Accenture has acquired Avieco, a London-based sustainability consultancy with around 60 consultants.
In its first deal in the UK this year, global consulting and technology powerhouse Accenture has picked up Avieco, a 13-year-old consulting firm specialised in sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) services.
“I am delighted to welcome Avieco to Accenture. Its expertise will help us meet growing demand for transformation, transparency and accountability in the sustainability domain,” said Toby Siddall, Accenture’s Sustainability lead in the UK and Ireland.
According to analysis by Consultancy.org, sustainability today is one of the three fastest growing segments within the global consulting industry. Recent research by Verdantix pegs the sustainability consulting market at $6.2 billion worldwide, with almost $10 billion expected to be added by the close of 2027.
The booming market is seeing consulting firms ramp up their sustainability practices, launching new offerings (BCG for example just teamed up with SAP in the domain), establishing dedicated practices (L.E.K. Consulting for instance last year established centre of excellence for sustainability), and turning to inorganic growth to accelerate capabilities (McKinsey for instance closed three sustainability-focused deals last year).
Accenture’s group dedicated to sustainability and ESG topics (which operates as Accenture Sustainability Services) is one of the leading players in the landscape, having landed a Gold rating in the UK’s Leading Management Consultants 2022 ranking and a leading position in the Top Sustainability Consulting Firms in the UK ranking by Consultancy.uk.
“Accenture’s commitment to sustainability is strongly aligned to ours and its scale will help us expand our mission to turn sustainability promises into actions. Our combined expertise will help businesses become truly sustainable,” said Ben Murray, CEO of Avieco and notably a former Accenture consultant (he founded the firm four years after leaving Accenture, initially as Carbon Smart).
“The acquisition of Avieco underscores our commitment to scale the sustainability services we offer clients and deepen our knowledge and experience,” said Peter Lacy, Accenture’s global Sustainability Services lead (and the firm’s Chief Responsibility Officer).
Siddall added, “Effective data analytics and ESG measurement and reporting are vital to driving growth through truly sustainable business models and better decision making. Avieco will enhance our ability to help our clients put sustainability at the heart of their business transformations.”
Clients Avieco will bring to Accenture include the likes of BNP Paribas, Emirates, the European Investment Bank, Porsche, and several leading professional services group such as Allen & Overy, BDO, and Deloitte.
In the UK, the deal builds on Accenture’s 2021 acquisition of Arabesque S-Ray, a UK platform which provides sustainability data and insights services to companies globally.
Meanwhile, a recent report by Accenture’s Sustainability Services team found that only 1 in 20 of Europe’s largest companies are on track for net-zero ambitions. Not much later, the group released another report highlighting that CEOs are more than ever calling for bold climate action from the private sector.
