KPMG Australia has appointed former AustralianSuper chief executive, Ian Silk, in a part-time position as a special adviser working on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
His appointment comes as the firm expands its ESG practices and the introduction of new services, including the launch of a decarbonisation hub, and the provision of specialist ESG training to KPMG’s workforce.
Andrew Yates, KPMG Australia CEO, said: “As we are adapting our own business to ensure we have a positive impact on society, our clients are also seeking to change to drive a more sustainable and equitable future. We are accelerating investment in client solutions and our people, as well as managing our own impact in this critical area.
“With one in every three CEOs planning to invest more than 10% of revenue towards enhancing sustainability, ESG is one of our priority investment areas under our refreshed firm strategy.
“Importantly, the approach is underpinned by a recognition of our firm’s own responsibility to improve our impact on society and the ESG commitments outlined in our recent impact report.”
Silk said: “ESG issues are fundamentally investment and financial issues. There is greater recognition in the market that most strong performing companies are those that take seriously ESG matters in the day-to-day running of their businesses.
“It’s a top order issue in Australia, with companies heavily exposed to climate change risks and regulators are continuing to escalate their expectations in how we should manage those risks.”
