In the News

During fiscal 2009, there were hundreds of news articles featuring aspects of corporate responsibility at Deloitte. Here are some we consider particularly noteworthy.

Ethics

A majority of business executives believe that they have a right to know what their employees are doing on social-networking sites, but most workers say it's none of their bosses' business, according to a new survey by Deloitte. That disagreement, says Sharon Allen, chairman of Deloitte's board and the sponsor of the survey, is one that companies need to address, particularly as these sites have become part of younger workers' lives. "It does, in fact, tee up the challenging debate or discussion that needs to take place to try to resolve both of their concerns," she said. Wall Street Journal – "Bosses and Workers Disagree on Social Network Privacy"

Few companies have given employees guidelines about how to use social networks. "We found a high percentage of employers who are thinking about what they should do but not a high percentage of employers who have concluded what those procedures and policies should be," says Deloitte Chairman Sharon Allen. BusinessWeek Online – "Companies Want to Monitor Workers on Social Networks"

Talent

"Companies are increasingly supporting more natural growth, letting employees wend their way upward like climbing vines. It's a shift, in other words, from a corporate ladder to the career-path metaphor long preferred by Deloitte vice chair Cathy Benko: a lattice." Time magazine – "We're getting off the ladder"

"It's about time for employers to adopt a model that is more in keeping with the reality that we're living in a lattice world. At Deloitte we've done this by offering a customized model for how careers are built and talent is developed." – Cathy Benko The New York Times – "Up the Ladder? How Dated, How Linear"

"Someday, perhaps, work will become more a lattice than a ladder — a path that allows for moving up, stepping down a notch or two, taking a few large sideways strides, making your way upward but not necessarily at a sprint. That is the image proposed by Cathy Benko in her 2007 book, "Mass Career Customization," and it is working, with some kinks, at Deloitte, the consulting and auditing firm, where she is vice chairwoman and chief talent officer." The New York Times magazine – "The Senator Track"

Community Involvement

Deloitte has been one of the pioneers of this new practice, where corporate America lends its time and professional skills to nonprofits nationwide. The goal is to show them how to run their business. This volunteerism has given nonprofit leaders in Young's position the resources they need to operate efficiently so they don't have to wear so many different hats. Forbes - "Big Business Gives Back"

Our organization, like many American businesses, prides itself on making a difference in a range of areas within the community. We believe above all in contributing our time and talents to bring about positive social change. That in turn delivers some interesting business benefits when we build it in to our business strategy: it helps us address business problems and provide business solutions. American Executive - "Best Practices: Winds of Change"

Sustainability

The Dallas-based bank (Comerica Inc.) wanted to create an extensive plan to make its business more environmentally friendly. But the bank didn't think it had the expertise to pull off an ambitious strategy on its own. So, it turned to Deloitte & Touche LLP, which had developed such programs for other companies. The consulting firm came up with a plan that includes an inventory of the bank's greenhouse-gas production, recycling vast amounts of paper and electronic equipment, and a prototype of a bank branch that would be certified as environmentally sustainable by a third party and could be duplicated at other locations. Without Deloitte, "we could've done something, but I don't think we could have done anything as well conceived," says Rick Plewa, senior vice president and director of corporate sustainability at Comerica Inc. Wall Street Journal – "The Color of Money"

Park says Deloitte leadership decided early on that any one of the firm's core businesses wasn't sufficient to offer client solutions around sustainability. Instead, all four Deloitte businesses—Consulting, Tax, Financial Advisory Services and Audit & Enterprise Risk Services—work together on sustainability engagements. "The issues are so complex and so broad that if we wanted to put a consulting offering in the marketplace, it wouldn't be a complete solution unless we included those groups as well," Park says. "The collaboration between the four is essential to offering a complete, end-to-end client solution. And we're still trying to get clients thinking that way; many still aren't thinking about a wholly sustainable enterprise yet." Consulting Magazine – "Holistic Sustainability Approach Serves Deloitte and Its Clients"

According to Eric Hespenheide of Deloitte's Enterprise Sustainability Group, "CR&S is about managing risk, generating value and ensuring the long-term viability of an enterprise. It includes consideration of the interdependencies between environmental, social and financial performance, including new views on regulation, accountability, transparency, corporate governance and the potential impacts of climate change on business operations." GreenBiz.com – "Corporate Boards Taking Larger Role in Pushing Sustainability Agenda"