"Our opportunity to be a catalyst for positive change"

Wildfires scorched more than 11 million hectares of land, an area more than twice the size of Nova Scotia, across Canada this summer. We’ve seen escalating violence across the globe, deepening socioeconomic divides here in Canada, and calls to build a fairer, more equitable society that works for everyone. 

This is our opportunity to be a catalyst for positive change. At Deloitte, we consider it our responsibility to lead through ambiguous times, helping our clients and adapting our own operations to build a better world. We can leverage our network, our relationships, our extensive knowledge, and the collective aspirations of our people to help address the most pressing challenges of our time. 

This report tells the story of our work to build a greener world that we can be proud to pass down to future generations, to create new opportunities for groups that have been overlooked for too long, and to empower all Canadians to thrive. 

Across businesses and industries, what unites our people is a spirit of service. Serving others is embedded in our DNA. Since the origin of Deloitte nearly 180 years ago, we have worked alongside organisations to empower them to reach their aspirations and build a better society for all. Today, we build on this legacy to serve others through the work we do. 

This report also includes examples of ways in which we’re making an impact that matters. I think of Deloitte leaders like Ye’elena Tchana Crève-Coeur, who is helping create a strong network of young Black professionals throughout Canada. She also developed our Bloom scholarship program, which offers support to Indigenous students, Black students, and students with disabilities in our communities and opportunities to explore their potential. 

I think of leaders like Samuel Owusu, whose specialised work in technology is helping ensure the residents of Newfoundland and Labrador have reliable access to fundamental commodities, such as groceries and medical supplies, whenever they need them. 

And leaders like Dhriti Mehta, whose work as an immigration analyst is to get visas into the hands of newcomers more efficiently, helping them not only acquire jobs but also clear a path to a new life for themselves and their families. 

I am particularly proud of our Reconciliation Action Plan. In June, we released our year-three status report for this commitment, which serves as our firm’s road map to advancing reconciliation. This year’s report includes updates to our efforts to amplify the concerns and priorities of Indigenous youth, to expand access to reconciliation training to business schools across Canada, to hire and promote more Indigenous leaders, and to build stronger relationships with Indigenous businesses to help them realise their aspirations. This year, we also became the first professional services firm to earn a silver certification from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, which acknowledged our dedication to fostering reconciliation through business and community relationships. 

It’s clear to me that our teams at Deloitte have the ideas, tenacity, and humility to build a better future for people, organisations, communities, and Canada to thrive in. Guided by our Purpose and our legacy of service, we can work together to build a brighter tomorrow for all. 

CALL TO SERVICE

As a professional services firm, we answer a Call to Service, which affirms what we do is more than an occupation: it is a calling and a duty. This narrative should serve as an inspiration to see the impact we make, guide the work we do, and solidify the legacy of our beginning back in 1845. 

Meaningful work

Every job must be appreciated as more than labour and cost, but as foundational to an individual’s identity, worth, and well-being. Employees and employers are jointly responsible for the skills and mindset required to adapt to changes in one’s career path. Leaders illuminate the contribution others and their work make to their respective communities, economies, and ecosystems.

Public confidence

The rate and magnitude of uncertainty that people experience is inversely proportional to their well-being—those with power and privilege have a responsibility to be more empathetic to that correlation. The smooth functioning of our societies hinges on the mood of the people. If things are looking up, the economy and relative well-being tend to follow.

Imaginative capital

The highest and best use of capital is to align and harness society’s energy toward bold progress and a thriving society. Organizations that appreciate they can be agents of societal idealism and progress are better prepared to win at this time of urgent systemic change when social technologies are shifting power away from companies and historic authorities.

Trusted institutions

Human beings aren’t built to survive as individuals. Left alone, the individual is vulnerable to the elements,
predation, and other threats. Our institutions—companies, non-governmental organizations, governments, regulators, and community organizations—create the cooperative capabilities, belonging, and security that no individual can reasonably obtain on their own.

Sustainable future

A sustainable future reconceptualizes ways of living and working that regard humanity as a part of this Earth, not as something separate and apart from it. It is vital to appreciate the consequences of our actions on the planet and other people. Common ground allows all humans to feel as though they belong, are valued, and are welcome. We are committed to developing leaders determined to bring about this progress.

Answering this Call to Service relies on our Purpose remaining engrained in every aspect of our work, the people we serve, and how we operate. We do this by accelerating and expanding access to knowledge for everyone. Only then can we truly make an impact that matters.