Corporate responsibility

Our approach to sustainability is centered around EY’s purpose of building a better working world. Get insights into our ambitions, targets and policies.

Annual Report 2023/2024

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Our long-term commitments include reducing emissions, increasing diversity, equity and inclusiveness in the workforce, and contributing to prosperity in the communities we operate in.

We organize our approach to sustainability around four pillars:


High-level ambition	Become the most trusted professional services firm
2025 targets and focus areas	Code of Conduct and independence training: 100% Code of Conduct and independence confirmation: 100%	Supplier Code of Conduct coverage: 100%
Action towards 2025	Require annual training and confirmation from all EY people	Continue to strengthen our focus on Danish supply chain in cooperation with EY Global Supply Chain Services
Progress FY24	Code of Conduct training/confirmation: 100%/100% Independence training/confirmation: 100%/100%	Followed up on Human Rights due diligence Continue to monitor supplier ESG compliance

The insights and quality services EY delivers help build trust and confidence in businesses and the capital markets. We serve the public interest by delivering high-quality, analytics-driven audits based on independence, integrity, objectivity and professional skepticism.

The EY approach to business ethics and integrity is contained in the EY Global Code of Conduct and other policies. Our Code of Conduct provides a clear set of standards that guide our actions and business conduct.

EY strives to adhere to the highest ethical standards, including in relation to protecting human rights, upholding international labor standards, protecting the environment, and opposing bribery and corruption in all its forms.

We anchor anti-corruption measures across EY, and partners and employees are required to complete regular training, we help clients strengthen their integrity and compliance frameworks and cooperate with external networks and groups in the fight against corruption.

We are committed to integrating the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) Ten Principles and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into EY strategy, culture and operations.

Our expectations concerning environment, human rights and social conditions extends to our suppliers who need to verify their adherence and standards according to our Supplier Code of Conduct.

Our Transparency report disclose our internal control systems, ethical values, how we execute our audits, quality routines and independence. Download

16.5 “Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms”

EY is committed to fighting corruption in all its forms and has implemented a global policy against bribery and corruption. We embed anti-corruption measures throughout EY, and all employees are required to complete annual training on this matter. An unwavering commitment to combating corruption is also built into the services we offer clients. The insights and quality services we deliver at EY help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and economies, and we help companies manage their anti-bribery and anti-corruption programs. To raise awareness of the fight against corruption, we also collaborate with external networks and groups.

Icon - target 16.5 - substantialy reduce corruption and bribery


High-level ambition	Protect the planet to support the needs of current and future generations
2025 targets and focus areas	Reduce absolute GHG emissions, -40% vs. FY19	Keep annual air travel emissions at 50% of FY19 level toward FY25	Recyclability of waste: 80%
Action towards 2025	Support implementation of EY Global's seven-point action plan to reach Net Zero in FY25 and continue implementation of ISO14001 Environmetal Management System	Implement initiatives to reduce internal travel	Improve waste sorting in offices
Progress FY24	GHG emissions all scopes: -27% vs. FY19	Air travel emissions: -21% vs FY19	Share of recyclable waste: 71%

EY’s global goal is to reduce our absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2025 across scope 1, 2 (location-based), and 3 emissions against a baseline from FY19. The goal is approved by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).

In EY Denmark, we support this ambition, and we report progress towards EY Global’s goal of reducing our absolute emissions by 40%. In our transition plan, we base this goal on scope 1, 2 (location-based), and categories 5 and 6 (waste and business travel) of scope 3.

Environmental policy

7.3. “By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency”

At EY, we aim to be more energy efficient by reducing our absolute GHG emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 40% by reducing business travel, mainly by air, and energy consumption and waste in our offices.

Icon - target 7.3 - double the improvement in energy efficiency

12.6. “Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle”

At EY, we aim to accelerate our clients and suppliers’ sustainability journeys. In addition, we integrate sustainability information into our reporting cycle, and we work consistently to adopt sustainable practices in our organization.

Icon - target 12.6 - encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and sustainability reporting


High-level ambition	Empower EY people to build their own exceptional EY experiences
2025 targets and focus areas	Gender balance, 40% women at leadership level	Employee well-being and satisfaction measured by min. 90% perceive to have an “Exceptional EY experience”
Action towards 2025	Improve and increase efforts for better gender balance	Listening to our people to support employee wellbeing, engagement, retention and satisfaction
Progress FY24	Gender balance, all employees: 41%/59% (w/m) Leadership level, 33%/67% (w/m)	82% of EY people agree that their experience at EY is exceptional

EY brings together extraordinary people to build a better working world. Their growth in knowledge, prosperity, well-being and equal opportunities for all is central to the success of our organization.

At the core, we strive to provide our people with exceptional experiences by:

Welcoming diverse teams where everyone feels a sense of belonging.
Fostering an inclusive environment mindful of our people’s health and well-being.
Developing our people’s skills and competencies for the future.

In EY, we are deeply committed to creating an environment where differences are not only accepted but are truly valued. With a diverse workforce, we are better equipped to utilize the power of different opinions, perspectives and cultural references, which will help us set the highest performing teams. We see diversity and inclusiveness as vital to our business success and continued growth.

5.5 ”Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life”.

We work to ensure gender equality at all levels in the organization, and especially focus on greater gender balance on leadership level in EY. Several activities are in place already, including global and local mentoring programs, unconscious bias training, and strengthened efforts around parental leave, and we are implementing more initiatives. We aim to ensure that our activities promote our talent pool to become even more diverse and better balanced.

Icon - target 5.5 - ensure full participation in leadership and decision making

10.2 “By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status”

EY works to ensure diversity, equity and inclusiveness for all our people. We strive to offer all employees equal opportunities in recruitment and selection, development and promotion. Our goal is for all employees to feel appreciated, respected and fairly treated with appropriate compensation and good benefits. Our actions include inclusiveness training, unconscious bias training, network programs and much more. We aim to ensure our people feel included and free to be themselves. Our responsibility to respect human rights also extends beyond our direct operations to our supply chains. We try to actively monitor our suppliers’ work with human rights.

Icon - target 10.2 - promote universal social, economic and political inclusion


High-level ambition	Building a better working world in the communities where we live and work
2025 targets and focus areas	Deliver exceptional client services	Contributing to EY Global’s target of 1 billion lives impacted through EY Ripples*
Action towards 2025	Invest US$10b in audit quality, innovation, tech & people as a 3-year commitment by EY Global*	Introduce initiatives to support local communities
Progress FY24	EY Global completed the three-year commitment to invest US$10b*	Positively impacted, 116k lives through 211 participants in EY Denmark
*Initiatives driven by EY Global

A company’s value is increasingly reflected in the off-balance sheet intangible assets and value drivers associated with economic and social prosperity.

Through the EY Ripples program, we extend the value of EY knowledge and networks to people and places we might not otherwise reach. It empowers EY people to devote their time to SDG-focused projects that apply their skills in different contexts and help them develop as more inclusive leaders with a deeper understanding of the challenges facing communities across the world. As more and more EY people learn to appreciate the social value of the skills they use every day, so creating long-term value for society becomes more deeply embedded in our culture.

Together with clients and other like-minded organizations, EY people use their distinctive skills to bring positive change across three focus areas:

4.4. ”By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship”.

We work to increase the number of young people with relevant skills for employment and entrepreneurship, especially through our EY Ripples program. Here EY people volunteer their time and skills to mentor students and vulnerable young people and offer guidance for young start-ups as well as give feedback and coaching to students with a passion for entrepreneurship.

Icon - target 4.4 - increase the number of people with relevant skills for financial succes

8.2 ”Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high-value added and labor-intensive sectors”.

EY works long term to strengthen quality, enhance efficiency and create transformative opportunities for sectors and businesses through a clear focus on investments in innovation, technology and AI-enabled solutions. We have committed to invest US$ 10 billion globally from 2021 towards 2024 on audit quality, strategy, technology and people. This investment was completed in 2024.

Icon - target 8.2 - diversify, innovate and upgrade for economic productivity

Footsteps on the beach. Tropical climate.

The EY Global Code of Conduct provides an ethical framework for our behavior. It draws on our shared values and builds on our purpose and our ambition.

Our Global Code of Conduct is organized into five categories containing guiding principles that should be used by everyone within EY to guide behavior across all areas of our activity.
EY’s Global Supplier Code of Conduct outlines, among other things, our expectations concerning environment, human rights and social conditions and asks suppliers to verify their adherence and standards.

In addition, we monitor supplier performance through our EY Supplier Portal where suppliers complete a self-assessment questionnaire on their social and environmental policies, practices and certifications.

EY’s Supplier Code of Conduct (pdf)
EY has been a global signatory to the UN Global Compact (which aims to align worldwide business strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption) since 2009 and we continue our pledge to support and advance its principles.
To ensure responsible business conduct, EY Denmark is strengthening a Nordic management system, in collaboration with EY Finland, EY Norway, and EY Sweden, for Human Rights based on OECD’s guidelines on due diligence for responsible business. We have assessed human rights risks in our operation, including vendors. A summary of the results can be found in our annual report for FY24.

The results of these assessments will guide us to which human rights and which vendors we should investigate further as part of a full due diligence.

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Contact

Iben Papsø

Internal Sustainability Lead, Senior Project Manager, EY Denmark

Passionate about sustainable solutions that create long term value and about engaging communication that creates positive change.

Copenhagen, DNK

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients.

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Corporate responsibility

Annual Report 2023/2024

When global change is the answer, what are the better questions?

Contact

Iben Papsø

Insights

Trending topics

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Services

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Industries

Case studies

Careers

Spotlight

About us

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Corporate responsibility

Annual Report 2023/2024

When global change is the answer, what are the better questions?

Code of Conduct

Supplier Code of Conduct

UN Global Compact

Nordic Environmental Policy

EY Global Human Rights Statement

EY Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness Statement

Human Rights Due Diligence

Contact

Iben Papsø