McKinsey & Company Releases 2021 ESG Report on Accelerating Sustainable and Inclusive Growth

McKinsey’s fourth annual report shares progress on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities and efforts to catalyze decarbonization, build inclusive communities and workforces, and set the standard for our profession.
Jun 15, 2022 9:00 AM ET

June 15, 2022 /3BL Media/ - McKinsey & Company today released its 2021 ESG Report and shared progress the firm is making on its path to achieve net-zero climate impact by 2030. McKinsey is committed to creating positive, enduring change in the world and the report lays out the commitments, actions, and progress against our ESG framework.

Bob Sternfels, Global Managing Partner at McKinsey & Company, said: “2021 was a year of remarkable human resilience in balancing work, life priorities, and societal needs. We too often talk about trade-offs between growth on one hand and societal benefits on the other. At McKinsey, we believe the future belongs to those who can drive growth that is both sustainable and inclusive – and we are working with purpose, on issues from decarbonization to diversity, in order to make that future a reality."

Report highlights include:

  • We aspire to be the world’s largest private-sector catalyst for decarbonization and aim to lead by example. We are committed to reaching net-zero climate impact by 2030 and set science-based targets for 2025 validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in line with a 1.5°C-degree pathway. In 2021, we reduced our Scope 1 and 2 absolute emissions by 19 percent, transitioned 97 percent of our consumed electricity to renewable sources, and reduced our Scope 3 travel emissions by 82 percent per colleague as compared to a 2019 baseline, due to our continued remote work model and reduction in internal and client-related travel. We are working towards achieving our validated science-based target of 30 percent travel reduction per colleague by 2025.
  • We launched McKinsey Sustainability, a $1 billion investment to expand McKinsey’s capabilities to serve clients on net-zero, climate, and energy transition topics. This included the strategic acquisitions of Vivid Economics, Planetrics, and Material Economics, and we served clients on 1,200+ sustainability-related projects. This includes partnering with Blue Nature Alliance to develop innovative funding models for marine conservation through a series of pro-bono projects; supporting Danfoss to help develop insights, tools, and capabilities to bring low emission products to market and reduce its Scope 3 emissions; and working with Vistra Corp. to optimize their power plants and abate greenhouse gas emissions using AI.
  • In April 2022, we launched the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI), a nonprofit-generating entity founded on the conviction that, over the next decade, humanity could add as much as six extra years of higher-quality life per person, on average. MHI’s mission is to catalyze the actions needed across continents, sectors, and communities to realize this possibility, focusing initially on seven critical areas, starting with brain health.
  • In 2021, we elected a record number of women to our partnership, welcomed the largest class ever of Black and Hispanic/Latino summer interns, and saw women represent nearly half of colleagues globally (48%). Having achieved and exceeded our original commitment of gender parity in entry level hiring in North America, we recommitted as a HeForShe Corporate Champion, pledging to achieve 50 percent representation overall in our Firm by 2026.
  • In 2021, we contributed more than $190 million towards our $2 billion commitment to provide in cash and in-kind support for social responsibility efforts by 2030. This included supporting more than 3,900 nonprofits through pro bono service, charitable giving, and volunteering, including board service.

This report aligns with the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations and reports against global frameworks such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), World Economic Forum International Business Council’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

Link to download report: https://www.mckinsey.com/about-us/social-responsibility/2021-esg-report/overview

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About McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm committed to helping organizations accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth. We work with clients across the private, public, and social sectors to solve complex problems and create positive change for all their stakeholders. We combine bold strategies and transformative technologies to help organizations innovate more sustainably, achieve lasting gains in performance, and build workforces that will thrive for this generation and the next.

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