paramount, Deloitte Middle East has chosen to compensate for unabated emissions through certified carbon offsets. Our organisation has started offsetting its operational and business travel emissions annually since FY2020, and all our FY2022 emissions have been offset.

Footnotes:

[1] The FY2022 GHG Emissions Basis of Reporting - Deloitte North & South Europe is available here: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/about-deloitte/deloitte-uk-annual-review-2022-ghg-emissions-basis-of-reporting.pdf 

[2] FY2022 is the first year we have calculated and reported emissions from employee commuting and homeworking. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, employee commuting and homeworking was deemed to be outside of our operational control and therefore not reported. Covid-19has had significant implications for working patterns and consequently a hybrid working model was  embedded in FY2022. This means we consider commuting and homeworking now to be a fundamental part of our operating model and we will purchase offsets/ CERs to cover this new emissions category from FY2022 onwards. For transparency and comparability, we have retrospectively calculated emissions in this category and reflected this in the gross and net emissions totals for FY2019 - FY2021. Due to limitations on actual data, it should be noted that the majority of the commuting and working from home calculation rests on assumptions. We will refine these assumptions and improve the methodology moving forward.

[3] The PG&S methodology is based on procurement spend data for 3 Deloitte North South Europe geographies (including UK as the largest). This spend data is the basis for 59% of emissions, with the rest extrapolated. We apply a number of assumptions to the spend data, including how we allocate spend into procurement categories, how we treat our suppliers’ reported Scope 3 emissions, the CDP sector emission factors we apply to each spend category, and the extrapolation factors. We continually review our approach to reduce the risks inherent in these assumptions and the impacts of year-on-year fluctuations. Between FY2021 and FY2022 we changed some of these assumptions. For FY2022, we have changed the extrapolation factor from region-specific to a single global factor, reflecting that we do not believe emissions per unit of product are materially different from region to region in a global supply chain. We have also improved how we allocate spend per procurement category, and revised which CDP sector emissions factors we apply to our procurement categories. For transparency, we have estimated that our FY2021 PG&S emissions would have been 7,957 tonnes using the revised FY2022 methodology; a variance of -13.3%. We will continue to review our approach to Scope 3 reporting in the future, aiming to continually improve the accuracy of our disclosures. When these enhancements lead to a material change in a reported figure, we are committed to explaining the nature of the change, our reasoning for its appropriateness, and the percentage variance compared to previous methodologies.

[4] Limited assurance was provided by BDO LLP at a consolidated Deloitte NSE level over all reported carbon metrics. This included consideration of the underlying country data in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Middle East, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK plus Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Gibraltar.

At Deloitte, we value the importance of making an Impact that Matters to our local communities and the planet as a whole. We strive to do this through our WorldClimate strategy, which drives responsible climate choices within our organization and beyond to do our part in helping the world achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Climate change is accelerating faster than we thought, and the ecosystem is an important pillar of our WorldClimate strategy to create a more sustainable future. Between November 2021 and February 2022, 155 Deloitte volunteers across the UAE participated in the Tree for 50 mangrove tree planting campaign.

The campaign was part of the UAE's Ministry of Interior AQDAR Khalifa Empowerment Program, and its main goal was to plant 50,000 mangrove trees through multiple plantation events in the UAE in celebration of the country's Golden Jubilee. Providing a sustainable environment and infrastructure is one of the six pillars of the UAE National Agenda. The country has introduced various marine conservation programs, including mangrove tree planting and coral restoration, and is working continuously to increase the size of marine protected areas.

Our volunteers participated in the rehabilitation project of Al Zorah Nature Reserve of Ajman. Each group attended an educational workshop and planted one mangrove tree per volunteer.

Mangroves are essential components of this coastal environment and provide a sustainable ecosystem. They help protect the coastline of the UAE, serve as breeding grounds for marine life and birds, and are also considered to be the 'lungs' of the country by absorbing the CO2 that is released from pollution and industrial development. With an area of over 150 square kilometres, the UAE enjoys the most extensive mangrove coverage in the region.

The effort of the Deloitte team in the Tree for 50 campaign contributed towards enhancing environmental sustainability and supporting nationwide efforts in the restoration of the ecosystem helping to successfully tackle the human-induced destruction of mangroves. To double the impact, for every mangrove planted in the UAE, a mangrove is also planted in Africa.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/climate/climate-change-acceleration.html

https://www.fastcompanyme.com/impact/why-does-the-marine-ecosystem-matter-to-the-uae/

Climate change is not a choice. It's bee-llions of them!

The number of bees around the world has been on the decline for quite a few years due to several factors. From habitat devastation and deadly mites, to the obvious issue of climate change, these tiny creatures are unquestionably in need of some much-needed support. And not only do bees provide the world with honey, pollen, and beeswax, they also aid in the production of almost 75% of the plants that yield 90% of food globally! So, in the end, bumble bees are truly invaluable to us all.

In response to this critical global issue, and as part of Deloitte's WorldClimate commitment to drive responsible climate choices beyond our organization, Deloitte Middle East adopted actual beehives in support of bee preservation, local production, and sustainable honey-making practices.

To kick-start this initiative, a group of Deloitte colleagues organized a visit to the apiary to witness first-hand the amazing environment of these busy bees, learning the basics of beekeeping and bee behaviour with a team of professional beekeepers. From improving the food production of billions of farmers worldwide, to sustaining the ecosystem and providing countless medicinal benefits, bees are amazing creatures that play a vital role in preserving our world. Deloitte is proud to be a part of this project and continues to support such initiatives that truly make an impact that matters to the environment.