Steve Demetriou
Chair & CEO
1. Chair & CEO Statement
Climate change is our generation’s greatest threat, challenge and opportunity.
As I reflect on the negotiations and outcomes from the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, although progress is being made at the local, global and national levels – so much more remains to be done.
The consensus expressed both during and after the conference was that immediate and decisive action is needed to ensure we collectively:
- Limit global warming in line with the 1.5⁰C target of the Paris Agreement.
- Future-proof and adapt to the impacts of climate change that are already locked in.
- Put people at the heart of climate action to create a fair, just and equitable future for all.
With this sense of urgency top of mind, along with increased interest and concern from all of our stakeholders – employees, Board members, clients and investors – Jacobs has elevated Climate Response as one of three core accelerators within our fiscal year 2022 to 2024 company strategy – aligning positive societal impact with long-term business growth. To deliver on this strategy, we also established an Office of Global Climate Response and ESG, designed to deliver on our climate action commitments through innovative solutions for both our clients and stakeholders.
Our Climate Action Plan lays out our next phase of climate mitigation and adaptation commitments, which build on the progress we have made since the release of our initial plan on the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020. We are proud to be the first consultancy and one of the world’s first companies with net-zero targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. We are proud to have reduced our carbon emissions by 45% since 2019. We are proud to procure 100% low-carbon electricity for our operations. And we are proud to be a carbon neutral organization.
We will continue driving the rapid decarbonization of our operations and value chain, while also accelerating the essential shift to a zero-carbon economy through the solutions we deliver to clients every day, world-wide. In parallel, we will continue to improve our business resilience and our clients’ business resilience by embedding adaptive measures across all our end markets, considering climate risks and opportunities in alignment with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
As a purpose-led company, we know we have a pivotal role to play in responding to the climate crisis and we are proud to accept this challenge.
Steve Demetriou Chair & CEO