Deloitte to invest $1bn in sustainability and climate practice

The funding will be used to help Deloitte expand its teams of staff who are able to carry out projects like designing sustainability strategies for businesses; helping business clients meet climate and environment-related disclosure requirements; ensuring businesses comply with environmental tax requirements and assisting clients in engaging with supply chains on sustainability.

Deloitte has not confirmed how many additional staff it will take on as a result of the investment. It has simply stated an intention to “assemble one of the largest global networks of sustainability experience”.

As well as hiring and training staff, funding will go towards the creation of a new Centre for Sustainable Progress, based out of New York. The Centre will serve as a means for Deloitte to collaborate with academics, policy experts, government organisations and businesses to undertake research and develop resources to inform organisations looking to improve their environmental credentials.

The new funding follows the launch of the Sustainability & Climate Practice and the appointment of its first leader – Jennifer Steinmann – last year. Prior to this appointment, Steinmann worked within Deloitte’s senior leadership team for more than 25 years, holding roles including deputy chief executive, chief transformation officer and Salesforce’s global chief commercial officer.

“We believe a better future is possible and getting there will depend on a profound and lasting change in attitude and behavior,” said Steinmann.

“Deloitte is committed to helping clients move from sustainability and climate commitments to action. We will do so by working with organisations to create a transformation plan as well as helping drive collaboration across a broader ecosystem―of suppliers, clients and customers, policymakers and alliance partners across industries.”

Also last year, Deloitte forged a partnership with WWF to deliver a climate learning programme to the entirety of its global workforce. When this scheme first launched, Deloitte had around 330,000 staff. Now, the ‘big four’ firm has around 345,000 staff.

The announcement from Deloitte comes two months after competitor EY unveiled plans to hire 1,300 people in the UK to staff the operations of EY Carbon – a new practice tasked with supporting clients on the development and delivery of net-zero plans. EY backed these plans with a £100m investment.

Research from GreenBiz this month revealed that 35% of companies have hired additional sustainability consultants in the past 24 months.