EY UK boss Steve Varley takes global sustainability role
EY today announced the appointment of its UK and Ireland boss to a new position as global vice chair for sustainability.
Steve Varley, who is chairman and managing partner of EY UK and Ireland, will relinquish the latter role when he takes up his new position on 1 July.
Varley will continue to chair EY UK and Ireland, but will be replaced as managing partner.
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As global vice chair of sustainability, Varley will reported to EY’s global chair and chief executive Carmine Di Sibio
In this newly created role, Varley will be responsible for helping EY develop and implement policies to help make its practices and operations more sustainable.
Di Sibio said: “Sustainability is one of the key defining issues of our generation and we believe EY has a significant contribution to make in addressing today’s environmental challenges, supporting EY clients and our communities, as well as our global organisation. Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and a strong track record of delivering real change with governments, policy makers, EY clients and people.”
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Varley informed EY partners of the change in a memo this afternoon, Sky News reported.
In the memo he said the division of his role would “help our whole UK firm navigate the regulatory and political environment and further increase [our] public interest focus”.
He said audit watchdog the Financial Reporting Council, had been briefed on the change and said it was “supportive”.
In a statement, Varley said: “We simply cannot stand still when it comes to protecting the environment and creating growth opportunities that are truly sustainable. I’m incredibly excited about leading this effort across EY to help drive progress towards a more sustainable future and build a better working world.”