Deepa Rao — Sustainability, Governance & AI

About Deepa

Leading through
complexity with confidence

Chartered Accountant Governance Leader AI Governance Team Fortune 200 Leader BSI ISO Committee Board Advisor Big 4 Consulting Award-Winning ESG Team

Deepa Rao is the Environment & Sustainability Governance and Reporting expert. With 16+ years in internal audit, controls, and risk management, she transitioned into sustainbility practice by combining Chartered Accountant (CA) and Masters credentials with deep expertise in governance and sustainability reporting.

She serves as a advisor, board member and audit committee member at technology companies, start-ups and educational institutions, focusing on sustainability, audit/risk, and ethical AI use. As a BSI ISO Standards committee member, she shapes responsible AI and sustainability standards at a global level.

"Focus. Plan. Execute. — The principles behind every transformation I lead."

Years Experience

Global Stages

Enterprises Advised

Areas of Mastery

Where strategy
meets impact

ESG Governance & Strategy

Designing frameworks that embed sustainability into corporate DNA — from board-level policy to operational execution, aligned with CSRD, GRI, SASB, TCFD, regulatory reporting.

Sustainability Reporting

Expert navigation of CSRD, ESRS, SEC, GRI, and ISSB standards — translating complex regulatory requirements into investor-grade disclosures.

AI Governance & Ethics

Shaping responsible AI policies, ensuring accountability, integrity, and traceability across the AI lifecycle in corporate reporting.

Board & Audit Advisory

Board member and audit committee advisor at tech firms, start-ups and educational institutions — specializing in sustainability, risk, and ethical AI oversight.

Thought Leadership

Shaping global ESG and AI discourse through keynote addresses, panel moderation, white papers, and strategic advisory at C-suite and board level.

ESG Assurance & Compliance

Guiding organizations through assurance readiness — from comprehensive ESG data management systems to third-party verification and regulatory compliance.

Original Frameworks

Proprietary thinking
that drives the field

Deepa has developed two original frameworks that are redefining how organizations approach ESG governance and AI accountability. Download the playbooks and join the conversation shaping the future of responsible business.

TRUST

The TRUST Framework

Sustainability Reporting Governance

A five-pillar board-level governance model for sustainability reporting. TRUST provides the structural foundation for organizations to govern their ESG disclosures with rigour, transparency, and accountability — ensuring data integrity from collection to publication.

Transparency

Full visibility into data sources, assumptions, and methodologies behind ESG disclosures.

Responsibility

Clear governance roles and accountability chains from board to operational teams.

Understanding

Board sustainability literacy — ensuring leadership can interrogate and act on ESG data.

Security & Sustainability

Information system integrity underpinning reliable, audit-ready ESG reporting.

Trustworthiness

Independent validation enabling investors and stakeholders to rely on disclosures.

COSOCSRD GRISASB ESRS

View Framework Details

AIRS

The AIRS Framework

AI Governance in Corporate Reporting

A four-pillar model for governing AI-influenced disclosures in corporate reporting. AIRS addresses the critical gap in how organizations manage, disclose, and take accountability for AI's role in their sustainability and financial reporting processes.

Accountability

Clear ownership of AI-influenced outputs across the reporting lifecycle — from model to disclosure.

Integrity

Ensuring AI-generated data maintains accuracy, consistency, and freedom from bias.

Responsibility

Ethical deployment of AI tools and evolving regulatory standards.

Sustainability

Long-term traceability and auditability of AI processes embedded in corporate reporting.

AI ActSEC GRI

View Framework Details

More Papers

Further research in progress

A continuing body of research on governance, sustainability, and AI. New papers released each quarter.

Double Materiality in Practice

A practitioner's playbook on implementing double materiality assessments under CSRD — what boards, auditors, and sustainability teams need to align on.

Coming Q3

Greenwashing Risk Register

A structured framework for identifying, quantifying, and mitigating greenwashing exposure across disclosure, marketing, and product claims.

Coming Q3

Board Sustainability Literacy Toolkit

A diagnostic and development framework to assess and build board-level capability to interrogate ESG data, risks, and opportunities.

Coming Q4

AI & ESG Convergence Report

The annual field report mapping the intersection of responsible AI governance and sustainability reporting — benchmarks, case studies, risk signals.

Coming Q4

Internal Audit's ESG Mandate

How internal audit functions must evolve to become credible partners in ESG assurance — structure, skills, and scope of work.

In Research

ISO 42001 Implementation Guide

A step-by-step implementation pathway for ISO 42001 AI Management Systems — scoped for regulated industries and reporting entities.

In Research

The Audit Committee AI Charter

A model charter extending audit committee oversight to AI systems used in corporate reporting and controls.

In Research

Future Paper

Reserved for the next addition to the TRUST & AIRS research family. Subscribe to the newsletter to be notified on release.

Reserved

On the Global Stage

Speaking that
moves rooms

From London summits to international conferences, Deepa brings clarity, authority, and actionable insight to every stage.

ESG Fintech Summit · London

Integrated ESG Reporting in Financial Services

Workiva AMPLIFY

Panel: Driving efficiencies through AI

Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors

ESG Assurance & Internal Audit Alignment

Workiva AMPLIFY · Grand Stage

Cognizant · Beiersdorf · Lloyds Bank · CDP — Enterprise ESG Integration

Workiva AMPLIFY

Critical role of governance in providing trusted sustainability disclosures

Insights & Content

Ideas that inform
and inspire action

Podcasts & Webinars

Conversations that challenge

Podcasts

Webinars

Guest Appearance

Podcast · ESG & Governance

Nothing to Hide: The AI Governance Episode

Deepa joins the conversation on why AI governance and ESG reporting are fundamentally the same organisational challenge — and what to do about it.

Listen Soon →

Featured Speaker

Podcast · Sustainability Leadership

The Board Sustainability Literacy Gap

Why most boards still cannot interrogate ESG data effectively — and what governance professionals can do to change that before the next reporting cycle.

Listen Soon →

🎙

More Episodes Coming Invite to Your Podcast

Learning & Development

Courses built for
board-ready leaders

Structured learning programmes from Deepa's two decades at the intersection of governance, sustainability, and AI. Upload your materials to get started.

🏛

Foundational

ESG Governance Fundamentals

A structured introduction to ESG governance frameworks — covering GRI, SASB, TCFD, and how to build board-level oversight structures from scratch.

⏱ 6 Modules 📄 Workbooks Included

Coming Soon

🤖

Intermediate

AI Governance for Reporting Leaders

The AIRS Framework in depth — how to govern AI-influenced disclosures, build accountability chains, and align with ISO 42001 and emerging AI regulation.

⏱ 8 Modules 📄 AIRS Playbook

Coming Soon

📋

Advanced

CSRD Masterclass

A comprehensive programme on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive — double materiality assessment, ESRS adoption, and assurance readiness.

⏱ 10 Modules 📄 Templates & Tools

Coming Soon

🎯

Board Level

The TRUST Framework Programme

Implementing the five TRUST pillars across your organisation — designed for audit committees, NEDs, and sustainability officers building reporting governance.

⏱ 5 Modules 📄 TRUST Playbook

Coming Soon

🔍

Practitioner

ESG Assurance & Internal Audit

Positioning internal audit at the heart of ESG assurance — practical tools for risk assessment, data validation, and third-party verification readiness.

⏱ 7 Modules 📄 Audit Templates

Coming Soon

⚡

Executive

Sustainability Strategy for Executives

A concise, high-impact programme for C-suite leaders who need to lead ESG transformation — strategy, stakeholder communication, and board reporting.

⏱ 4 Modules 📄 Executive Briefings

Coming Soon

Be the first to know when courses go live

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DeepaRao

Leading through
complexity with confidence