Deloitte secures leading ESG talent to ramp up capabilities in Africa

Johannesburg, South Africa – August 1, 2022: Deloitte Africa has appointed Jayne Mammatt and Jyoti Vallabh, two renowned sustainability and climate change specialists, in its Audit & Assurance division. Both women will join the firm as Partners – forming part of Deloitte’s effort to help clients to develop, execute and report on their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives. This includes the provision of Assurance on sustainability reporting.

Jayne Mammatt joins Deloitte from PwC, where she headed the South African Sustainability and Climate Change practice and was the ESG Africa lead, while Jyoti Vallabh joins from KPMG, where she led the Sustainability Services business unit. The sustainability and climate change specialists bring a collective wealth of experience and have published extensively in local and international journals and presented in conferences on ESG.

The two appointments follow an announcement in April by Deloitte Global of an investment of $1 billion in the Deloitte Sustainability and Climate Global Practice (DCSP). The practice will be accessed by Deloitte professionals to support clients in their businesses adapting to climate change.

“Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our times. At Deloitte, we are gearing ourselves to effectively guide clients in making ESG a key part of business strategy and reporting it with transparency. Our ability to attract two of the best talent in this sector is also an endorsement that our strategy is on course,” says Ruwayda Redfearn, CEO of Deloitte Africa.

Eric Tshabalala, Managing Partner, Audit & Assurance added, “There are increasing market expectations for consistent, reliable and insightful ESG-related disclosures, with a clear link to the audited financial statements reflecting the financial impacts of ESG risks. Our goal is to be a leading voice on these matters as we move towards providing a fully integrated audit offering.”

Commenting on joining Deloitte Africa, both Partners expressed excitement at being part of Deloitte’s ESG strategic agenda and delivering on the firm’s focus on making an impact that matters for people, clients and society.

"The pressure to truly embed ESG, sustainable development principles and climate change resilience in all spheres of our economy and society is immense and is driven by all stakeholders across the ecosystem. The business case is clear; continued socio-economic development depends on it and the planetary boundaries will fail without it,” says Mammatt.

Vallabh says, “We’re seeing rapid moves to mandatory ESG reporting, with global regulators and policymakers responding to the urgent need to address climate change and other sustainability issues. Standards are critical in driving high-quality disclosures and accelerating preparedness for enhanced regulatory disclosure requirements.”

Listed companies report their ESG endeavours according to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards, which falls under the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) Foundation, as well as under the governance of the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TFCD).

Media enquiries
Deloitte Africa Media
media@deloitte.co.za