Deloitte China acquires consultancy to strengthen climate change and sustainability offerings

Deloitte China has acquired most of the advisory business of Hong Kong based sustainability consultancy Carbon Care Asia. The company aims to boost its professional capabilities to meet the soaring demand for sustainability and carbon advisory services in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

After the acquisition, most of Carbon Care Asia's advisory operation, all of its clients, and selected professionals will be integrated into Deloitte China’s Climate Change and Sustainability team to form Deloitte Carbon Care Asia. Bringing together Deloitte's multidisciplinary services model, diverse clients, and Carbon Care Asia's team of highly experienced ESG and carbon specialists with an established market network, this new service brand represents Deloitte’s additional drive to deliver an integrated value proposition that helps companies meet rising market and regulatory expectations around sustainability and climate action.

"Driven by our Inspire HK strategy, we've been investing heavily to make Sustainability an integral part of our firm's business and culture through various initiatives. Today, we are very pleased to welcome aboard the Carbon Care Asia team, whose extensive expertise and experience will further accelerate our sustainability growth agenda," said Deloitte China's southern region managing partner Edward Au.

Carbon Care Asia focuses on helping companies manage climate risks, enhance brand value, and create business opportunities on the path to achieving the Paris Climate Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Its client base includes more than 250 MNCs, private enterprises, and institutions in Hong Kong and across APAC.

"Over the years we've continued to invest in R&D and talent development to become one of the leading providers of sustainability consultancy services in the region, having served more than 100 listed companies in sustainability reporting and carbon strategy. This deal represents the next milestone for Carbon Care Asia, and we're excited to be joining Deloitte China and working together to make a bigger impact in pursuit of our mission," said Carbon Care Asia CEO Albert Lai.

Deloitte China added that it had witnessed an increasing demand in the past couple of years, as companies rushed to embed climate risk into their business strategies, risk management and governance frameworks.

Mohit Grover, Deloitte China's Hong Kong climate and sustainability leader, said, "This surge is driven by a combination of market forces, including government regulation, shareholder pressure, and stakeholder expectations. From Hong Kong's Climate Action Plan 2050 to international initiatives like the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and International Sustainability Standards Board, increased market awareness, the wider scope of sustainability requirements, and convergence in reporting standards will continue to propel the demand for integrated sustainability solutions."

Meanwhile, according to the 2022 Deloitte CxO Sustainability Report, 97% of the 2,083 C-level executives surveyed globally say their company has already been negatively impacted by climate change, citing operational impacts (48%), regulatory uncertainty (47%), and pressure from civil society (42%) as the three biggest issues.

"Our acquisition of CCA will enable us to enhance our sustainability service portfolio in scale and quality, focusing on areas like integrated reporting, sustainable finance, supply chain management, and the circular economy. Together with CCA, we are well-positioned to help our clients, stakeholders, and society move towards a more sustainable future," added Francesco Nagari, strategic accounting solutions leader of Deloitte China.

(Photo courtesy: 123rf)

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