Deloitte snaps up dcarbon8 in green consultancy push

Deloitte has today beefed up its presence in the green consultancy market, shelling out an undisclosed sum to acquire sustainability and consultancy adviser dcarbon8.

The firm will now be integrated with Deloitte's environmental and sustainability consulting practice, with founder Guy Battle joining as a partner.

The deal will give Deloitte a route into the growing market for carbon footprinting services. Dcarbon8 has specialised in the development of carbon accounting services designed to measure the embodied carbon in products and supply chains, and is one of a relatively small number of firms that can undertake Carbon Trust certification of products, businesses and buildings.

The company has also expanded into providing advice on wider aspects of corporate climate change and communication strategies, and has a number of blue chip firms, including Land Securities, Masdar and Sainsbury's, among its client base.

Battle welcomed the deal, predicting that joining with Deloitte would provide a "fantastic opportunity" to bolster the company's sustainability expertise in line with growing customer demand for green consultancy services.

Deloitte is engaged in a race with all the large accountancy firms to tap into the growing market for carbon-related services.

PwC made a similar move to strengthen its green expertise last year, forking out an undisclosed sum for advisory firm Sustainable Finance Limited, while KPMG recently announced that it will appoint UN climate change chief Yvo de Boer as a senior adviser when he steps down from his current role in July.