About this report
At KPMG, we know that investing in our people, planet, prosperity, and governance is fundamental to how we grow as a business and our role as stewards of the capital markets. Our commitment to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles is embedded in our business and culture, and this report reflects our dedication to accountability and transparency with the same rigor we apply to our everyday operations.
Chair and CEO's letter
Our commitments to our people, clients, communities, and capital markets have always been guided by our Values: Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, and For Better. We believe that how we grow matters—that how we do business is just as important as what we do. As we celebrated our 125th anniversary in the U.S. last year, we strengthened our commitments to ESG principles.
In this year's ESG Impact Plan, I am proud to demonstrate the strength of our commitments to progress in areas of people, planet, and prosperity through transparency around our culture, sustainable practices, and the governance principles guiding our work.
In addition to the trust and transparency that guide our work, our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is steadfast. It’s a testament to the fact that our entire business is based on our people – their passion, skills, and commitment to excellence and integrity. We bring our Values to bear through Accelerate 2025, our strategy rooted in growing and supporting a diverse workforce and inclusive work environment.
We set bold aspirations when we launched Accelerate 2025 in 2020, knowing that five years is not long enough to accomplish all that we intend to do to ensure a diverse and inclusive workforce. Currently, at our midpoint to Accelerate 2025, we are not yet halfway toward our goal to increase our Black and Latinx workforce by 50% – which is why we’re leaning in and deepening our investments and commitments. For example, our board of directors is holding executive leadership accountable for our DEI efforts and aspirations. As a core component of our governance, this type of accountability drives us to acknowledge and strategize around each commitment we present in this report and across our work.
As we tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing our people, planet, and prosperity, we continue to lean on our multidisciplinary business model. This has enabled our commitment to ESG, where we leverage cross-functional investments to scale, hire, and train our professionals to meet the rigor of climate reporting disclosures with the support of automation, technology, and data-driven insights. Other firms may find their dedication to ESG commitments tested by a changing labor market – but not KPMG. With the support of our model, we are all in.
To demonstrate our commitments and progress, I am pleased to introduce the 2023 U.S. Impact Plan. Whether we are diversifying our workforce through intentional recruitment, neutralizing our carbon emissions, or serving our own clients on their ESG journeys, it is our responsibility to enable a more equitable, sustainable society and to communicate this with you, our stakeholders, over the course of this 2023 U.S. Impact Plan.
Thank you for being a part of our ESG journey.
Paul Knopp
Chair and CEO at KPMG U.S.
