SUSTAINABILITY
We help our clients advance their environmental, social and governance goals by connecting sustainability to their transformations; operate our business with a strong commitment to the environment, ethics and human rights; and work to create value in communities around the world.
renewable electricity across our offices, achieving our goal
of our key suppliers* have disclosed emissions targets
people equipped with skills toward employment or entrepreneurship
In 2020, we signed the UN Global Compact Business Ambition for 1.5°C Pledge, joining leading companies in pledging to do our part to keep global warming below 1.5° Celsius, in alignment with the Paris Agreement and the criteria and recommendations of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
We are continuing to work toward our goal of net-zero emissions by 2025 by first focusing on reductions across our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and then removing any remaining emissions through nature-based carbon removal projects.
We are also establishing new goals to align with the SBTi’s criteria, guidance and recommendations for setting science-based net-zero targets.
New science-based target for 2030
Our environment goals span three areas:
Climate change mitigation
reduction and removal
Climate change adaptation
planning for water risk
Moving toward zero waste
e-waste, furniture and single-use plastics
Carbon reduction
We are focusing first on actual reductions across our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Our most significant aspects relate to indirect emissions from Scope 2 electricity usage in our locations and Scope 3 emissions from business travel and purchased goods and services.
Renewable electricity
Responsible travel
We use analytics and reporting to help travelers and business runners estimate future travel or use less carbon-intensive modes of travel. This includes measuring the carbon savings by switching from air to less carbon-intensive rail travel, where practical, and encouraging our people to do so.
Our climate-smart travel toolkit shares policies, resources, ideas and templates to support project teams in their carbon reduction journey.
An aviation carbon calculator highlights actual emissions differences between flights to inform booking decisions.
Enabling low carbon client delivery
Responsible buying
*Key suppliers are defined as vendors that represent a significant portion of our 2019 Scope 3 emissions.
Green IT
Carbon Emissions by Scope
Carbon Emissions by Source
Carbon Emissions by Region
Office Energy by Source
Carbon removal
To address remaining emissions, we are investing in nature-based carbon removal solutions.
Our nature-based carbon removal solutions are generally expected to reforest land, improve biodiversity, make agriculture more sustainable, and help create green jobs—all while removing CO2 from the atmosphere.
Spotlight
"I have worked on our nature-based carbon removal projects for many years, and it was truly transformational to visit a couple of our locations in Scotland to see the real on-the-ground impact. We worked with the planting partners to monitor and measure tree growth and spoke with the landowner, who sees this as an intergenerational endeavor benefiting the planet."
— ANTHONY, Environment Marketplace Lead, London, England
To safeguard our people and operations, by the end of 2025 we are developing water resiliency action plans to reduce the impact of climate-related flooding, drought and water scarcity on our business and our people in high-risk areas. We proactively analyze our water risk using the World Resources Institute Aqueduct tool, and we also measure, monitor and report water use for locations in high-risk areas.
While we do not have water-intensive operations, we continue to minimize our use of water wherever feasible.
We have committed to:
- We expanded our digital asset tracking to include monitors, servers and uninterruptible power supply devices in addition to computers and workstations.
- We reused or recycled nearly 100% of our e-waste relating to these items.
To unlock shared value for business and society, we are supporting the development of solutions that aim to help create a low-carbon future.
Direct air capture
Sustainable aviation fuel
To help facilitate the growth of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply and demand, we are collaborating with cross-industry ecosystem partners.
Nature and biodiversity
We recognize the importance of nature and biodiversity restoration and remain committed to managing our impact. We have taken steps in our own operations and we are engaging with our clients, our suppliers, our people and our communities to take action.
Planting trees to celebrate our people
674,000
trees—one to represent each person at Accenture at the time of our announcement in December 2021
Approximately
590,000
of our trees have been planted around the world
To help our people make ethical choices and consider the full impact of their decisions, we rely on our core values and our Code of Business Ethics (COBE) to inform our behavior
Accenture has been named to Ethisphere’s 2023 World’s Most Ethical Companies list for 17 consecutive years
Ethics & Compliance training
All our people, including part-time employees and contractors, are required to complete Ethics & Compliance training each year. This is fundamental to promoting a shared understanding of ethical conduct across our organization.
99%
of our people* completed Ethics & Compliance training, including our managing directors and Global Management Committee
*Excludes Avanade, a joint venture between Accenture and Microsoft, Accenture Federal Services and recent acquisitions
Anticorruption policies and compliance
Our COBE and related anticorruption policies, which are both part of our global Ethics & Compliance program and human rights efforts, require our people, business partners and business intermediaries (and suppliers through our Supplier Standards of Conduct) to comply with anticorruption laws everywhere we do business.
Reporting concerns & transparency
We encourage and empower our people and third parties to speak up safely and confidently if they experience, see or become aware of any inappropriate behavior, including any form of disrespect, harassment, racism, discrimination or retaliation—or have any concerns about unethical, illegal behavior or breaches of human rights. And we have zero tolerance for retaliation.
We offer our people many ways to raise a concern—through our leaders, through any of our people in Human Resources or Legal, and anonymously through our Accenture Business Ethics Helpline—and once they do, we make it clear what to expect.
100%
of concerns reported to HR, Legal or the Accenture Business Ethics Helpline are investigated and we seek to confirm the facts in a professional, methodical, thoughtful and balanced manner
Clear standards of behavior
The first fundamental behavior in our COBE is “Make Your Conduct Count.” It articulates five locally relevant yet globally applicable standards to guide how our people think and act across our unique and diverse culture. This framework creates a foundation for a positive, respectful and inclusive work environment.
We speak up about concerns, knowing Accenture never tolerates retaliation
We treat each other with respect
We are proud to be ambassadors of Accenture, and we act accordingly
We apply our principle of meritocracy when we make decisions about our people
We ensure our personal interests and relationships do not create conflicts for Accenture
Data privacy and information security
Safeguarding data is one of our most important responsibilities in building and maintaining trust, not only with our people but also with our clients and other stakeholders. The Audit Committee of our Board continues to have oversight of our information technology risk exposures, including cybersecurity, data privacy and data security.
Beyond adhering to specific regional legal requirements, we apply strict data privacy and security standards to all information, everywhere. All our people have a personal responsibility to practice effective and responsible data management in accordance with our policies, including our Data Privacy Policy and procedures, our Binding Corporate Rules, as well as new and changing global regulations and jurisprudence.
While many of our people have returned to working in our office spaces, others continue to work in remote and hybrid work environments. This complex work model, partnered with potential business risks associated with ongoing geopolitical tensions, reinforces the need for a proactive, cyber-resilient approach to keep data safe across our business, our people and our clients.
We adhere to the highest and strictest information protection and privacy standards for handling and protecting personal data, as evidenced by our global certifications for Information Security (ISO® 27001:2013) and Data Privacy (ISO® 27701:2019). We were the first global organization to be ISO 27701-certified by the British Standards Institution (BSI) globally, across both our Enterprise and Client Service Business.
Through our globally consistent data privacy and data protection programs, we work hard to uphold global data protection and privacy requirements, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other data privacy laws in countries where we do business.
Our Enterprise and Client Data Protection programs define the stewardship of Accenture and client information. They define our management processes and controls, in accordance with relevant information protection and privacy laws. Accenture has been externally assessed as operating industry-leading cybersecurity systems at the Highest NIST Cyber Security Framework (CSF) Implementation Tier by BSI.
We take security seriously, with extensive training and learning assets. All Accenture people regularly participate in required and targeted data privacy training. Further, our global awareness campaign, Protecting Accenture: Live Smart to Stay Safe, equips our people with the latest best practice learnings and behaviors necessary to maintain safe data security hygiene. Beyond completing our required data security training, our people participate in our Information Security Advocate program, a self-paced training program designed to strengthen awareness and adoption of secure behaviors.
Our core values shape our culture and define our character. We live our core values through individual behaviors that guide how we act and make decisions.
Client value creation
Enabling clients to become high-performance businesses and creating long-term relationships by being responsive and relevant and by consistently delivering value
One global network
Leveraging the power of global insight, relationships, collaboration and learning to deliver exceptional service to clients wherever they do business
Respect for the individual
Valuing diversity and unique contributions, fostering a trusting, open and inclusive environment and treating each person in a manner that reflects Accenture’s values
Best people
Attracting, developing and retaining the best talent for our business, challenging our people, demonstrating a “can-do” attitude and fostering a collaborative and supportive environment
Integrity
Being ethically unyielding and honest and inspiring trust by saying what we mean, matching our behaviors to our words and taking responsibility for our actions
Stewardship
Fulfilling our obligation of building a better, stronger and more durable company for future generations, protecting the Accenture brand, meeting our commitment to stakeholders, acting with an owner mentality, developing our people and helping improve communities and the global environment
For any enterprise, Responsible AI means taking intentional actions to design, deploy and use AI to create value and build trust by protecting from the potential risks of AI. Responsible AI begins with a set of AI governing principles, which each enterprise adopts and then enforces.
Accenture’s Responsible AI principles
Human by Design
Understand the impact on humans every time you deploy AI and ensure that potential negative impacts are identified and managed consistent with our purpose and core values.
Fairness
All models should treat all groups equitably, and action must be taken to mitigate the potential for unwanted bias and other negative unintended consequences (e.g., unfair impact to gender, race, and ethnicity).
Transparency, Explainability & Accuracy
Disclose the use of AI where appropriate and all should be able to understand and appropriately evaluate AI outputs and decision-making processes. We will use relevant and high-quality data responsibly so that outputs are reliable.
Safety
Evaluate potential safety concerns and take action to mitigate harm (e.g., with respect to human life, health, property, and the environment) when deploying AI.
Accountability
Document enterprise-wide governance structures, with clear roles, policies, and responsibilities.
Compliance, Data Privacy & Cybersecurity
All use of AI will comply with relevant laws, we will secure data with appropriate privacy protection and secure AI from cyber-attack. Our respective compliance programs for data privacy and security will be integrated where relevant to ensure compliance with these AI governing principles.
Sustainability
Deploy AI taking into account the impact on the planet, with appropriate steps taken to mitigate negative impacts. Our sustainability program will be integrated where relevant to ensure compliance with these AI governing principles.
Accenture’s Responsible AI Compliance Program
Our Responsible AI Program is grounded in our Code of Business Ethics and core values, has CEO sponsorship and has been scaled to over 700,000 people worldwide.
To do this, we:
We are also helping clients implement their Responsible AI compliance programs.
Our approach to managing disruption is based on years of experience, preparation and adapting the way we manage and deliver services. Our business resilience strategy supports how we operate as a company, starting with our global client base, underpinned by internal functions and technology, and supported by the collaborations of our third-party ecosystem.
For more information, see our business continuity case study. As society continues moving to a digital-first reality, promoting human rights and setting industry standards are top of mind as we adapt our offerings to reflect this new collective consciousness.
We have a history of strong corporate governance and believe that good governance is critical to achieving long-term shareholder value. We are committed to governance practices and policies that serve the long-term interests of Accenture and our stakeholders.
Our practices and policies
Annual election of directors
100% independent Board committees
10 of our 11 directors are independent
Shareholders holding 10% or more of our outstanding share capital have the right to convene a special meeting
Strong independent Lead Director, elected by the independent directors
Annual Board, committee and individual director evaluations and self-assessments
Active shareholder engagement
Proxy access right
No shareholder rights plan ("poison pill")
Regular executive sessions, where independent directors meet without management present
Policy on political contributions and lobbying
Board diversity policy to actively seek out women and underrepresented candidates
Board takes active role in Board succession planning and is committed to Board refreshment
Active Board oversight of strategy, risk management and environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters
Director policy limiting service to three other public company boards or two other public company boards if the director is a public company chief executive officer
Committee oversight of ESG performance, disclosure, strategies, goals, objectives, risks and opportunities, as well as strategies related to our people, including pay equity, inclusion and diversity, leadership succession and risks
Robust director selection process resulting in a diverse and international Board in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, experience, perspectives, skills and tenure
We believe strong independent leadership is essential for the Board to effectively perform its functions and to help ensure independent oversight of management. Currently, our Board leadership structure consists of an independent Lead Director, a chair (who is also our chief executive officer) and strong independent committee chairs.
Board committees chaired by women
50%
of committees
Board committees chaired by racially and ethnically diverse directors*
75%
of committees
Significant board refreshment
4
new directors over past 5 years
Age distribution
63
Average age of directors
Age range: 56-69
*Racial and ethnic diversity is based on self-reported EEO-1 categories.
Oversight of ESG
Our corporate governance practices and policies include:
At Accenture, responsibility for ESG matters starts at the top, with our Board actively overseeing our ESG strategies and progress in meeting our ESG-related commitments, and cascades throughout the business
As part of this, we have implemented a clear and comprehensive governance structure designed to help us achieve our goals and reflect our objectives throughout the organization while guiding our strategic approach
Our commitment
Our human rights governance
- Our ESG steering committee, which is comprised of leaders across Accenture, has responsibility across all operational sustainability topics, including human rights governance. This committee is chaired by our Senior Managing Director and Executive Director—Corporate Services & Sustainability and Business Operations.
- We have also appointed select managing directors to act as named officers with accountability for compliance with human rights legislation including the UK Modern Slavery Act, the Australia Modern Slavery Act and the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act.
Our human rights priorities
We focus our human rights efforts on areas most relevant to our business and operations in terms of potential human rights impacts:
Diversity and equal opportunity
Health, safety and security
Employment conditions and working practices
Supply chain
Data privacy
Anticorruption
Because of the global scale and diversity of our business, we focus our supply chain due diligence efforts on areas that align with our human rights priorities; areas where we can appropriately makethe most impact; and areas of heightened concern or in higher-risk geographies.
Supplier Standards of Conduct
Sets out the standards and practices that Accenture suppliers are required to uphold in respect of human rights and reflects our core values, our ethical principles, and our commitment to human rights, and supplements our COBE.
Living Wage
Accenture is committed to paying a living wage and continues to drive the adoption of a living wage with our suppliers around the world. Our Supplier Standards of Conduct strongly encourages our suppliers to pay a living wage (or higher) to people who provide services directly to our company and/or our clients.
Sustainable Procurement Hub
We continue to invest in new technology and processes to help us have greater visibility into our suppliers' ESG performance, including human rights. The Hub, which is available in more than 50 countries, provides greater transparency from our direct suppliers about their own human rights policies, due diligence and inclusive practices.
As part of our commitment to transparency and human rights we assess our human rights risks and report on them.
Modern Slavery
Conflict Minerals
German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act
We encourage our people, suppliers and subcontractors to raise ethical and legal concerns, including potential human rights issues, and we provide a range of secure channels for them to do so confidentially, and, where allowed by law, anonymously.
Whether internal or external, we treat all concerns seriously and in strict confidence. We protect anyone who raises, in good faith, a concern about a human rights issue or who assists us, or a law enforcement authority, by providing information to address such a concern
Concerns or violations can be reported (anonymously, where permitted by local law) via the web or through a country-specific number available on the Accenture Business Ethics Helpline
All queries are handled by an independent team confidentially—and, where allowed by law, anonymously
Our overarching buying approach, Procurement Plus, informs every aspect of our supply chain, and helps us build stronger partnerships based in ethical behaviors, transparency, agility and inclusivity.
Our ethical procurement strategy
Payment certainty
Our award-winning Supplier Inclusion & Sustainability (SI&S) Program guides how we work with suppliers to promote environmental sustainability, human rights and supplier inclusion & diversity. The program, which has a global scope of 22 countries, was developed to promote the inclusion of companies owned by people who have been historically excluded from the labor market.
Sustainable Procurement Hub
The Hub allows us to assess and track our suppliers’ performance in environmental sustainability, human rights, supplier inclusion & diversity and ethics and compliance.
50+
The Hub is available in more than 50 countries
~5,000
We conducted ~5,000 sustainability assessments
Promoting supplier engagement
We believe supporting our suppliers in their own sustainability journey is a key element of our responsibility buying culture and our responsibility towards our suppliers.
We are collaborating with the Supply Chain Decarbonization Suite team to pilot an end-to-end solution that enables our suppliers to accelerate and scale decarbonization and other sustainability efforts across their value chains.
Supplier Environmental Sustainability
Carbon disclosure
We expect our suppliers to prioritize environmental sustainability and provide updates on their initiatives, goals and impact.
Accenture Supplier Eco Summit
In May 2023, we brought together climate thought leaders, sustainability practitioners and suppliers to discuss how to transform value chains by setting goals and initiatives to reduce our collective environmental impact.
Suppliers' environmental targets
Our goal is that 90% of our key suppliers* disclose their environmental targets and actions being taken to reduce emissions by 2025. We are making strong progress—82% of our key suppliers have disclosed targets and 93% have disclosed actions to reduce their emissions.
*Key suppliers are defined as vendors that represent a significant portion of our 2019 Scope 3 emissions.
Sustainable Procurement Pledge
To further advance awareness of the positive impact procurement has on sustainability, we have joined forces with the Sustainable Procurement Pledge (SPP), a global nonprofit community of procurement professionals that aims to embed sustainability in their daily activities.
Supplier Inclusion & Diversity
Global Diverse Supplier Development Program
We recognize the opportunity that we have to encourage economic growth and social equity through inclusive procurement practices. By advocating for inclusive procurement practices, we can drive further impact throughout the supplier ecosystem.
Since 2006, we have hosted our global Diverse Supplier Development Program (DSDP), a formal 12-to 18-month training and mentoring program.
In fiscal 2021, we set a goal to graduate 250 diverse suppliers by the end of 2023 and as of November 2023, have reached 256 graduates of our Diverse Supplier Development Program.
DSDP was offered in Australia, Canada, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom & Ireland, and the United States.
Spotlight
"Our Diverse Supplier Development Program is woven into my heart and soul. As a DSDP mentor, I’ve had the privilege to help diverse entrepreneurs go beyond their plateaus of stagnant revenue, unleash captive cash flow, and open doors to strategic innovation. My role is just to facilitate the brilliance they already have by allowing them the time to focus on the future—which is a precious gift to be able to give."
— HOWARD, Senior Manager - Strategy & Consulting, Charlotte, United States
Diverse spend in key geographies
We monitor our diverse spend with suppliers to understand our progress throughout the year, and we are industry leaders in this space.
United States
45%
In fiscal 2023, our U.S. diverse spend was 45%
Canada
27%
In fiscal 2023, our Canadian diverse spend was 27%
India
28%
Building on our launch of diverse spend reporting in India in fiscal 2022, our fiscal 2023 spend with diverse businesses including small and medium businesses was 28%.
In South Africa, we continue to lead the way on supplier inclusion, going above and beyond requirements of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act, maintaining our B-BBEE Level 1 recognition for the 6th consecutive year.
South Africa
75%
In fiscal 2023, our procurement spend with Black women-owned enterprises in South Africa increased to 75%, again exceeding the B-BBEE target of 12%
South Africa
95%
Our spend with Black-owned SMEs was 95%, against a target of 30%.
South Africa
98%
Our overall procurement spend in South Africa with Black-owned suppliers increased to 98% in fiscal 2023 from 61% in the previous year, surpassing the target of 50%.
Expanding our reporting on diverse spending
For the first time, we are also reporting diverse spend in Australia, Ireland, the Philippines and the United Kingdom. In fiscal 2023, our spend with diverse businesses was:
Australia
4%
Ireland
6%
Philippines
10%
United Kingdom
3%
We believe every business must be a sustainable business.
We offer a full suite of Sustainability Services to advance our clients toward their sustainability goals:
Sustainability Strategy
We help our clients define their sustainability ambitions, build the business case and develop sustainability roadmaps to deliver transformation at scale.
Net Zero Transitions
We help with solutions to reduce carbon emissions from buildings, transport, energy systems and cities—while also driving social and economic benefits.
Sustainable Technology
We address the threefold imperative for businesses to use technology more sustainably; to use technology as a vehicle for being more sustainable; and to do all of that at scale.
Sustainable Value Chain
We help organizations embed sustainability into every stage of the value chain to deliver trusted, net-zero, circular and nature positive value chains.
Sustainability Measurement, Analytics and Performance
We provide the tools, technology, and methodologies to help businesses embed sustainability data, decision-making and performance into everything they do to effectively measure business value and sustainable impact for all stakeholders.
Sustainable Leadership and Organization
We help business leaders build sustainability into everything they do, creating intelligent organizations that are sustainable at their core.
Sustainable Customer Experience and Brand
We combine deep insight and experience with technology, innovation and sustainability to help clients convert their customers’ intentions into new behaviors.
Helping our clients rise to sustainability challenges and opportunities
Our Sustainability Services portfolio is continually evolving to meet the changing needs of our clients.
For example, as awareness of our society's dependency on nature and biodiversity grows, so does the business imperative to protect and restore them, as well as regulatory requirements to report on them. Accenture has helped co-develop the frameworks and standards that are driving this agenda.
Client Success Stories
We work with our clients and partners, across industries, to innovate and create sustainable solutions, such as:
Decarbonization
We are working in partnership with a multinational aerospace corporation to support their aviation decarbonization roadmap—from accelerating the use of sustainable aviation fuel to helping design low-emissions aircraft—and finding new ways to help make the supply chain more transparent and ethical.
Nature & biodiversity
We supported the Australian Institute of Marine Science and their partners across the Pacific to help protect the future of coral reefs. Harnessing the power of human collaboration and artificial intelligence, ReefCloud allows the world's coral reef monitoring community to work together in real time to improve the monitoring, reporting and conservation of our reefs.
Metaverse
We created a digital twin—a virtual representation—of Te Afualiku, a tiny islet in the island nation of Tuvalu, which is expected to be one of the first parts of the country to be submerged as a result of climate change and rising sea levels. This enabled the country’s Minister for Justice, Communication and Foreign Affairs to address the COP27 delegation from the metaverse, helping to share a story of urgency on a global stage. This work was awarded a Silver Sustainable Development Goals Lion at Cannes Lions 2023.
Green software & cloud
With help from Accenture, Avanade and Microsoft, a multinational bank set out to build a global marketplace for trading carbon removal units (CRU). Leveraging Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM, Power Apps and Power BI, the solution is designed to be scaled across geographies and industries providing enough carbon sequestration to compensate for more than 100 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq) per annum across 100 companies or more by 2030.
E-mobility
We partnered with Liberty Global to identify, validate and launch a new electric vehicle (EV) charging venture, including the creation of a disruptive new brand. Liberty Global Egg is the U.K.’s first subscription service for EV charging, making EV ownership more affordable and accessible. Our work together helped Liberty Global Egg gain hundreds of new subscribers and the business is now expanding their offering to other clean technology solutions.
We work to embed sustainability in everything we do
As we help our clients create their own sustainable future, we are advancing sustainability in our own operations in a myriad of ways, including:
Embedding a learning mindset throughout our organization
Our company-wide sustainability learning curriculum enables our people to understand and consider how our work can deliver more sustainable outcomes for our clients and drive change in line with the United Nations SDGs.
As of August 2023, approximately 500,000 of our people have taken sustainability awareness-level training.
Our offerings include:
Expanding capabilities through acquisitions and strategic investment
Through our ventures and acquisitions, we continue to expand our ecosystem to connect our clients with best-in-class emerging enterprise startups to unlock new opportunities for growth and sustainability innovation.
Over the last four years, we have acquired multiple sustainability specialist organizations, growing our capabilities and talent in areas such as sustainable business transformation, carbon and climate change strategy, nature and biodiversity, ESG measurement and reporting, and sustainable design and manufacturing.
Recent analyst recognition
Sustainability Consulting Services
IDC named Accenture a Leader in its MarketScape Worldwide ESG/Sustainability Strategy Consulting Services 2023 Vendor Assessment, highlighting our end-to-end services—spanning strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations—and integrated service portfolio.
Sustainability Service Providers
Accenture was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: IT Sustainability Service Providers Q3 2023 report. We were cited for our key strengths in clarity and structure of our offering along with our specialized tools and services.
Net Zero Consulting
Everest Group’s inaugural Net Zero Consulting Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2023 named Accenture as a Leader in recognition of our net-zero consulting services portfolio and ability to support clients' twin transformations in sustainability and digital—driving progress toward their net-zero commitments.
United Nations Global Compact and The World Economic Forum
Our work with leading organizations, such as the United Nations Global Compact and the World Economic Forum, helps our clients and partners engage in global joint action to address pressing societal and business issues, and produces assets to help build industry resilience, reshape the future of industries and countries, and drive collaborative action.
Working at the intersection of civil society, government and the private sector, we champion and support impactful cross-sector partnerships.
Accenture Development Partnerships (ADP) helps clients—including leading NGOs, private foundations, public donor agencies and the private sector—address society’s most critical challenges.
For 20 years, ADP has led diverse work fostering partnerships, collective impact and social equity to progress the UN SDGs, improving lives around the world.
In fiscal 2023, ADP led 371 engagements in 42 countries across nine impact areas
Our Inclusive Business offering focuses on collaborating with private sector clients to drive sustainable impact at scale to support their environmental, social and governance goals.
Agriculture
We support clients in solving societal challenges around poverty, food security and livelihoods by improving the value chain to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. In collaboration with the Rainforest Alliance, we have developed a strategy that aims to improve livelihoods for small-holder farmers by providing enhanced market access and better prices for those adopting sustainable practices.
Climate and Environment
Together with the World Wide Fund for Nature, we are developing policy recommendations to inform the UN Plastic Treaty negotiations. Based on insights from city-level policies and actions that aim to reduce plastic pollution in Asia, recommendations focus on supporting globally binding rules that will catalyse and scale city-level interventions to address waste challenges.
Energy
By helping to unlock access to affordable and reliable renewable electricity, we are supporting an equitable energy transition. We collaborated with HSBC Bank Middle East, the World Green Economy Organization and the London School of Economics to produce research on enabling a “just transition” in emerging economies, so the benefits of transitioning to a low-carbon economy are equitably distributed across society.
Gender and Inclusion & Diversity
We leverage an expansive ecosystem to promote the inclusion and empowerment of women, people with disabilities, and communities left behind. In partnership with Sightsavers India, we developed a diagnostic framework to support equality and diversity by integrating gender mainstreaming across the organization, from corporate to programming. Leveraging our experiences in policy analysis and our network of subject matter experts, we developed recommendations for the organization to become a leader in supporting gender equality.
Global Health and Nutrition
Together with our clients, we are contributing to advancing sustainable, equitable health and nutrition systems globally. We are working with Merck for Mothers (known as MSD for Mothers outside of the U.S. and Canada) and their $25M Strengthening Systems for Safer Childbirth initiative. We helped design and launch a maternal health Community of Practice to support collaboration and amplify collective impact for maternal health across six coalitions in Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and India.
Humanitarian and Refugees
We use our global reach and extensive capabilities to respond to critical human needs in times of emergencies and disasters. We partnered with The Human Aspect to redefine mental health care for refugees and beyond. Our partnership helped create a new platform that provides no- and low-cost digital mental health support.
Human Rights
Leveraging our Sustainable Value Chain offering, we helped a technology company to define its responsible procurement strategy with environmental and social priorities—encompassing human rights, emissions management, supplier diversity, equity and inclusion, and social impact—to support their corporate sustainability objectives and net-zero commitments.
Inclusive Finance
We work with our clients to expand the availability of useful, affordable, responsible and sustainable financial products and services, driving sustainable impact at scale. As part of the World Bank Group's International Finance Corporation commitment to help rebuild Ukrainians' economic resilience, we partnered with Women’s World Banking to conduct an in-depth market assessment, designed user journey maps to better understand individuals' financial and other needs, and made recommendations for how financial service providers can support this vulnerable population to help advance economic and financial inclusion.
Livelihoods and Education
Junior Achievement Europe (JA Europe) is the continent's largest provider of youth education programs for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy. To support JA Europe's ambitious goal of empowering 20 million learning experiences by 2050, Accenture Development Partnerships helped design the governance framework, business model and go-to-market strategy for a new initiative: a venture network and micro-fund to help alumni scale their entrepreneurial ventures.
We helped one of the world's largest human resources technology companies better understand the potential market size of occupational skilling and training ecosystems across four countries (India, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States) to position a new skills-based hiring product with the potential to serve millions of job seekers from underserved communities around the world.
Spotlight
“I am part of the Accenture Development Partnerships team that brings Accenture’s global capabilities and experience to companies and NGOs around the world. Our work serves to empower marginalized and underserved communities. That’s just one way our people are helping to build a more inclusive and sustainable world.”
— PRAT, Director – Strategy, New York, United States
Our Skills to Succeed initiative is about supporting and empowering people as they prepare for and navigate their career journeys.
Programs supported by Skills to Succeed reported that approximately 4.3 million people worldwide were equipped with skills toward employment or entrepreneurship.
Skills to Succeed Academy is a free, immersive online learning program to help young people build skills and confidence to succeed in the workplace.
The Academy skilled ~80,000 people globally, in collaboration with our partners
Preparing for employment
Global Opportunity Youth Network
In August 2023, we committed to invest $4.5 million over 41 months in support of the Aspen Institute’s Global Opportunity Youth Network. This program provides young people in Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico and South Africa increased access to productive and dignified employment opportunities and skills to help them thrive at work.
JA Worldwide
We helped JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide skill more than 1.8 million young people across 18 countries, helping students gain the skills, experience and confidence to prepare for future job or entrepreneurship opportunities. Our support enabled JA to enhance the content and functionality of learning experiences and platforms that support youth, teachers, parents and allies around the world.
UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited Passport to Earning
We collaborate with Microsoft and other partners on UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited Passport to Earning (P2E) platform to help break down barriers to learning, such as lack of access to relevant skills and opportunities. Accenture's financial and in-kind contributions in collaboration with other partners are expected to help P2E equip millions of underserved youth in India and Brazil with future-relevant digital and employability skills over the coming years. As of October 2023, more than a million young people have been skilled in and received certifications for financial literacy and digital productivity.
Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator
In October 2023, we announced a partnership with Goodwill Industries International to create the Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator. Targeting under- and unemployed individuals in the United States, the accelerator will teach employability and technical skills for a range of in-demand roles in the energy sector, including solar and storage, electric vehicle charging, heat pumps and energy efficiency.
Supporting entrepreneurs
Youth Business International - Green and social entrepreneurship
As a partner to YBI, we support and skill young entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds as they start, grow and sustain businesses—helping to unlock income streams, job creation and inclusive economic growth. Accenture worked with YBI to fund the development of a Green & Social Entrepreneurship Toolkit which brings together 18 tools for startups and existing businesses with a social or environmental purpose.
Sky's the Limit
Sky’s the Limit helps aspiring entrepreneurs chase their business dreams by connecting them with volunteer mentors. We matched ~400 entrepreneurs with Accenture mentors.
Building work experience
Internships
In the United States, our Skills to Succeed internship and Learning to Lead programs provide early career exposure and work experience to high school and college-aged individuals through summer and year-round internships. This year, ~850 high school and post-high school interns participated.
To help empower and inspire young people to address critical issues, we have created an action-oriented community impact program to equip them with the mindsets, skills and tools to build a more sustainable future.
Sustainability Innovation Challenge
Through partnerships with UNICEF Generation Unlimited's imaGen Ventures and JA Worldwide, the challenge invites teams to address some of the world's most critical environmental and social issues. This initiative reached approximately 28,000 young innovators across 12 countries in fiscal 2023.
Sustainability Hour
We are collaborating with World’s Largest Lesson (an initiative of Project Everyone) to create Sustainability Hour. Available in more than 30 languages, this new volunteering offering enables our people—and employees of other organizations—to host interactive hour-long sessions using design thinking to inspire children to become change-makers for the Global Goals (UN SDGs).
We leverage existing and emerging technologies to address critical challenges facing society and the environment.
Huippula
This service, developed by Accenture and Save the Children Finland, teaches digital safety to children through engaging stories, questionnaires, tests and data analytics for teachers to track understanding and progress.
Casa Zero
This nonprofit in Brazil seeks to unite entrepreneurship, culture and education for social impact, offering libraries, studios and coworking spaces. We collaborated on a digital literacy skilling project and launched a Social Innovation Center that showcases emerging technologies and offers immersive and collaborative experiences to young people.
Humanitarian Aid in Israel and Gaza
As a company, we have donated $1.5 million to Magen David Adom and $1.5 million to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, for a total of $3 million for humanitarian relief. In addition, we are matching 100% of our people’s donations to selected charitable organizations providing relief in Israel and Gaza.
Supporting refugees
We are helping welcome refugees in the communities where we work and live, and we recognize how they enrich our communities through their courage, strength and talent.
Welcome.US
Accenture is partnering with Welcome.US to help lead the movement of mobilizing private sector and community support for refugee resettlement and welcoming newcomers in the United States.
Refugee Talent Hub
Founded by our people in the Netherlands, Refugee Talent Hub empowers refugees to grow their network, advance skills and find employment. The Refugee Talent Hub skilled approximately 900 refugees in fiscal 2023, which led to more than 290 employment opportunities.
Ukrainian Refugees
We are continuing to help to meet the medium- and longer-term needs of Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced people, including learning, skills development and transition into employment.
Spotlight
“I consider my immigration pro bono work to be the most meaningful legal work that I've ever done. It can be challenging, emotional work at times, but it's absolutely worth it. As one example, a refugee client from Afghanistan was recently granted asylum, and he can now start the process of reuniting with his wife and children, including a one-year-old that he has never met.”
— MARIA, Director - Legal, Chicago, United States
We offer many ways for our people to act for social and environmental impact, including a wide range of local and global volunteering opportunities.
Global volunteering
Our global volunteering efforts enable our people to make a difference at scale—often working virtually alongside colleagues from around the world.
Mapping for International Women’s Day
In March 2023, ~1,000 volunteers in 33 countries contributed 1,300+ hours to mapping areas of rural Tanzania where girls often walk long distances to school.
Every Name Counts
We continue to support the Arolsen Archives’ Every Name Counts initiative to accelerate the indexing of the world’s largest archives dedicated to the victims of Nazi persecution. Over the course of a 24-hour event on Holocaust Remembrance Day in January 2023, ~700 volunteers from 31 countries contributed to the Every Name Counts project, using an AI-based tool we developed to accelerate archive indexing.
Local volunteering
We also recognize that our people want to respond to needs in their local communities and support them in providing opportunities to create a positive impact.
Mentoring by Accenture people
Our volunteers around the world share their skills, knowledge and experience with others.
For example, we are participating in the Japanese Women's Leadership Initiative to help women students from 20 universities in Japan prepare for leadership roles in a global environment through overseas internships. Nearly 80 Accenture women volunteered with the program as trainers, instructors and mentors.
Eco Action
Eco Action initiative
Our commitment to environmental stewardship includes our ongoing Eco Action initiative, which encourages our people to nurture their passion for environmental sustainability and act for impact at home, at work and in their communities.
186,000+
of our people participated in Eco Action.
Measuring personal impact
We offer personal environmental footprint tools to help our people measure their impact. In doing so, we are contributing to the Count Us In movement, which activates citizens to take action against climate change.
Our people as innovators
Innovation is at the heart of how we serve our clients, and how we engage our people on sustainability issues. More than 5,000 of our people participated in our Social Innovators initiative, which includes:
Sustainability Innovation Challenge
Our annual Sustainability Innovation Challenge engaged more than 4,400 Accenture people, who produced almost 900 ideas on the key themes of Nature & Biodiversity, Sustainable Systems & Industries, and Equity & Human Wellbeing.
We engaged Accenture clients including Marriott, Microsoft, Walgreens, L'Oréal, National Grid Plc and AXA XL, together with 32 innovation partners including nonprofit, environmental and health-focused social enterprises.
Social Innovators Accelerator
With two open calls to our people to apply, the Social Innovators Accelerator provides funding and coaching for projects that are novel and have the potential to deliver clear social and environmental impact. 45 projects received funding to progress innovative projects with a positive environmental or social objective.
Social innovation learning
Our social innovation learning activities skilled ~550 of our people. We also launched the Social Innovation Leadership Immersion program for Accenture leadership.
Spotlight
“The Sustainability Innovation Challenge was an exhilarating and motivating experience. The innovation partners shared pointers about their industries and recommended projects where our solution might fit and make an impact. All resources made available to us were exceptional, from roundtable discussions to coaching and skill enhancing workshops. Every moment was perfectly blended with productivity and enjoyment. The experience encouraged me to further focus on sustainability in my career.”
— CARA, Analyst - Technology, Cloud First, Berlin, Germany
Accenture Contributions by Type
1Accenture Foundations refers to independent charitable organizations that bear the Accenture name.
$150,103
(in thousands)
Total Accenture and Accenture Foundations Contributions in fiscal 2023
Accenture Contributions by Region