How Deloitte is committed to sustainability and employee development
Deloitte China recognizes that continuous learning is essential for financial professionals navigating sustainability challenges. Responding to rising client demand, Deloitte embeds a sustainability mindset, and has partnered with CFA Institute for employee upskilling—strengthening capabilities across Hong Kong SAR and Chinese mainland.
We are addressing the challenge of sourcing experienced financial professionals by expanding our upskilling programs to offer entry-level opportunities and continuous learning pathways, ensuring our teams gain practical expertise in sustainability.
Embedding sustainability into consulting work
Sustainability is integrated into Deloitte’s consulting and assurance services through a multidisciplinary approach covering strategy, climate adaptation, the net-zero transition, and reporting.
To remain relevant in fast-changing business conditions, Deloitte maintains a dynamic approach which evolves with market needs and strategic partnerships. Annual events share knowledge on pressing issues, ensuring professionals can guide clients through tax, reporting and compliance in volatile conditions.
Edward Au, Southern Region managing partner at Deloitte explains:
Deloitte's sustainability services bridge regulatory requirements with practical implementation, fostering innovation in sustainable finance and enabling clients to navigate the low-carbon transition. Learning is continuous. We regularly update our offerings to align with emerging priorities and advances in sustainability.
Addressing linguistic gaps and boosting client trust
Dr Kathy Yang, partner, Sustainability & Climate (Shanghai) at Deloitte China, notes that collaboration is fostering a more inclusive and dynamic professional environment by providing accessible, bilingual resources that empower diverse teams—many of whom operate in both Hong Kong SAR and the Chinese mainland – to stay ahead of evolving regulations including the upcoming China Securities Regulatory Commission sustainability disclosure mandates.
She remarks:
We bridge linguistic and regulatory gaps, deepen client trust, and enable seamless advisory on sustainability-linked financing. By equipping teams with skills in impact measurement, ESG integration, and climate risk valuation, we create industry pioneers.
For certain bids, holding qualifications such as the CFA Institute Sustainable Investing Certificate or Climate Risk, Valuation and Investing Certificate, is now mandatory to establish a competitive advantage.
Emphasising the importance of skills development
Internally, Deloitte acknowledges strong employee interest in sustainability, especially among Gen Z and millennials. Research shows that 60% of Deloitte’s US-based millennials and 55% of Gen Z expect employers to provide training on sustainable decision-making.
Andy Law, partner, Sustainability & Climate, cites the Global Sustainability & Climate Learning Program, launched in 2022, which has engaged 415,000 Deloitte employees worldwide through virtual education, bootcamps, mentorship, and practitioner guilds. Outcomes include enhanced client advisory capabilities and organizational resilience.
Shaping employee learning with strategic partnerships
Deloitte advances sustainability expertise through partnership. Martin Hu, Sustainability & Emerging Assurance Offering leader (Beijing) at Deloitte China, highlights the collaboration between Deloitte and CFA Institute.
He says:
We have incorporated CFA Institute resources into our Deloitte Carbon Care Asia initiatives, which focus on climate strategy and ESG advisory to create blended learning experiences which align with global standards.
The recent launch of the CFA Institute Principles of Sustainable Investing Certificate in Simplified Chinese is a substantial advancement, offering content tailored to local nuances and reinforcing the Deloitte commitment to building diverse teams fluent in global and local sustainability standards.
Martin adds:
The certificate helps corporate teams grasp regulatory requirements and emerging trends, fulfil baseline reporting obligations, integrate ESG data into enterprise risk management frameworks and align ESG performance with financial outcomes, capital allocation, and operational planning cycles.
Supporting and co-promoting the Principles of Sustainable Investing Certificate through joint webinars, customized learning sessions, and integration into its internal development pathways also allows Deloitte to customize high-caliber training which chimes with the region's unique market dynamics, such as the rapid growth of green finance under People's Bank of China guidelines, and the integration of ESG into Belt-and-Road initiatives.
Government reimbursement schemes boost participation
Focusing on the Hong Kong market, Andy Law highlights the HKSAR government's launch of the Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme by the Government of Hong Kong, which reimburses up to HKD10,000 or 80% of eligible training costs, to subsidise to practitioners participating in training related to green and sustainable finance in response to developing trends in the low carbon and sustainable economy.
Andy comments:
“This scheme reduces financial barriers, boosting engagement in sustainability upskilling and amplifying local adoption rates.”
Overall, the subsidy has fostered a culture of continuous learning, enabling employees to apply enhanced knowledge in client projects, such as green bond issuance and sustainability disclosures, ultimately strengthening Deloitte's advisory capabilities in Asia Pacific.
The partnership between Deloitte and CFA Institute helps talented employees establish professional credibility and advance their sustainability-related careers. Our teams can use a common language to communicate ESG-related planning, set targets, adopt practices, and track progress.
Focusing on talent development
For 2026 and beyond, the sustainability talent development priorities of Deloitte centre on closing experience gaps, integrating AI-driven tools and fostering people-focused approaches to build resilient workforces. Enhancing technology talent strategies amid AI advancement, optimising costs and attracting specialists in climate and sustainability are central to these efforts. This involves reshaping reward and mobility agendas to align with sustainability goals, including through global human capital trends which emphasise worker-organisation relationships.
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