Crowe will help clients design and implement tailored strategies in the face unprecedented demands for accountability, transparency and action related to environmental, social and governance issues
Today, more than ever, customers, employees, regulators, investors and other key stakeholders require transparency and data-driven disclosures related to greenhouse gas emissions, diversity & inclusion, labor practices, environmental risk management and overall societal impact. Companies are challenged to create and implement environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies to measure and report progress and hold themselves accountable. To help companies identify and implement tailored ESG programs, Crowe LLP, a public accounting, consulting and technology firm in the U.S. with offices around the world, has launched the Crowe ESG Center of Excellence (COE).
“This is an example of Crowe living up to its purpose of ‘shaping a better tomorrow’ for our clients and society. We have provided services related to governance and sustainability for many years, but by establishing the Crowe ESG COE, we are bringing the full power of our firm’s capabilities to our clients,” said Mark Baer, Crowe CEO. “As companies face increased scrutiny to be proactive with their efforts, they need a trusted adviser that can see across the entire regulatory and societal landscape to help implement meaningful, impactful and innovative programs. In today’s world, your ESG efforts are just as important as any other business imperative or performance metric, and at Crowe, we feel an obligation to help our clients be agents for progress and positive change.”
The Crowe ESG COE will serve as facilitator and integrator across the firm’s advisory, audit & assurance, consulting and tax business units and the industry verticals – bringing clients efficient access to the depth and breadth of the firm’s ESG expertise and solutions, which include:
- Environmental. Waste and pollution; resource use and depletion; greenhouse gas emissions; habitat destruction/preservation; climate change adaption/risk management; and product compliance and stewardship
- Social. Diversity, equity & inclusion; human rights; fair trade; community investment; workplace safety; hiring practices; consumer protection; and training and education
- Governance. Transparency, ethics & integrity; corporate reputation (corruption, fraud, regulation); stakeholder engagement; internal system of controls, practices and procedures; privacy and data security; executive compensation; donations and political lobbying; board diversity and structure; and supply chain resiliency
In addition, as Crowe continues to focus on and enhance its own sustainability and corporate social responsibility programs, the firm will leverage the ESG COE to ensure it is implementing best practices and setting standards and accountability.
Chris McClure, advisory partner, will lead the COE. He has more than 25 years of experience assisting clients across all industries with regulatory investigation and compliance matters. McClure has a diverse background designing and implementing regulatory compliance programs for anti-fraud, conflict minerals, anti-human trafficking, and other corporate governance issues.
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By launching the Crowe ESG COE, the firm will be focused on helping clients with several critical aspects of ESG strategy and implementation:
- ESG due diligence. A focused assessment of a target company to identify red flags, risks and opportunities related to governance, human resources, environmental practices and more
- ESG strategy road map. An assessment of a company’s current ESG strategy, gaps and future plans to create and implement a road map
- ESG education. ESG education for a company’s board, C-suite or customers to empower them to determine which pieces are critical to implement and when
- Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting. Evaluate and measure GHG emissions for future regulatory requirements, an M&A deal or to increase transparency
- Stakeholder engagement & materiality analysis. Engage with stakeholders to identify the issues that matter the most to investors, customers, employees and others
For more information on Crowe ESG services please visit the ESG strategy page.
Source: Crowe LLP