NEW DELHI (India CSR): ZS, a global management consulting and technology firm, released its first annual environmental, social and governance ESG report. “A Year of passion and Impact” details ZS’s commitments, progress and vision across ESG focus areas that aim to improve health outcomes for all.
“Addressing the biggest ESG issues of the day is critical to supporting a healthy, fair and sustainable future for all people in all regions of the world,” said Pratap Khedkar, CEO of ZS. “We take our role seriously in contributing to that future and have mapped a clear path forward for making it possible.”
ZS aims to achieve the following three goals with its ESG strategy:
- Advance health equity
- Empower ZSers to make an impact
- Operate sustainably and responsibly
The 2022 report highlights ZS’s developments against those goals to help us stay accountable and make improvements where needed.
“Progress won’t be quick or easy,” said Judith Kulich, ESG chair at ZS. “This is hard work. But it’s critical, purpose-driven work, and we have a global team of ZSers who believe in that purpose. We are focusing our ESG efforts in areas we can have the most impact and that are aligned with our vision as an organization. We, in partnership with our clients in and outside of healthcare, suppliers and communities, will help redefine global health for the better and build toward a more equitable and sustainable future. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made and our commitment toward what lies ahead.”
You can download ZS’s 2022 ESG report here. Below are highlights from ZS’s “A Year of passion and Impact”:
- Formalized health equity commitment: ZS established a patient health and equity accelerator team that, in 2022, supported healthcare projects pertaining to leprosy, anemia, patient language guidelines and more. ZS also innovated with clients in seven industries beyond healthcare to further close the health equity gap. As part of ZS’s commitment, the firm signed the World Economic Forum’s Zero Health Gaps Pledge and Healthcare Leadership Council’s pledge to advance health equity.
- Supported the health of local communities: ZS invested $8 million in nonprofit initiatives to tackle social and environmental disparities across communities where ZSers live and work. Allocated funds supported pro-bono consulting work with organizations aligned with our vision, ZS Cares Day and the launch of ZS’s Donation Match Program for employees.
- Embedded equity in the hiring process: ZS evolved elements of its hiring process to ensure it was equitable for the 4,700 people who joined ZS in 2022. Specifically, ZS audited its application and hiring processes to remove obstacles for candidates and advanced its bias mitigation training to help ZSers make objective, merit-based, job-related and structured hiring decisions.
- Recognized the inconsistent experiences of underrepresented ZSers: In 2022, ZS identified two focal points for improvement among ZSers: Increasing Black and Hispanic and Latino representation, retention and engagement and accelerating the growth of women in India. ZS is deploying several interventions in 2023 to improve feelings of belonging specifically for this talent at the firm.
- Advanced our environmental sustainability strategy: ZS filed near-term targets with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) to, by 2030, reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46% and scope 3 emissions by 55% relative to ZS’s 2019 baseline. This target aligns with the Paris Agreement’s ambitious goal of keeping global warming below 1.5°C. ZS is awaiting approval from the SBTi on this target.
- Reduced emissions from our 2019 baseline: ZS’s absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by 29% in 2022, a reduction largely driven by ZS switching its largest office to 100% renewable energy and purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates from Schneider Electric’s Energize Program. Meanwhile, ZS’s scope 3 emissions decreased by 49% per full-time equivalent, largely due to a decrease in emissions from business travel and employee commuting.
- Implemented new data protection and information security safeguards: ZS evolved its practices to ensure the security and privacy of its people, partnerships and assets. This included hiring its first chief information security officer in 2022 to lead ZS’s overall corporate information security strategy, security infrastructure, governance, risk management and compliance.
ZS consults established reporting frameworks and standards to help track our progress across material issues. In the 2022 ESG report, ZS references the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, the GRI Standards and U.N. Sustainable Development Goals.
