Boston Consulting Group 2020 sustainability report

By Helen Adams
Boston Consulting Group has released a 2020 sustainability report covering net-zero, ESG, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and future plans

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently released its industry-leading Annual Sustainability Report. In the 2020 edition, titled Progress in a Year of Adversity, the global management consultancy explains the firm's policies and performance on material nonfinancial topics during the 2020 calendar year, including its social, environmental, people and business ethics work.

Boston Consulting Group was founded in the USA in 1963 and now has over 90 offices worldwide. The organisation assists leaders in business and society to deal with challenges and capitalise on opportunities. BCG aims to empower organisations to grow, build their advantages and increase a positive impact on society. With a diverse team working globally, the team questions the status quo and drives change. 

 

What does the report say?

The report highlights dramatic growth in BCG's sustainability client work. Over 900 social impact consulting projects delivered to over 600 organisations in 2020, driving progress across the private, public, and social sectors. 

In response to the pandemic, BCG delivered more than 300 COVID-19-related projects across 40 countries.

 

BCG net-zero pledge

The firm has pledged to reach net-zero climate impact by 2030. In the report, BCG highlighted a 70% decline in total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 (compared with their 2018 baseline year). Although this reduction is largely a result of travel restrictions imposed for much of the year, the firm will apply many of the lessons learned about new ways of working to sustain lower travel emissions in the future. 

BCG aims to reduce business travel emissions by 30% per FTE by 2025. BCG was certified as a CarbonNeutral® company for the third consecutive year and continued to source 100% of its electricity from renewable energy sources. Thanks to its action on climate change, BCG earned an A– rating in the 2020 CDP Climate Disclosure, the gold standard of corporate climate transparency.

"This year has underlined that our firm has a duty to address social inequities and to combat climate change,” stated Rich Lesser, CEO of BCG. “It's more important than ever to understand and elevate our purpose—acting decisively to use our unique capabilities to address the world's needs and unlock the potential of people inside and outside the firm. This report explains how we are delivering on that commitment, empowering our people to continue to evolve our business, drive positive social impact, and protect our planet."

 

Equity, diversity and inclusion at BCG

The report also covers the firm's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ─ a long-standing priority at BCG. In 2020, women represented 44% of BCG's staff and 42% of newly hired consultants. Over the past five years, BCG has achieved equal promotion and retention rates for women and men among its consultants. 

In 2020, the firm announced a new set of commitments aimed at improving racial equity, including investing US$100mnof its talent resources over five years to support organisations that address racial injustice and inequality in the US.

The report included a BCG People Survey, where 90% of employees said they took pride in the firm’s social impact work. 50% said they chose to remain at BCG because of this. 

This report covers progress in a year of adversity. The next step, is to maintain that progress once the world is back to the new normal.

Source: 2020 BCG People Survey

 

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