With Green Teams, a way to drive sustainability

Sabba Rault supports clients with communication and change management efforts across industries, from mergers and acquisitions to government, energy, and oil. “I worked in the art world, non-profit organizations, and government, and Deloitte has been my first corporate job,” she says.

“I’ve always had a personal interest in sustainability,” Sabba says. In high school, she created a recycling campaign and after college began living a “low waste” lifestyle, consistently integrating sustainable practices into both her personal and professional lives. Within six months of joining Deloitte, Sabba sought out new ways to contribute to sustainability efforts. “When I started at Deloitte, the business line didn’t have any sustainability-related initiatives, so I reached out to leadership,” she says. “I introduced myself by saying, ‘I try to reduce waste as much as I can’ – and that’s how I got involved.”

Sabba contributed to the effort to establish Green Teams (a network of teams made up of cross-functional Deloitte professionals that are aligned with Deloitte’s WorldClimate strategy to drive a culture of responsible climate choices and sustainability efforts within our organization and beyond) in three offices and is now the liaison among the teams, helping to further embed sustainable practices in Deloitte’s culture across these offices. “There’s so much desire to have sustainable practices,” she says. “There’s a lot of things we can still do, and it’s nice to see I work somewhere that’s trying to make these changes on a broader scale.” And she points out, this involvement has helped direct and sustain her path at Deloitte: “I was provided the opportunity to think about sustainability and this, in turn, helped me meet people I probably wouldn’t have talked to across the globe. It broadened my perspective and deepened my commitment to help make Deloitte an even better place to work,” she says.

In its first year, the US Delivery Center (USDC) Green Teams in two USDC offices introduced Zero Waste Impact Day concepts and contracted with a composter. One office has been successful in eliminating the purchase of plastic bottles. The teams have also hosted plant potting events, which drew significant interest and attention from other professionals and leadership. Now, Sabba and her team are working on expanding sustainability efforts and making them part of everyday office processes.

“Deloitte can feel like a large organization to me, and the Green Teams represent the boots on the ground of what we can do around sustainability in our local offices and communities,” Sabba says. “We provide professionals opportunities to learn about sustainability and have an impact locally and understand what Deloitte is trying to accomplish nationally with the Green Teams.” Serving in this way, she says, has broadened her network and outlook. “I could have stayed in my little client corner, but organizational initiatives allowed me to meet other people who really care about similar things and learn from their experiences, and perhaps open new paths.”