Press release

14 Jan 2020 London, GB

EY announces appointment of Steve Varley as first EY Global sustainability leader as part of its expanded strategy

LONDON, 14 JANUARY 2020. EY today announces the appointment of Steve Varley as EY Global Vice Chair – Sustainability, reporting directly to Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, effective 1 July.

  • New Global Vice Chair role to focus on helping EY clients achieve sustainability goals and reducing the EY carbon footprint
  • Marks the expansion of the EY sustainability strategy, including its response to climate change and meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Varley brings strong track record working with governments, policy makers, EY clients and people to this newly created global role

EY today announces the appointment of Steve Varley as EY Global Vice Chair – Sustainability, reporting directly to Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, effective 1 July. In this newly-created global role, Varley will be responsible for creating and driving policies and programs to help EY become a world leader in sustainable business solutions, practices and operations.

Varley – currently EY UK & Ireland Regional Managing Partner and UK Chairman – will work across the four EY service lines to spearhead the overall EY global sustainability strategy and help EY clients adopt innovations and technologies that create long-term value by achieving environmentally sustainable growth. He will also lead the overall environmental and sustainability strategy across the global EY organization, helping to reduce its impact on the environment along with its carbon footprint.

Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, says:

“Sustainability is one of the key defining issues of our generation and we believe EY has a significant contribution to make in addressing today’s environmental challenges, supporting EY clients and our communities, as well as our global organization. Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and a strong track record of delivering real change with governments, policy makers, EY clients and people.

“This appointment marks an inflection point for EY; we are poised to leverage the 284,000 EY people and our vast ecosystem – of clients and communities across more than 150 countries – to continue to build a better working world. I look forward to working with Steve in this new role.”

Varley brings 28 years’ experience across professional services to this role. Since 2011, he has been the EY UK & Ireland (UK&I) Regional Managing Partner and UK Chairman where his focus on quality, sustainability and innovation has contributed to the UK and Ireland becoming one of the top EY regions, with the UK accounting for a total of £2.45b in revenues and more than 15,000 EY people, and Ireland representing €200m and 1,400 respectively. Under his leadership over the past nine years, the UK&I region has achieved cumulative growth of 75% and Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. Varley has worked closely with UK regulators and worked with EY clients on pressing business needs, including Brexit and technological disruption. His efforts have led to a fully gender balanced UK LLP Board, and more opportunities for minorities and non-degree school leavers.

Under Varley’s leadership, the UK firm has reduced plastic consumption across all offices – removing over 7.7m single-use plastic items and introducing renewable biogas heating and hot water in UK offices where it directly purchases its energy. These efforts have attracted awards from the Institute for Workplace and Facilities Management and waste2zero.

Varley is also the UK Government’s Business Ambassador for the professional services industry and a member of Her Majesty’s Treasury’s Professional Services Council. Varley has also been a member of the Business Advisory Group which has been responsible for advising two British Prime Ministers.

Varley will continue as UK Chairman to help work with EY clients and other stakeholders, including regulators. A successor for the EY Regional Managing Partner, UK & Ireland role, will be appointed in the coming months.   

Steve Varley adds: “We simply cannot stand still when it comes to protecting the environment and creating growth opportunities that are truly sustainable. I’m incredibly excited about leading this effort across EY to help drive progress towards a more sustainable future and build a better working world.”

EY is committed to building a better working world and supporting a broader industry move to long-term value creation. It does this by supporting its clients, communities and people with its experience, knowledge and services. This appointment is the latest step and follows the announcement of a new global environmental statement last year EY has developed and is implementing detailed plans to prioritize action around business travel, office energy consumption, waste and water use, and sustainable procurement. EY is also working to improve environmental sustainability through its EY Ripples program, through which EY people dedicate their time and skills to diverse projects that help drive sustainable growth around the world.

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Notes to Editors

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