Five ways tax leaders can help achieve sustainability goals

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🗞️ Driving the news: Deloitte’s new report outlines five key strategies for tax leaders to accelerate their companies’ sustainability goals, emphasising the need to integrate tax considerations into broader ESG efforts
• Based on a global survey of 335 tax executives, the report urges tax departments to evolve from compliance-focused units into proactive sustainability partners that can unlock value through strategic guidance and innovation.

🔭 The context: As sustainability expectations rise from regulators, investors, and consumers, tax functions are increasingly called upon to support ESG implementation
• Historically siloed, tax and sustainability efforts are now converging, requiring transformation of the tax operating model to keep pace
• Many companies, such as Unilever and Gilead, are already linking tax with sustainability strategies, reflecting a shift from passive to strategic roles

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Tax can be a powerful enabler of sustainable transformation by unlocking incentives, influencing capital allocation, and supporting circular business models
• Embedding ESG tax considerations into decision-making — such as carbon pricing, packaging taxes, or green finance — can enhance transparency and long-term impact
• Digitisation and AI also offer tools to improve governance while freeing up resources for strategic advisory

⏭️ What's next: Tax leaders are encouraged to upskill, automate, and redefine roles within their teams to better respond to ESG needs
• Collaborating across departments and clearly assigning accountability for ESG tax issues — spanning areas like plastic waste, wage policy, and emissions — is critical
• As ESG continues to permeate business strategies, tax will become a more visible lever for meeting sustainability commitments and regulatory compliance

💬 One quote: “With sustainability, especially in tax, there are lots of things to be considered… we shape the market in the future, and have the ability to make a substantial and certain impact.” — Jian Teng, Executive Finance Director, Gilead China

📈 One stat: 89% of survey respondents said their company has appointed a Chief Sustainability Officer, and 72% of tax departments work closely with them, reflecting growing ESG integration

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance of Deloitte, and Gilead and their peers EY, and Pfizer

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