Accenture Releases Updates on Inclusion & Diversity Programs, Environmental Performance Data

"These announcements are fundamental to our role as a good corporate citizen and demonstrate that we continue to raise the bar on our commitments, achieving outcomes that make a real impact," said Adrian Lajtha, chief leadership officer at Accenture. "We're moving into a new era of capturing and reporting a broad range of important information about our progress and stewardship, which will further our dialogue with our employees, clients and the communities where we live and work."

The Inclusion & Diversity Review focuses on Accenture's workforce, which spans countries, cultures, generations and a broad mix of educational experiences and backgrounds. The Review underscores the company's belief that the talents of its diverse people, working in global teams and supported by Accenture's common core values and methodologies, play a critical role in helping clients become high performance businesses. Highlights from the Review include:

-- Supplier relationships - In 2008, the company directed US$286 million - nearly 15 percent of its procurement spending in the United States - to small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses

-- Gender-related issues - The 60,000+ women who work at Accenture now comprise more than one-third of the company's workforce

-- Diversity training - Accenture offered 78 live diversity executive training session in 33 cities and across 12 countries in 2008

The environmental performance data focus on the progress Accenture has made over the past year in terms of measuring and reducing environmental impact across its global operations. These data also provide background on what is included in Accenture's carbon footprint and point the way to further improvements in the coming years. They include the following:

-- Accenture achieved Global ISO 14001 Environment Management System (EMS) certification. The certification covers 53 Accenture locations in the United States, Canada, South Africa and countries throughout Europe, South America and Asia

-- From fiscal year 2007 to fiscal year 2008, Accenture reduced its overall carbon emissions by 9 percent

-- The company has set targets to reduce carbon emissions on a per employee basis by 25 percent for its 2009 fiscal year, compared with its fiscal year 2007 baseline

"Corporate citizenship is reflected in both our core values and the actions and attitudes of our people, and it is integral to our commitment to delivering high performance to clients," Lajtha said. "Accenture is on a journey to enhance our stewardship and harness our people's energy, enthusiasm and passion to make a real difference for organizations, communities and individuals around the world. The information we are releasing today is an important part of that process."

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With approximately 177,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$23.39 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2008. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

SOURCE: Accenture

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