Environment Analyst Rates Jacobs as a Global Leader for Climate and ESG Impact

In its new report, ESG Strategies: Accelerating Impact and Net Zero Goals in Consultancy, Environment Analyst recognizes Jacobs as a global environmental and sustainability leader for accelerating progress and solutions to support net zero and ESG (environment, social & governance) impact.

Jacobs is one of four consultancies – of the fifty assessed – to achieve the top five-star rating across the net zero journey and ESG impact leadership metrics.

The report provides an assessment of how the world’s major environmental and sustainability consultants are responding to the rapidly evolving climate and ESG disclosure landscape, gauging their progress using sector-specific ratings criteria and industry carbon intensity benchmarks developed by Environment Analyst’s team.

"We understand that Jacobs' greatest opportunity to contribute towards a net zero future comes through the sustainable, resilient and nature-positive solutions we co-create with our clients," says Jacobs Senior Vice President for Office of Global Climate Response & ESG and Enterprise Risk Management Jan Walstrom. "This recognition serves as a testament to the strategic decisions which have placed sustainability, ESG and climate response at the heart of our company strategy, and our ongoing pursuit to tackle the greatest challenges of our clients and the world."

The report highlights that while the drivers and pressures for action are proliferating, some consultancies have been slow to respond – in spite of being on the front line when it comes to advising businesses and governments on how to engage. Others, like Jacobs, are leading in advancing the agenda, innovating solutions and making measurable progress that will ultimately benefit clients and supply chains, as well as people, planet and society.

Firms were scored against industry-specific carbon intensity benchmarks, as well as a range of other factors including their alignment to gold standard frameworks and initiatives and their net zero and sustainability goals, governance and progress.

U.K.-based Environment Analyst compiles extensive, independent market intelligence assessments on the global environmental and sustainability consulting sector. These assessments cover the performance of key organizations contributing to the development of best practice and expertise in areas such as: sustainability & ESG strategy; environmental risk and due diligence; climate resilience and adaptation; land remediation; water quality and resources management; as well as the enablement of major infrastructure through environmental planning.

Environment Analyst also ranked Jacobs as the top environmental and sustainability consultancy in the world overall and in the U.K. in its 2021/22 market assessment.

Accelerating the future

Jacobs elevated Consultancy & Advisory and Climate Response as two core growth accelerators within our  Boldly Moving Forward strategy – aligning positive societal impact with long-term business growth, and delivering significant value for our clients through sustainable, integrated, end-to-end solutions for energy transition, decarbonization, adaptation and resilience and natural resource stewardship.

Our updated Climate Action Plan further commits to targeting every project to become a climate response opportunity, to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain by 2040, and to maintaining carbon neutrality status and 100% low-carbon electricity for operations. The plan also details Jacobs' commitment to accelerating a transition to net-zero that is equitable and just.

Jacobs achieved our previous climate commitments in 2020, becoming carbon neutral for our operations and business travel and adopting 100% low-carbon electricity. In 2022, we also became the first professional consultancy and one of the world's first companies with net-zero targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Jacobs recently made an inaugural offering under our newly published Sustainability-Linked Bond Framework, a key milestone in further incorporating sustainability into the company's financing strategy. The interest rates payable on the bonds are tied to Jacobs' commitment to increase gender diversity in leadership positions, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, each as described in the Framework.

Jacobs earned a place in the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability World Index 2022 (DJSI) and a position in CDP's A List for the first time. We also received a gold medal in the EcoVadis Sustainability Ratings and were recognized as a leading organization in the Wall Street Journal's 250 Best-Managed Companies of 2022.