Human rights

2023 Global Impact Report

Building better futures

Our Statement is based on the values and principles stated in the International Bill of Human Rights and is further guided by the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. 

Our approach 

We commit to advancing the following human rights within our organization through:

• Employment and workers’ rights
• Equality and non-discriminatory treatment
• Environmental sustainability
• Education and skills development 
• Anti-corruption
• Privacy
• Trustworthy technology

Each of these human rights is accompanied by its dedicated policy or initiative that enables us to embed respect for human rights in our organization—such as ethics; inclusion; WorldClimate; WorldClass; anti-corruption, anti-harassment, and privacy policies and programs; and ethical technology guiding principles. Each is overseen by a Deloitte Global leader responsible for its strategy and implementation. 

Deloitte’s Global Principles of Business Conduct (“Global Code”) articulates the standards that Deloitte people should uphold and reflects our Shared Values and core belief that ethics and integrity are non-negotiable. These principles are incorporated into our mandatory training programs, which help empower our people at all levels with the knowledge and skills necessary to uphold our Global Code. Through these and other approaches, we actively work to prevent and mitigate human rights impacts.

We expect organizations with which we have a business relationship to uphold our commitment to human rights and responsible business practices. Deloitte’s Supplier Code of Conduct defines our expectations of suppliers, including treating workers with dignity and respect and not subjecting them to demeaning conditions. Deloitte’s Commitment to Responsible Business Practices articulates our beliefs and commitments to responsible business decision-making, and outlines our approach to our business relationships, including with whom we work and the work we do.

In jurisdictions where national law and our human rights commitments conflict, we will comply with national law and use our influence to respect and promote international human rights.

To report on our human rights initiatives, we rely on key performance indicators (KPIs) that are included throughout this report. This integrated approach ensures that the metrics used to measure progress in other areas, such as environmental, social, and governance, are also used to measure Deloitte’s advancement in human rights. The KPIs throughout the report provide an evaluation of our efforts and affirm the interconnectedness of human rights with our organization’s strategy. 

Raising concerns

Our people play an important role in supporting our human rights efforts and are encouraged to speak up whenever they have concerns regarding a human rights matter. Deloitte’s Speak Up helpline (and equivalents) and Deloitte firms’ ethics officers are available to Deloitte people for consultation on concerns or to report observed misconduct related to Deloitte people, clients or third parties. Deloitte’s public reporting channel is available for external third parties. Deloitte’s human rights due diligence process aims to identify, prevent, mitigate, and remedy impacts across our organization. Ongoing monitoring and risk management is integrated across our organization.

Investigations and remediations are conducted with the highest level of integrity, including maintaining confidentiality, meaning that information will only be shared with those who have a true need to know. Per our non-retaliation policy, we prohibit retaliation against those who report or who otherwise participate in related investigations.

The Deloitte Global Chief Ethics Officer and Deloitte Global Chief People and Purpose Officer oversee our Human Rights Statement, and the statement is supported by leaders within Deloitte firms. Both of these Deloitte Global leaders report annually to the Deloitte Global Board on their respective areas of responsibility. Externally, we communicate our human rights impacts and progress annually in this Global Impact Report and our United Nations Global Compact Communication on Progress.

Moving forward

Deloitte is committed to leading the way in society as a role model for positive change. We are a founding signatory of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and are committed to its Ten Principles. We are also committed to respecting and promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to realize equal human rights for all through economic, social and environmental development.
 Human rights matters can be challenging to identify, address, and remediate. We are committed to adapting and improving our processes and procedures going forward, as well as further evolving this statement and our commitments.