With the development of this report, we have taken the opportunity to pause and reflect on the last few years at Accenture. Among many things that stand out for us is the fact that, against the backdrop of today's increasingly complex, fast-changing and interconnected global business environment, Accenture remains a company committed to making a sustainable, measureable difference to the world in which we work and live. We believe profoundly that a company's business purpose is most powerful when it aligns with the company's potential for broader societal impact.

Accenture's long-standing involvement in corporate citizenship means that, as we help our clients achieve high performance, we also focus on our people and the communities in which we live and work. Guided by our strong culture and enduring core values, we take thoughtful actions to bring positive change—for today and for the future.

For us, corporate citizenship is an ongoing journey, and we are proud of our progress in the last few years: from the impact of our Skills to Succeed initiatives, to our innovative use of Telepresence, to the collective efforts of our people—our more than 246,000* men and women around the world, who bring our corporate citizenship goals to life in the marketplace.

At Accenture, we are making a measurable impact across the five pillars of our corporate citizenship strategy: Corporate Governance, Skills to Succeed, Environment, Our People and Supply Chain. Here are some highlights of what we've accomplished since we published our last corporate citizenship report in 2010:

Corporate Governance. We have put in place a number of new policies and practices to ensure that all of our employees, contractors and suppliers follow the highest ethical standards. For example, our refreshed Code of Business Ethics includes 58 "action statements" that synthesize the conduct we expect of our employees and our leadership.

Skills to Succeed. In 2010, we set an overarching goal for our Skills to Succeed impact: By 2015, we will equip 250,000 people around the world with skills to get a job or build a business. Today, we are proud to report that we are nearly two-thirds of the way toward achieving this goal. Our people are involved in more than 200 initiatives aimed at building skills that will enable people around the world to participate in and contribute to the global economy.

Environment. Our environmental strategy spans the entire business—from internal operations, to the sustainability services we provide clients, to how we engage with suppliers and employees. In our 2011 Team Eco Challenge, more than 160 teams, representing more than 1,400 employees, committed to reduce more than 3,300 metric tons of carbon. As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce Accenture's environmental footprint, we are working closely with our global network of employees, clients and suppliers to accelerate our journey toward more sustainable operations and a smaller environmental footprint.

Our People. We know that our people are the key to our differentiation in the marketplace. We remain focused on building a strong, diverse and dynamic workforce with the experience, skills, passion and energy to deliver high performance. In our last fiscal year, which ended August 31, 2011, we invested more than US$800 million in training and developing our people. Accenture has long been recognized as a great place to build a career in nearly every major country in which we operate, and we continue to be a highly attractive career choice to prospective employees around the world—we receive more than 2 million resumes annually.

Supply Chain. As a global company, Accenture has a responsibility to encourage sustainable business practices, as well as inclusion and diversity, among our thousands of suppliers around the world. In fiscal 2011, 98 percent of Accenture Procurement-issued RFPs included environmental questionnaires. Additionally, the percentage of our total US procurement spend with diverse suppliers in fiscal 2011 rose to 23 percent from 21 percent the previous year.

On a final note, as we prepared this report, we sought feedback from a number of our stakeholders—clients, employees and third-party organizations with whom we work closely on our corporate citizenship agenda. In addition to many specific suggestions, they consistently asked that we be realistic about our goals, achievements and potential roadblocks. We've tried to do just that in providing a thorough and transparent summary of our activities.

We hope this report provides a sense of our deep and unwavering commitment to corporate citizenship. We are on a journey—and we recognize that we must continue to examine how we can raise our game, challenge ourselves and ask the questions that we must address together as businesses, employees and stakeholders. Our ability to make an even bigger impact depends on it.