Henry Stoch

Henry developed a deep connection with the environment and nature in childhood while growing up on a farm in South Africa.

“Sustainability and climate change have been my passion throughout my life. It's less a career choice and more a path I've been on.”

As a young professional navigating that path, a lot of his early sustainability work centred on environmental compliance and risk management. While recognizing its overall importance, Henry felt a pull toward the strategic aspect of sustainability work, putting it at the heart of how businesses plan and manage themselves.

“I remember thinking at the time: I hope a day comes when work in this space goes beyond the legal and regulatory requirements and that corporations get rewarded by society and investors for truly integrating sustainability principles and performance into mainstream practices.”

It took many of his next 19 years working at Deloitte before sustainability, climate, and broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters evolved to play a significant role in business strategy.

When asked about how he stays motivated, given the enormity of the climate challenge, Henry is optimistic.

“During the last five years, I've seen exponential growth in interest and focus on climate and sustainability from the capital markets and companies seeking a competitive advantage.”

“What keeps me motivated is knowing that we have a pretty significant issue to fix, which I feel a personal responsibility for, but also knowing there's a growing cohort of enlightened organizations today that feel the same way. We're seeing corporations make genuine moves to change how they plan, operate, communicate, manufacture, produce, supply, and engage.”

“It makes a huge difference being able to support clients at every step, from setting a long-term strategic direction to implementing and optimizing a new technology that supports smart management decisions.”

This year, the Deloitte team has chosen four areas to focus on:

1. The energy transition, examining the opportunity and building the case for moving to cleaner energy sources and a lower-emissions, Paris-aligned (1.5 degree) pathway

2. Climate disclosure, which is all about communication and transparency, demonstrating performance through accurate and complete disclosure

3. Responsible supply chains, addressing Scope 3 emissions by unpacking where emissions reside across a supply chain, driving visibility, transparency, and the concept of circularity

4. An equitable and just transition that aims to address the impacts of shifting skill requirements and the potential of marginalized communities. A “just” transition seeks to ensure that the substantial benefits of a low carbon economy transition are shared widely while also supporting those who stand to lose economically—be they regions, industries, communities, workers, or consumers.

Asked about a career highlight, Henry talks about helping a large energy producer with managing their methane compliance program, a project that evolved into a comprehensive climate transformation program.

“We ended up helping this organization move forward, not only on their compliance, but by getting to the root of what they needed to solve: what type of organization they wanted to be, and the strategic shifts required to get there. They needed new capabilities in ESG technology, data, information management, and communication. It was very rewarding to solve for stakeholders across their organization by bringing that end-to-end perspective.”

“There is no doubt that companies will have to address this issue. Whether in energy and resources, the consumer business world, or the financial services industry, it's going to impact you. The question is, when do you want to act?”

Henry sees two reasons for organizations to tackle climate change sooner rather than later.

The first is to avoid creating much bigger challenges. “By delaying action on climate change and not reducing your carbon emissions, you are severely impeding your growth down the road and exposing your business to direct and indirect impacts of climate change.”

Direct risks include physical impacts on assets and business disruptions caused by, for example, extreme weather. Indirect risks include financial risks such as access to capital, market impacts, and supply chain disruption. “Transition opportunities need to be considered and moves need to be made to harness them sooner to benefit companies and help pull them through difficult times.”

The second reason to act now is the substantial positive impact of simply contributing to the improvement of society and the preservation of the natural systems our lives depend on. There really is no alternative.