Bevin Arnason

Bevin’s story is bound up with her passion for nature, sustainability, and solving challenges and her curiosity about the world.

Her maternal grandparents had a large, diverse farm in Souris, Prince Edward Island. Along with her siblings and cousins, she loved visiting the fields and barns to learn from her grandfather, uncles, and farm workers about the animals, agriculture, people, equipment, and processes involved. Her paternal grandparents lived in the rural community of Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia, which gave Bevin lots of space to explore the woods, lakes, railway tracks, flora, and fauna.

As the eldest of five children, she learned the value of resourcefulness and giving back. “My mom sewed many of our clothes. It was also common to exchange used clothes across our large extended family.”

A significant childhood moment occurred when she noticed a family friend who always wore beautiful clothes despite their limited means. “I remember asking, ‘How does she do it?’ And my mom said, ‘She saves her money and buys good quality things that will last.’”

This early exposure to re-use, recycling, and circularity and the lesson of choosing sustainability over disposability shaped her identity and influenced both her personal and professional lives.

Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bevin has always found rejuvenation in nature.

“Two of my favourite places are the mountains and on the water. I love hiking, snowshoeing, and being on the ocean. More than exercise, I find these experiences mindful and cathartic.”

Bevin’s dedication was evident early on, balancing competitive gymnastics and trampoline, coaching, studies, and part-time jobs throughout high school and university. This discipline carried over into her academic pursuits as she earned a bachelor of commerce and an executive MBA.

As an undergraduate, Bevin worked in diverse co-op placements across Canada. Tasked with developing a new customer service system for a life insurance company, she discovered her talent and passion for integrating business and technology.

“I loved convening stakeholders, designing solutions, and finding ways to improve their processes and systems to better serve customers. I realized that a consulting career would allow me to align my strengths and energies with meaningful work. It also presented an opportunity for continuous learning and travel.”

Travel and cultural exploration have been constants in Bevin’s life. From her first independent trip to Europe in her teens to her professional experiences in the United States, Switzerland, and beyond, she has embraced every opportunity to learn about diverse communities and global business practices.

After years of working abroad in customer experience and digital transformation leadership roles, Bevin returned to Canada with her husband and joined Deloitte .

At the beginning of her time at Deloitte, Bevin oversaw significant marketing and sales transformation, customer experience, and digital enablement programs and projects. Although her position didn’t include official sustainability responsibilities, ethical factors became crucial in evaluating clients and their projects.

“I discovered opportunities to help companies adopt transparent, sustainable practices, benefitting them and addressing climate change.”

With her deepening commitment to sustainability, Bevin began transitioning from head of Deloitte Digital to her current role as our global and Canadian Sustainability & Climate leader.

Bevin uses her data, technology, and digital transformation knowledge and experience to assist clients in measuring and communicating their sustainability progress and implementing climate strategies.

“Many clients express surprise at the amount of data needed to assess their current status before they can begin measuring progress on sustainability.”

Bevin’s team helps clients set baselines, define strategies and commitments, and monitor and communicate progress to interested groups, including investors, suppliers, customers, employees, and regulators.

Most of the larger Fortune 1000 companies have completed their sustainability analyses, set commitments, and laid out strategies. Now they are on the journey of implementing their road maps.

“We help them operationalize their climate strategies, making their sustainability goals both tangible and actionable.”

For clients with significant enterprise transformations already under way, introducing a separate sustainability project is often unnecessary.

“We aim to incorporate sustainability into ongoing transformations, considering changes to their operating and organizational models, refining business processes, and improving systems through digital solutions and new technologies.”

The global nature of many clients’ operations brings complexity to the regulatory landscape. Their challenges are direct compliance and managing their broader networks, including suppliers and customers.

“With Deloitte’s global network of professionals, we possess extensive knowledge of the areas and jurisdictions our clients work and operate in, allowing us to assemble an ecosystem of specialists and alliances for a greater impact.”

“There’s a myth that tackling climate change is an excessively costly regulatory compliance issue. But there are many no-to-low-cost changes organizations can make.”

Re-commerce programs, where apparel companies take back, repair, and resell used products, are a prime example of this innovative approach.

“There’s so much new thinking going on and there are tremendous business model innovation opportunities around sustainable products and services that can create new markets and revenue streams.”