Climate change has been high up on the global political and business agenda for a while now, with sustainability continually growing as a matter of concern. Since the last United Nations Climate Assessment Report was released in 2013, there’s been a breadcrumb trail of natural disasters across the globe, beckoning global populations to take note. From wildfires across California and much of Europe to major flooding in Germany and China, the effects are clear and are affecting humanity in every corner of the world.
For business owners, leaders, and administrators, incorporating sustainability practices into business agendas is becoming imperative as governments across the world enforce green tax initiatives to try to tackle the effects of climate change. Since the 21st Conference of the Parties in Paris in 2015, a total of 175 world leaders have opted to sign the Paris Agreement at the UN HQ in New York. This puts businesses belonging to these countries on a trajectory that is reshaping the economy, development paths and global value chains.
This emphasis on sustainability is fuelling the need for Tax Consultants with specialist knowledge in sustainability. As a specialist recruiter in the Innovation Incentives sector, Leonid work with a number of leading Tax Consultancies across the UK and Europe, placing Tax Consultants and Grant Funding Specialists that go on to consult on some exciting sustainability projects with leading organisations across the globe.
Let’s look at some of the most innovative companies across the world that are leading the way on sustainability initiatives.
Corporate HQ: Mountain View, California | United States
What they do: Google is a multinational tech company that specialises in Internet-related services and products, including online advertising technologies, a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware.
Sustainability efforts: While Google is already a carbon-neutral company, they have even bigger ambitions to run on carbon-free energy 24/7 at all their data centres by 2030. Google also invest in several environmental initiatives that range from sustainable fishing to green buildings and creating renewable energy sources.
Amazon
Corporate HQ: Seattle, Washington | United States
What they do: Amazon is an American multinational technology company that focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence.
Sustainability efforts: Sustainable packaging considerations are increasingly on the agenda for environmentally conscious consumers, meaning it should be on many business agendas too. Amazon is working to create more sustainable packaging that eliminates waste while ensuring products remain intact and undamaged.
Amazon are also committed to using sustainable aviation fuel as well as reducing wastewater and have pledged to be net-zero carbon by 2040, as well as powering operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.
US organisations that invest in ‘green’ initiatives are eligible for the Energy Investment Tax Credit, fuelling the need for tax consultant experts in this area.
Ørsted AS
Corporate HQ: Fredericia, Denmark
What they do: Ørsted is the largest energy company in Denmark, with a focus on constructing and operating offshore wind farms, solar farms and hydrogen and waste-to-energy solutions.
Sustainability efforts: Through Ørsted’s 11 offshore wind farms, they can eliminate 3.9 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Ørsted is committed to promoting a low carbon economy across Europe, with various campaigns that emphasise the reduced cost of adopting renewable energy sources.
With a strong commitment to helping European businesses go green, Ørsted is supporting many organisations in making the switch to 100% offshore wind electricity. Customers of Ørsted receive an annual evidence report, supporting businesses in being eligible for several tax incentives across Europe. In Germany, Romania, Slovak Republic, Denmark, Sweden and Poland, businesses receive an exemption on the payments of excise duties for electricity when the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources.
Neste
Corporate HQ: Espoo Finland
What they do: Neste Oyj is an oil refining company located in Espoo, Finland. It produces, refines, and markets oil products, provides engineering services, and licenses production technologies.
Sustainability efforts: Over the past decade, Neste has undergone a corporate transformation in which its business goal is to become a global leader in renewable and circular solutions.
Peter Vanacker, President and CEO of Neste describes their purpose:
“Our company’s purpose is to create a healthier planet for our children, particularly through tackling the climate crisis. In this work, we need everyone on board. It is great to see more and more companies placing sustainability at the core of their strategies worldwide”.
In line with this, Neste is committed to reducing their customer's climate emissions by 20 million tons annually by 2030, and to reach carbon-neutral production by 2035.
Autodesk
Corporate HQ: San Rafael, California | United States
What they do: Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Manufacturing, Media, Education, and Entertainment industries.
Sustainability efforts: Autodesk is leading the way in digitalising the path to net-zero. They do this by helping organisations to invest in better workflows, as well as software and technology that improves sustainability outcomes. With a focus on the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Manufacturing industries, Autodesk’s innovative software provides solutions that can reduce the weight of products, cut material waste, streamline supply chains and much more.
As a software company, Autodesk is eligible for a number of R&D tax credits in different regions. For Tax consultants that specialise in IT, there could be several opportunities to work with organisations like Autodesk who create software that involves AI and machine learning, IoT, robotics and augmented reality.
Fancy a chat?
As the need for more sustainable solutions continues to grow, there has never been such an opportunistic time to work in the Innovation Incentives industry. Professionals with specialist knowledge in software or sustainability are becoming of increasing value and make ideal candidates for transitioning into the R&D tax sector.
So, whether you’re stuck in a rut and looking to transition into a more rewarding career that fuels sustainable growth, or already work in the industry and are looking for your next role, as specialists in Innovation Incentives recruitment, Leonid are here to match you with the next exciting opportunity.
Did you know: Leonid are also passionate about being a sustainable company. We offset our carbon footprint through our tree planting scheme in collaboration with Tree-Nation, in which we’ve planted a total of 416 trees to date across the world.