Deloitte Serbia joins Nordic Business Alliance

1. Which values do you find in common with Nordic Business Alliance? Being one of the global leaders in your sector, how do think our joint efforts can make most impact on business environment in Serbia and society as a whole?

We recognize the value that an effective Alliance can bring to your members and our clients. With our joint efforts we have the responsibility to be a force for a greater good and to lead the way in overcoming the increasingly complex challenges our society faces today. Nordic values such as transparency, inclusivity and innovation are at the core of everything that we do. We look forward to collaborating with the Nordic Business Alliance on future initiatives working together to create a better business environment in Serbia with global best practices and insights.

2. Thank you for participating in our recent Circular Economy conference. Given that environment and green cities are our common long-term interest, please share with us key findings from your recent Report on Urban Transformations.

A new Deloitte Global report on urban transformation identifies 12 trends that will affect our urban living in the upcoming future. While traditionally characterized by high density of population and buildings, cities are now rethinking their structure and functions to achieve sustainable urban living. These are:

• 15-minute city. Urban planners are aiming to design neighborhoods so that amenities are within a 15-minute walk or bicycle ride, with a range of housing, more green spaces, and designated walking and bicycle routes.
• Inclusive services and planning. Governments around the world are proactively implementing inclusion-focused solutions, with the goal of leaving no one behind.
• Smart health communities. Cities are developing health care ecosystems that not only focus on diagnosing and treating sickness but also on supporting well-being through early intervention and prevention.
• Mobility: intelligent, sustainable, and as-a-service. With more walking and cycling spaces, cities are working towards offering digital, clean, intelligent, autonomous, and intermodal mobility.
• Digital innovation ecosystem. Tending to attract talent, enable creativity, and encourage disruptive thinking, cities are promoting new sources of employment and economic growth related to technological innovation.
• Circular economy and producing locally. Cities are adopting circular models based on a healthy circulation of resources and the principles of sharing, re-use and restoration.
• Mass participation. Local governments are acting as platforms for co-creation enabled by technology and promoting mass participation—that is citizens working in a collaborative ecosystem of academia, businesses, NGOs, and the public sector.
• Cybersecurity and privacy awareness. To cope with rising cyber risks and privacy issues, cities are creating robust cybersecurity strategies and policies in response to any cyber failure, data loss, financial impact, or major service disruption.
• Smart and sustainable buildings and infrastructure. By leveraging digital technologies, cities can use data to optimize energy consumption and the use of resources in buildings and utilities, including waste, water, and energy.
• City operations through AI. Using artificial intelligence, technology-powered infrastructure can support cities in automating operations, creating efficiencies, solving problems, and delivering better services.
• Surveillance and predictive policing through AI. Cities are aiming to carefully leverage technology to ensure public safety—such as automatic contact tracing—while paying special mind to citizen concerns and governance.

While recovery from the pandemic as well as the pressure of growing populations are key factors for cities, other relevant challenges must also be addressed by urban planners in order to create sustainable cities. 

3. These days, experts are calling for less words and more action. What from that perspective companies should aim for?

Companies have an increasing role in effecting positive change in society. To stay relevant in the marketplace, we help our clients lead sustainable businesses with actionable initiatives under the umbrella WorldImpact – focused on making a tangible impact on society’s biggest challenges and creating a better future. A future where trust in institutions and systems is restored and major societal challenges—systemic racial injustice, social inequality, climate change, and economic disruption—are addressed.

The idea of WorldImpact programs is to create partnerships, such as the one with Nordic Business Alliance, and to focus our collective energy to drive impact. Some initiatives in this program include:

a. Through WorldClass we aim to develop job skills, improve educational outcomes and expand opportunities for 100 million people worldwide by 2030. We believe we make the greatest impact when our people use their skills and knowledge to help individuals achieve their aspirations and reach their potential.

b. WorldClimate is our strategy to drive responsible climate choices within our organization and beyond. We are committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030, engaging our 345,000 professionals and collaborating with our clients and networks to address the climate crisis.

c. By focusing on making an impact every day, we support our people to engage with Communities year-round, addressing the issues that are most important locally. We support all of our people to volunteer in their communities.

d. Through our ALL IN global diversity and inclusion strategy we are focused on providing a respectful and inclusive everyday culture, alongside targeted interventions designed to enable diversity in all its forms. We want everyone at Deloitte and the societies where we operate to feel they can be themselves at work without fear of discrimination or prejudice, and to have equal

opportunities to grow, develop and succeed.