Original content provided by BDO USA.
Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) reaffirms firm’s commitment to a people-first, purpose-driven culture
BDO USA, one of the nation’s leading accounting and advisory firms, published its latest sustainability report in July 2024. The report highlights the firm’s efforts to integrate sustainability across its business through strategies that improve resilience, enhance inclusivity and encourage accountability.
"Of our 2023 milestones, none was more significant than our decision to establish an Employee Stock Ownership Plan,” CEO Wayne Berson said. “This transformational move further activates our purpose of helping people thrive every day and builds on our sustainability efforts, strengthening the impact we seek to create for our people, clients and communities.”
As one of the largest ESOPs in the country, BDO USA provides a broad base of employees with beneficial ownership, enhancing the firm’s ability to recruit and retain talent while delivering more equitable access to wealth creation for its people.
Additionally, in 2023, BDO:
In 2023, BDO also appointed Karen Baum to lead the firm’s sustainability efforts in the role of Sustainability & ESG Managing Principal. Formerly the Managing Partner of BDO Sustainability Services and Solutions, Baum has more than 35 years of experience as a strategy and corporate finance professional and has spent nearly a decade at BDO. Baum will advance BDO’s sustainability programme while developing and supporting services and solutions to help clients navigate their own sustainability journeys. In this role, Baum chairs BDO’s Sustainability & ESG Leadership Team and leads the Sustainability & ESG Centre of Excellence (COE). Baum also plays a critical role in the sustainability efforts of BDO’s global organisation and will continue to lead development efforts for BDO global sustainability & ESG services for its international network of firms.
“Sustainability is a foundational pillar of our business strategy and who we are as a firm,” said Baum. “I’m excited to explore the art of possible as we deliver on our promise to help people thrive every day. We are proud of our commitment to shape a sustainable future by contributing to resilient businesses, strong communities and a healthy environment for all.”
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2021 Universal Standards and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) 2018 standard for the Professional & Commercial Services industry. The report includes financial, emissions and people data from 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023, as well as progress made and initiatives undertaken from 1 May 2022 to 31 December 2023.
View the full report here.
How BDO can help
Find out about how BDO can help organisations looking to embark on their sustainability journey: please see Activating your sustainability journey and Calculating an organisation's baseline year carbon footprint Please also feel free to reach out to our sustainability experts tagged on this page for more information about your sustainability needs.
Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) reaffirms firm’s commitment to a people-first, purpose-driven culture
BDO USA, one of the nation’s leading accounting and advisory firms, published its latest sustainability report in July 2024. The report highlights the firm’s efforts to integrate sustainability across its business through strategies that improve resilience, enhance inclusivity and encourage accountability.
"Of our 2023 milestones, none was more significant than our decision to establish an Employee Stock Ownership Plan,” CEO Wayne Berson said. “This transformational move further activates our purpose of helping people thrive every day and builds on our sustainability efforts, strengthening the impact we seek to create for our people, clients and communities.”
As one of the largest ESOPs in the country, BDO USA provides a broad base of employees with beneficial ownership, enhancing the firm’s ability to recruit and retain talent while delivering more equitable access to wealth creation for its people.
Additionally, in 2023, BDO:
- Reimagined its social impact strategy and identified 4 cause areas to maximise the impact of the firm’s collective efforts: children and youth, education and literacy, human rights and environment
- Offered 250+ inclusion activities and touchpoints for employees, with more than 9,000 participants
- Donated $2.7M to non-profits and community organisations
- Mobilised 14,073 volunteer hours through BDO’s longstanding employee-driven volunteer programme
- Committed to setting company-wide science-based emissions reduction targets with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)
- Adopted policies around environmental and human rights practices
- Increased the percentage of offices in environmentally certified buildings to 52%
- Launched an internal sustainability and ESG training curriculum, offering nearly 30 courses designed to educate and upskill its people.
In 2023, BDO also appointed Karen Baum to lead the firm’s sustainability efforts in the role of Sustainability & ESG Managing Principal. Formerly the Managing Partner of BDO Sustainability Services and Solutions, Baum has more than 35 years of experience as a strategy and corporate finance professional and has spent nearly a decade at BDO. Baum will advance BDO’s sustainability programme while developing and supporting services and solutions to help clients navigate their own sustainability journeys. In this role, Baum chairs BDO’s Sustainability & ESG Leadership Team and leads the Sustainability & ESG Centre of Excellence (COE). Baum also plays a critical role in the sustainability efforts of BDO’s global organisation and will continue to lead development efforts for BDO global sustainability & ESG services for its international network of firms.
“Sustainability is a foundational pillar of our business strategy and who we are as a firm,” said Baum. “I’m excited to explore the art of possible as we deliver on our promise to help people thrive every day. We are proud of our commitment to shape a sustainable future by contributing to resilient businesses, strong communities and a healthy environment for all.”
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2021 Universal Standards and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) 2018 standard for the Professional & Commercial Services industry. The report includes financial, emissions and people data from 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023, as well as progress made and initiatives undertaken from 1 May 2022 to 31 December 2023.
View the full report here.
How BDO can help
Find out about how BDO can help organisations looking to embark on their sustainability journey: please see Activating your sustainability journey and Calculating an organisation's baseline year carbon footprint Please also feel free to reach out to our sustainability experts tagged on this page for more information about your sustainability needs.