Making progress, empowering people
Our transformation to becoming a sustainable firm
Collective effort, decisive action
Achieving a sustainable future requires a collective effort, driven by decisive action and integrated strategies. We are dedicated to embedding sustainability as a core principle across Deloitte North and South Europe (NSE). Read on to find out how we’re influencing positive change both within our firm and wider society.
Making progress on our climate commitments
We founded WorldClimate in 2020, accelerating our transformation to become a sustainable firm, with science-based targets for reducing our carbon footprint. We believe this transformation requires holistic thought and action, so we’re making sustainability central to how we work.
We’re committed to achieving net-zero emissions and extending our impact beyond ourselves, through empowering our people and engaging our ecosystems on responsible climate choices. At Deloitte, we’ve set a worldwide target to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2040. Our net-zero target has received validation from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
We are committed to delivering on our near-term commitments and we are making good progress in reducing our emissions across our operations. We know that there is still a long way to go to achieve our long-term ambition specifically relating to associated emissions such as business travel and through our supply chain.
We have enhanced our governance with an NSE Climate Steering Committee who on behalf of our Executive is responsible for managing and delivering climate-related matters, including our approach, strategy, and risk management. See more in our Climate-Related Financial Disclosures report.
We have also set up topic specific working groups and roundtables such as on procurement to further align our approach cross-border, accelerate delivery of our near-term commitments and embed sustainable practices across our business operations, for example through a sustainable catering strategy.
We're embedding sustainability into processes and practices throughout our firm, including procurement, measuring performance and sustainable delivery. Learn more about our WorldClimate programme and hear from our people why it is important to have a sustainable delivery clause.
Businesses and organisations are responding by setting ambitious targets and getting ready for a demanding regulatory landscape. Find out how we’re helping them every step of the way.
It’s vital that we take coordinated steps as a firm to address this area. Taking a consistent approach to responsible procurement across NSE will ensure we meet our business needs and deliver on our purpose. We’re working with our suppliers and wider stakeholders to address the outcomes of our collective purchasing decisions.
Stuart West, NSE WorldClimate Director
Reaching net-zero requires action from everyone across our firm – so we’re inspiring and empowering our people to own the change and work together with our clients to put sustainability at the heart of everything we do. We want to make sustainable working our default way of doing business, and our Sustainable Delivery Clause helps us work with our clients to question old ways of doing things and define new approaches.
Smruti Naik-Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer, Deloitte NSE
Empowering our people
Our Climate Champions network continues to grow, now encompassing 700 dedicated Climate Champions across NSE. This passionate group actively drives our WorldClimate initiatives, connecting through regular touchpoints and collaborating at key events like our annual Climate Champions Summit.
Our people across NSE have access to Giki Zero – a website and mobile app which helps us to learn about the environmental impact of daily actions – and promote ways to reduce carbon footprint. Last year, thousands of users participated in challenges about plastic detox, food, water, waste, and more.
Learning and development is an essential part of our business – and it’s at the heart of our talent experience. When it comes to sustainability, we’re integrating the breadth of this topic into our learning programmes across NSE. That includes business and technical programmes for people at different stages of their careers with us, from manager milestone programmes to newly appointed partners.
And our commitment to sustainability includes the physical spaces where our people learn too. Deloitte University EMEA is our first university in the EMEA region, a state-of-the-art custom-built learning hub just outside Paris.
For our people attending programmes there, the building was designed for learning and networking, with sustainability and biodiversity central to the design process. The buildings feature sustainable materials and renewable energy, with water and green spaces to promote biodiversity across the site.
Read more about this award-winning learning facility here.
Earth Month 2024 was a pivotal moment to reflect on our sustainability journey. Over the course of April, thousands of people from our firm were inspired to consider their unique role in transforming our business and orchestrating systemic change. From learning sessions, hackathons, reforestation and clean up actions and much more – our people are helping to build a sustainable future for all.
