Big 4 Firms Push For Reduced Work Travel And Promote Public Transport Use: Report

For instances where travel is unavoidable, they are encouraging employees to use public transportation, such as trains, whenever possible

As per the report, environmental concerns are another key factor driving the Big Four consultancies' shift towards reduced travel

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Deloitte, PWC, EY, and KPMG – the Big Four consulting firms – have reportedly instructed their employees to scale back on work-related travel as part of efforts to reduce costs and minimize their carbon footprints. The firms are urging their employees to minimize work-related travel, including client visits, and to conduct meetings virtually whenever feasible.

For instances where travel is unavoidable, they are encouraging employees to use public transportation, such as trains, whenever possible. These guidelines have largely been implemented over the past two to three months, according to a Moneycontrol report citing sources familiar with the matter.

One of the Big Four firms recently secured a major global client in Japan for consulting services. Typically, two partners and four other employees would have traveled for the engagement. “But the firm took a view that it was sufficient for one partner to travel, and the rest could be coordinated online,” said one of the sources in the report.

In a Big Four firm, a partner is typically a senior professional who holds a stake in the firm’s profits and is responsible for making strategic decisions.

Another Big Four firm recently hosted an internal event for its employees at a location a few hours outside of Delhi. While the company allowed teams from Mumbai, Bengaluru, and other cities to travel by air, it instructed Delhi-based employees to take a train to the venue.

This move is significant, as work-related travel is a major expense for these firms. “To cultivate clients, some travel is inevitable for partners. But most of the internal meetings of the firm will be done virtually,” added the source in the report.

As per the report, environmental concerns are another key factor driving the Big Four consultancies' shift towards reduced travel. The firms have cited their net-zero goals as a major motivation behind this move to cut down on travel-related emissions.

“In the professional services domain, travel is essential and through our net zero programme, we are encouraging our people to make conscious and greener choices to stay connected. By promoting virtual collaboration, clubbing meetings and reducing unnecessary travel, championing public and low-emission transport such as inter-city rail travel is encouraged over flights and electric vehicles over fuel-driven cabs for local commute - we continuously nudge people to make conscious choices,” said Asha Ramanathan, chief operating officer at PwC India.

However, not all senior executives are on board with this shift to more virtual meetings and reduced travel. A partner at one of the Big Four firms told Moneycontrol that in client-facing industries like consulting, personal connections are crucial. “The more time you spend with the client in person, the better the chance of building a long-term working relationship with them. Some of the trips may not yield any commercial substance but are important for building human connections.”