KPMG investing over $1 billion in sustainability and ESG services
KPMG is investing big in sustainability consulting. In the coming three years, the global firm is channelling more than $1 billion in its services focused on sustainability and ESG matters.
The new mega-investment is focused on three key areas: client services, backed by alliances, centres of excellence and technology; a pledge to support developing nations; and upskilling its talent. The news was broken by the firm’s Global Chairman and CEO Bill Thomas, in an announcement to all of KPMG’s 227,000 employees globally.
“We’re putting the environmental, social and governance agenda at the heart of everything we do," said Thomas. "ESG will be the watermark running through our global organisation; from empowering our people to become agents of positive change, to the services with our clients and our partnerships with critical stakeholders.”
From a client perspective, KPMG will significantly ramp up its suite of ESG advisory services in a number of areas. These include decarbonisation and net-zero, renewable energy and green hydrogen, climate change, and supply chain transparency.
The professional services giant will further invest in growing teams, and solutions and technologies that complement its consulting capabilities (such as its Climate IQ tool). KPMG’s technology toolkit will be co-developed with some of the world’s leading technology houses, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce and ServiceNow.
“Our alliance partners will help us provide critical insights based on data that clients can use to map their ESG journeys and implement vital changes to meet their commitments,” Thomas added.
Meanwhile, the accounting and consulting firm will develop a number of specialised offerings for developing nations in the Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. “The goal of the ‘Emerging Markets Accelerators’ is to ensure areas of the world lacking expertise and resources will have a trusted advisor to support their economic and social development in line with the UN’s SDGs,” said Richard Threlfall, Global Head of ESG at KPMG.
To coordinate and support its client-facing work, KPMG will establish three regional ESG centres of excellence in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas, as well as train all its employees on ESG to ensure that “everyone is empowered to be an agent of positive change,” explained Thomas.
“KPMG has the global scale, expertise, technology, and relationships that give us the ability and responsibility to use our position to provide solutions and services to overcome the challenges facing our planet and society,” Thomas concluded.