Making lasting changes for a sustainable world

To lead our own journey towards a better future, we founded WorldClimate in 2020, our transformation to become a sustainable firm, with science-based targets for reducing our carbon footprint. We believe this transformation requires holistic thought and action, so we’re making sustainability central to how we work.

We’re inspiring and empowering our people to drive this change through their own sustainable choices. And we’re collaborating with external partners to achieve a net zero world in new seamless multi-disciplinary ways. This way, by bringing together the best of our expertise and services, we are helping organisations to deliver large-scale, and lasting, sustainable transformation.

We believe that collectively we can drive positive change.

We are committed to reaching our long-term net zero objectives ahead of the 2050 timeframe set out by the best available science. To enable this, we have set ambitious short-term science-based carbon reduction targets to drive the first phase of our transformation.

Since 2019, we have reduced Greenhouse Gas emissions across NSE by 26% per full-time employee. Within this, we’ve reduced our direct Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 60%, and our Scope 3 business travel emissions by 64% per FTE, in line with our WorldClimate targets.

We’re proud of our progress so far. We also know that there’s much further to go to reach net zero – and we’ll keep working at it until we do. Explore our detailed greenhouse gas emissions and environmental metrics.

With over 75,000 people working across Deloitte North and South Europe, the sustainable choices we make when delivering our services affect not only our ability to reach net zero emissions, but also our clients'. We want working sustainably to be the default way of doing business with Deloitte. To ensure this happens, our partners and people are encouraged to be role models for our digital-first culture and use smart tools to deliver client engagements more sustainably.

To formalise our commitment, we are introducing a Sustainable Delivery Clause in our client engagement letters and contracts across NSE. This clause enables us to work together with clients to find more sustainable ways of working. From prioritising virtual collaboration, to choosing the most sustainable ways to travel when meeting in person for the moments that really matter.

Giki recommends personalised steps for every lifestyle and budget and is now available to all our people across NSE.

We’re changing the way we run things to reduce our carbon footprint and operate more sustainably. The buildings we work in, the products we use. It all adds up.

Since 2020, we have procured 100% renewable electricity across our NSE estate and will continue to do so. We have also taken measures to lower our energy consumption – for example, we reduced the office temperature range across our UK estate, donating the cost saving of £75,000 to our charity partner Scope. In the last three years, we have transitioned to an 80% gas-free footprint in the Netherlands, received a MIPIM award for our new Deloitte University opening in France, and will soon be moving into the first BREEAM Outstanding building in Finland. To further embed sustainability, we have trained over 280 staff across NSE on Better Buildings – our internal sustainable real estate framework.

A variety of local initiatives continue to transform our operations and we are proud of these achievements. In Denmark, we conducted an energy audit to reduce energy consumption and encouraged our people to change behaviours such as reducing oven usage in the canteen. In Finland, we’re offering a tax-free bike benefit to support sustainable commuting and wellbeing. From May 2023, in Belgium, all remaining diesel and petrol cars are gradually being replaced by electric vehicles when their lease expires.

We continue to drive progress towards our target to have 67% of our global supply chain set science-based targets by 2025 (by emissions). To encourage this, we are engaging with our strategic suppliers and changing our procurement processes. And as the sustainability impacts of our supply chain go beyond carbon emissions, we are taking steps to minimise our impacts and dependencies on nature. For example, in the Netherlands, we’re extending the life of our IT hardware such as laptops and we've switched to using refurbished iPhones by default, thereby reducing our overall consumption.

No person or organisation can accelerate climate action in isolation. We’re using our networks and our skills to develop cross-sector alliances to drive systems change and support the global transition to net zero, by investing in innovative solutions beyond our value chain.

In the field of circularity, our partnership with Circle Economy brings together a team of leading specialists in research, circularity measurement and strategic transformation, with an ambition to help businesses scale adoption of circularity practices. We also continue our collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and The VF Foundation on the Circular Transition Indicators (CTI) Fashion Initiative, helping the fashion sector to reduce the industry's climate and nature impact.

We have provided skills-based support to activities and advocacy for accelerated decarbonisation across society, with £900k invested in expert support to our charity partners, including support for Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust’s business model development and for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation’s (WDC) Ocean Ambassadors report.

As a member of the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance, we have invested over £1 million in pro bono support and mentorship to The Earthshot Prize finalists, to amplify their impact. The Earthshot Prize, created by HRH Prince William, is designed to find solutions to help repair our planet in this decade. Some of the finalists we supported from the 2021 Inaugural Earthshot Prize are now providing innovative climate solutions, including Sanergy, a social enterprise operating in Nairobi delivering a sustainable end-to-end sanitation solution that delivers public health and environmental gains. And SOLshare is upgrading Dhaka’s fleet of electric rickshaws with its game-changing idea for power-sharing in Bangladesh.

In the Dutch Caribbean, by teaming up with the Ryan de Jongh Charity Foundation to reforest mangroves in Curaçao, Deloitte colleagues from the Netherlands are helping to create a sustainable and social legacy.

Looking ahead, we’re continuing to shift our focus from compensation for past emissions to understanding how we can actively contribute to societal decarbonisation. This means using our reach and capabilities, skills and financial investments, to protect and restore nature, amplify solutions that tackle emissions and boost innovation.