The current linear “take, make and dispose” economic model is not sustainable, therefore we need to move towards a circular economy. The society faces a major challenge and as experts and advisors to the society, the consultancy companies play a key role in the transition. The purpose of this study was to investigate how a consultancy company work with the circular economy concept today and how the concept further can be integrated into the company to meet future challenges. Qualitative interviews with eleven representatives from the consultancy company Ramboll were made. All the interviews were recorded and the collected data was analyzed in a qualitative analysis. The results showed a high awareness of the circular economy concept and that Ramboll can offer customers help in their progress towards a circular economy. The demand of circular services is currently low but it will probably increase in the future, both with respect to existing services but also new types of assignments.To meet the future demand the company needs to ensure knowledge within the company, raise awareness and concretize the concept throughout the company. The Nordic countries have an opportunity to be the forerunner in the transition to a circular economy but to do so, one must focus on the issue. If Sweden seriously starts to strive for a circular economy, much help and support will be needed and the consulting companies can be very helpful if they are prepared and have the competence.

Unemployment rate is all time low in Europe and this results in shortage of skilled workers. At same time technology changes are on their boom which puts new requirements of skills including diversifying competencies. The companies like consultancy faces issues to find right people with right skills and at right time. This unavailability of resources impacts the strategic goal of company. Smaller companies need to compete with mid-size and large companies over the same skilled workforce. Due to the lack of branding and company recognition, this can cripple the companies to grow and gather a completive advantage. Previous work has failed to address this issue, especially related to the smaller IT consultancies which is the fastest growing segment. The 99% of all business in Europe represents by small or medium size companies. IT consultancy companies represented the most growing and major contributor in value creation in information and communication sector in Europe. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to answer in what way the low unemployment rate affects the strategical process and execution for small IT consultancy companies. Furthermore, this study looked into the role of recruitment process to attract and retain skilled employees. A qualitative approach combined with semi-structured interviews was used as the main methodology to gather empirical data and answer the key problems of this study. The semi-structured interviews were chosen due to the possibility to give the interviewers a freedom to speak and explain moderately, especially strategy processes, which are different from one company to other ones. This study found that small IT consultancy companies had little or no formal structure in the strategical processes in relation to the literature available in the topic, but still highlighted and expressed that strategy is important for the companies. Although if small IT companies want to grow, they must rethink the organizational structure. All studied companies are providing high salaries, freedom of work, technology learning, and job satisfaction as a key tool to attract talent. All companies in general asked the most critical questions on how to grow their business with the basis of their own limitations. Unfortunately, none of the companies reviewed and monitored their objectives on frequent and regular basis.  This study found that the low unemployment rate plays a critical role which can increase the profit margin, but cannot increase the number of employees and potentially minimize the importance of the strategical process. The study also found that low unemployment rate creates a healthy competitive environment where all large and small consultancy companies enables each other to grow instead of competing.

The aim of the thesis is to propose a change of strategy of corporate social responsibility at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The first partial goal is to analyse the current PwC employees' attitude to current activities of social responsibility at PwC. The online questionnaire is used to analyse employees 'opinions and ideas. Subsequently, the questionnaires will be analysed using statistical methods. The second sub-objective is to compare these activities with other companies of Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG). The third sub-objective is to evaluate the effect of parent companies for socially responsible behaviour in the field of consulting. Finally, the changes of the corporate social responsibility strategy at PwC will be proposed. Moreover, thanks to my collaboration with CSR coordinator at PwC, the proposed changes will be followed by implementation at PwC.

Background: Since the 1960s, the notion of sustainability has gained worldwide significance, including environmental issues, and advocating for sustainable economic development. Businesses have a crucial role in reducing environmental effects, motivated by pressure from stakeholders such as governments and shareholders. While environmental and economic sustainability receive significant attention, the social aspect often receives less attention. Social sustainability involves creating equitable social systems and ensuring ethical practices, employee well-being, and diversity. Sustainability Consultancy Companies (SCCs) assist firms in integrating sustainability into their daily operations. Nevertheless, SCCs must comply with social sustainability principles, ensuring that they implement the same values they advocate for to maintain their reputation and establish industry benchmarks.   Purpose: The purpose of this research is to determine the extent to which Sustainability Consulting Companies (SCCs) are implementing sustainable practices within their daily operations.  We are investigating whether SCCs possess the necessary knowledge, expertise, and in-depth understanding of issues related to social sustainability practices. Our research aims to provide practitioners with knowledge and awareness of how SCCs perceive social sustainability and to what extent they implement social sustainability practices.    Method: This thesis employed a qualitative research approach, incorporating relevant literature, peer-reviewed articles, and semi-structured interviews. Through the semi-structured interviews conducted with various Sustainability Consultancy Companies (SCCs), employees, and a CEO, we were able to gather varying perspectives and professional insights on social sustainability issues.   Conclusion: The findings of this research indicate that although most SCCs had knowledge on social sustainability issues and practices, only a limited number of levels in Carroll’s CSR Pyramid were fulfilled. Furthermore, while the SCCs consider social sustainability as the missing pillar, there is a limited focus on implementing social sustainability in comparison to the other pillars of sustainability.