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.
On track
We are on track to achieve our 2025 carbon removal goal and we set new goals for the future
89%
of our key suppliers* have disclosed emissions targets
~5M
people equipped with skills toward employment or entrepreneurship
*Key suppliers are defined as vendors that represent a significant portion of our 2019 Scope 3 emissions.
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.
Our Code of Business Ethics (COBE) and related anticorruption policies, which are part of both 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.
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.
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
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.
As part of our Board of Directors’ role in overseeing the Company’s enterprise risk management program, the Board devotes time and attention to cybersecurity and data privacy-related risks, with the Audit Committee responsible for overseeing information technology risk exposures, including cybersecurity, data privacy and data security.
Safeguarding data and systems 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.
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, and our Breach Notification process, as well as new and changing global regulations and jurisprudence.
While many of our people work in our office spaces, others 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.
Learn more in the Sustainability—Ethics & governance section of our 360° Value Report.
Our values shape our culture and define our character. We live our core values through individual behaviors that guide how we act and make decisions.
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.
We have developed a Responsible AI Compliance program, which rests on a set of principles that we apply to our internal AI systems and the work we do with clients, partners and suppliers. Our program is grounded in our Code of Business Ethics and core values, has CEO sponsorship and has been scaled to our people worldwide.
As the development, adoption and use of AI technologies is still in the early stages, we are continuously working to evolve and improve our Responsible AI Compliance Program, which includes:
We also enabled our employees with Responsible AI training, including it as a component within our required ethics and compliance training for all employees and then providing more in-depth, targeted training for those employees most directly involved with AI. We are also helping clients implement their own 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 and the services we provide to them, underpinned by internal functions and technology, and supported by the collaborations of our third-party ecosystem.
Accenture’s business resilience program is aligned to industry standards and practices (ISO® 22301 across our India and Philippines locations and other select locations, based on need).
For more information, see our business continuity case study.
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 2024 Proxy Statement includes a listing and summary of our corporate governance practices and policies relating to Board structure and independence, Board oversight and shareholder rights, among our other strong corporate governance practices.
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.
50%
of board committees are chaired by women
75%
of board committees are chaired by racially and ethnically diverse directors*
4
new directors over past 2 years
64
is the average age of director nominees—with an age range of 57-70
*Racial and ethnic diversity is based on self-reported EEO-1 categories.
The core of our strategy is delivering 360° value to our clients, people, shareholders, partners and communities by helping them continuously reinvent.