Over the past decade, the ESG agenda has risen to the top of the global investment community and sustainability has been anchored in the consulting industry agenda. Major consulting companies have made a major shift and moved forward in the area of climate and sustainable development, both within their companies and in their clients' companies. A growing number of leaders in the consulting industry are committing themselves to becoming net-zero companies by reducing travel and finding alternative sources of energy for their offices from renewable sources.
Alva Group, a technology consultancy, conducted a research of the consulting sector to identify industry leaders in climate and sustainability. The research results show that ESG performance is improving across the sector: 90% of companies received positive marks for accelerating their ESG efforts, but the research still found 5 leaders outperforming the rest of the market in this area (www.alva-group.com; www.consultancy.org).
So who are they? Let's take a look.
Number 1. Booz Allen Hamilton ranks first in the Alva Group ranking. The company operates in management consulting, technology and engineering services. The name of this company is consistently featured in Forbes “Top Employers for Diversity” and Times “Top 50 Employers for Women” rankings.
Number 2. Second position is taken by Accenture, a global IT and business services provider that has partnered with companies such as Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, and non-profit organizations to create the Green Software Foundation. In early 2021, Accenture strengthened its sustainability position and invested in Arabesque S-Ray, a German-UK sustainability group.
Number 3. Next in the ranking is PwC, helping not only its clients implement ESG ambitions, but also its own - in 2021 the company announced a hybrid work plan that will allow employees to reduce travel while working from home, thereby reducing carbon emissions. In addition, PwC is partnering with the Commonwealth Games to help charities increase their environmental and social impact, according to Alva Group experts.
Number 4. The next company in the list of leaders of the Alva Group is Bain & Company, a member of BIG3. Fortune listed Bain as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work for”, and the Times - “Top 50 Employers for Women”, Bain also partnered with Positive Luxury, a company that highlights the impact of luxury brands on sustainability. And the company's recent announcement of ambitious plans to cut emissions by 35% through business travel underscores Bain's commitment to achieving carbon neutral status.
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Number 5. The next company, also part of MBB, is the Boston Consulting Group. BCG has pledged to invest $ 400 million over the next 10 years towards achieving positive climate targets and the company is already taking concrete steps - flights operated by the company's employees in the Nordic countries will be operated on clean fuel. In addition, BCG has been announced as Consultant Partner of COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, to be held from October 31 to November 12, 2021 in Glasgow. BCG's role as a COP26 Consulting Partner is discussed in one of my articles.