How Rayner Essex Is Embedding ESG Into Its Business

INPACT Member Spotlight: Rayner Essex’s journey toward Sustainability

Jenny is the Marketing Manager at Rayner Essex LLP, a UK-based member of INPACT Global. In addition to her role, she plays a key part in developing and implementing Rayner Essex’s sustainability strategy, as a member of the Sustainability Committee, helping to align the firm’s operations with broader environmental and social goals.

Introduction to Rayner Essex

Rayner Essex LLP is a full-service, mid-tier accountancy and advisory firm with offices in London and St Albans. With 8 Partners, 5 Directors, and over 90 employees, providing expert tax, audit and advisory services to businesses and individuals across the UK. As one of the UK members of INPACT Global, they are uniquely positioned to support clients with cross-border needs, helping international firms establish a presence in the UK, and vice versa. They are known for their practical, transparent advice delivered with a personal touch – and for their deep sense of responsibility to their people, clients, communities and the environment.

We spoke with Jenny, Rayner Essex’s Marketing Manager and member of its Sustainability Committee, about the firm’s growing commitment to sustainability and how these initiatives are being embedded across its culture and operations.

What motivated Rayner Essex to start promoting sustainability initiatives? Was it driven by internal values, external pressures, or a bit of both? How did the journey begin?

It was a bit of both. While there’s currently no regulatory obligation for firms of our size to report carbon emissions, we’ve seen a clear shift in expectations from clients, suppliers, and talent – particularly younger professionals – around how businesses operate and the values they stand for. Many of our clients are already being asked to report on their own emissions, or to work only with suppliers and advisers that demonstrate sustainable practices. We recognised early on that if we didn’t act, we’d be left behind. It wasn’t just about compliance; it was about doing the right thing and being responsible — making ethical choices and caring for our planet, our people and the communities we serve today and for future generations.

That’s what sparked the creation of our Sustainability Committee, made up of myself (Marketing Manager), Laith Hilfi (Partner), and Claire Barringer (Director of Accounting Solutions). We wanted to take tangible steps – starting with understanding our carbon footprint and reducing our impact. It’s grown into something much bigger, recognising the importance of aligning our ESG goals with our strategy and finding ways to reduce our carbon emissions and build a more responsible and sustainable business.

We’ve engaged with a sustainability partner, Ecologi, and have started aligning work with sustainability and social goals. It’s been a steep learning curve, but a crucial one.

What have been some of the biggest challenges in implementing sustainability initiatives at Rayner Essex?

Finding the time to do it properly, while juggling day-to-day responsibilities, has definitely been a challenge. I think there was a perception early on that we’d do the carbon footprint once and that would be it — job done. But we quickly realised that this was just the beginning.

The more we explored, the more we saw how sustainability touches everything — from procurement and IT, to attracting talent, staff wellbeing and community involvement. We’ve had to educate ourselves and the wider firm that this is an ongoing journey where we are only now starting to communicate these important areas.

Building momentum has taken a lot of work. But we now hold monthly Sustainability Committee meetings, and getting buy-in from partners and senior stakeholders has been key. We’ve built a good relationship with Ecologi, who’ve helped us understand how carbon reporting works, and how to build a carbon reduction plan aligned with best practice.

We’ve started updating our CSR website page to reflect our sustainability work, and recently published our first Carbon Footprint Report. Sustainability is not just about carbon reduction, we’re now aligning our strategy with five of the UN Sustainable Development Goals — covering climate action, health and wellbeing, education, equality, and decent work and economic growth — and this will shape our actions going forward. We’ve also started sharing our progress and journey to becoming a sustainable firm.

So I imagine you're beginning to share these efforts externally too. What does communication look like - internally and externally - at this stage of the sustainability journey?

Yes — we’ve published our first Carbon Footprint Report and included it on our website. It outlines our emissions baseline, key findings and the steps we’re already taking, from switching to 100% renewable energy to improving waste and procurement processes.

Internally, we started with a staff survey to capture commuting, home working and travel emissions. The feedback and data were hugely helpful, and we’ll repeat the survey this year to benchmark progress.

We’ve also been introducing the team to our ESG pillars, showing how sustainability goes beyond the environment — Over the next year, we’ll be integrating these more deeply into our firmwide strategy and communications.

It’s still early days — we’re learning as we go — but the response so far has been really positive. People want to be part of something meaningful.

What excites you the most about being involved in Rayner Essex’s sustainability journey?

Honestly, it’s seeing how far we’ve come already — and knowing there’s so much more we can do. What excites me is that this isn’t a tick-box exercise for us. We’re working on embedding sustainability into how we think, operate and grow.

We’re seeing the effects of climate change daily, and it’s made us realise we have to be kind to our planet, our people and those we serve. The more I learn, the more excited I get about new initiatives, partnerships and engaging staff. I’ve always been fairly environmentally conscious, but now I see how there is so much more we can do, and that’s inspiring and exciting.

I’m proud of the work we’ve done so far. I enjoy being the person who keeps things moving, summarises key points, and ensures that sustainability is seen as a strategic priority across the firm. We make small progress, but we’re changing our focus and embedding sustainability into our culture, which is really exciting.

I also love seeing how our efforts resonate with others — clients, employees, even mentees from mentoring schemes we’ve supported. When someone tells you that your support helped them land a training contract or gave them confidence in their career — that’s incredibly rewarding.

We’re just getting started, but we’re already making an impact. And that’s what drives me.

What advice would you give to a business or partner just beginning their sustainability journey?

Start now. Don’t wait until you’re forced to. Even if it’s not yet mandatory, sustainability is fast becoming a business essential — and clients, employees and regulators will all expect it.

It’s no longer enough to just offset your footprint or mention sustainability in passing. You need a real plan, actual data, and a long-term commitment. You also need to embed it into your culture, not just assign it to one person or one team.

I’d also say, don’t underestimate the brand value. People want to work with and for businesses that care. Sustainability boosts engagement, reputation and trust. From tenders to recruitment, it’s a differentiator.

And most importantly — this is about being a responsible business. As accountants, we help clients manage risk and compliance. That now includes climate risk and ESG readiness. It’s our responsibility to lead by example.

Partner, Laith Hilfi, who has been actively involved in leading Rayner Essex’s sustainability efforts, reflects on the significance of this milestone:

“Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’ — it’s a vital part of how responsible firms must operate. Our Carbon Footprint report is our declaration of intent. It formalises the steps we’ve already taken and lays out our roadmap to becoming a more sustainable business. As trusted advisers, we believe it’s our duty to help our clients navigate risk and compliance in a changing world — and that means setting the standard ourselves.”

We also spoke with Antony Federer, Partner at Rayner Essex & President of INPACT EMEAA who shared his perspective:

“Sustainability is about more than reducing emissions — it’s about making a lasting contribution to the world we operate in and is a shared global responsibility. At Rayner Essex, we recognise our duty to lead with integrity, to drive positive change, and to support a thriving planet for generations to come. Every step we take now helps build a more responsible, resilient future for our people, clients, and communities. We are proud of the progress we’ve made so far and remain fully committed to reducing our carbon footprint and to embedding responsible practices into everything we do .”
— Antony Federer, Partner at Rayner Essex & Vice President, INPACT EMEAA