Green Quadrant: ESG And Sustainability Consulting 2024

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Executive Summary

This report provides a detailed, fact-based benchmark of 17 of the most prominent ESG and sustainability consulting providers in the market. Based on the proprietary Verdantix Green Quadrant methodology, our analysis entailed two-hour live briefings, client interviews and consulting firm responses to a detailed 72-point questionnaire, covering five demonstrated capability and six momentum categories. Verdantix analysis finds that the ESG and sustainability consulting market has grown substantially, in terms of customer demand and the number of consulting firms in the market, over the last two years. This is due to many factors: regulatory movement; the evolving priorities of customers, employees, and investors; closer board scrutiny of ESG performance; competitive pressure; and an increasing risk of litigation and reputational damage. Among the providers featured in the Leaders’ Quadrant, four firms – BCG, ERM, EY and PwC – demonstrated the most comprehensive ESG and sustainability consulting capabilities. 
Environmental Consultants, JSW, Quentic, Quantitative Scientific Solutions (QS-2), Greenspector, Fertilizer Canada, Spadel, Accenture, ArcelorMittal, McDonald’s, Jungheinrich, British Land, ENCORE, Bristol Myers Squibb , Arcus Consultancy Services, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Bio-bean, Hank, Ensogo, Nippon Steel, Charlescannon, Greenly, B4SI, RWE, Rewired Earth, SESAMm, Diageo, RCG, Dataland, Context Labs, B Corp, CDP, Microsoft, Ramboll, Sodra, OCT Emissions Solutions, Alphabet, Chubb Insurance, Fortune, EY (Ernst & Young), KPMG, Envision Digital, Workiva, Rio Tinto, Zara, European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), Green Domus, conTREEbute, CO2 AI, Maple Leaf Foods, 23red, Rabobank, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Sysco, Metal One, Kayrros, Element Energy, BMW, City of Amsterdam, Capgemini, Williams, Possible Future, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Doconomy, Carbon Care Asia, Philips, Planet, Gulf Cooperation Council, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Thomson Reuters, Ndevr Environmental, IBI Group, acondas, LevelTen Energy, IBIS Consulting, BayWa r.e , AFARA, Oracle, CIRPASS (Collaborative Initiative for a Standards-based Digital Product Passport for Stakeholder-Specific Sharing of Product Data for a Circular Economy), DHL, DPS, Resultante Consultoria, Scottish Water, CPP Investment Board, Exiger, Hexaware Technologies, Frostbyte Consulting, Google, Mobica, MOBILITY ADO, Metabolic, Xpansiv, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Schneider Electric, IBM Envizi, Giftge Consult, NatureServe, Carbon13, McKinsey & Company, European Commission, Dentons, Ansell, SLR Consulting, Wolters Kluwer, HB Reavis, Enhesa, Alteryx, Schofer, Morrow Sodali, civity Management Consultants, Amdaris, WSP, OPTEL, Anthesis, HXE Partners, CDX, Hilti, SAP, Carlyle Group, Net Zero Financial Services Providers Alliance (NZFSPA), WWF, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Cority, Carnstone, BG Bonnard & Gardel, iPoint, Bayer, ANZ, Qmerit, Edrington, ENGIE, ESG, NextEra Energy, Chappuis Halder & Co., HydroNET, ServiceNow, VelocityEHS, US Agency for International Development (USAID), TUFLOW, ERM (Environmental Resources Management), Arcadis, MH Partners, Envio Systems, Water Platform Company (WPC), Breitling, Dominion Energy, Bank of America, PGGM, EPEAT Registry, EcoOnline, Africa Matters, Salesforce, LIGANOVA, CarbonChain, JLL, eIQ Mobility, Apollo, Sphera, Anaplan, Nestlé, Quantmetry, UN Development Programme (UNDP), Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW), Bapcor, Boohoo, Capita Real Estate and Infrastructure (REI), EYP Mission Critical Facilities, Eintracht Frankfurt, Nike, IBM, E4tech, Enablon, J.S. Held, John Wood Group, Birmingham City Council, Shell, Amazon, CRH, CoolPlanet, Crowley, Frazier Healthcare Partners, Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), ARIES (Artificial Intelligence for Environment and Sustainability), Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), Hilton, PACER, US Department of Energy, Chile Financial Market Commission (CMF), Smiths Group, Bureau Veritas, Jupiter, Planet Labs, Barclays, Attalea Partners, Bain & Company, AstraZeneca, DEKRA, Calibre, Merck, Pfizer, World Economic Forum (WEF), Turnkey, Fathom, Persefoni, Benchmark Gensuite, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Deloitte, Qube, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Xcel Energy, Corporate Citizenship, Watershed, Wallbrook, Spherity, Landmark, Unilever, Honeywell, Drax, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Orica, American Tire Distributors, EBS Advisory, UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), CLIMsystems, Intelex, Phidex, Enbridge, Royal Agrifirm Group, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, Coho, AquaCrop-OS, UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), PwC, Cognizant, Evolution Markets, Padd Energy, NINT, MidEuropa, Revolt

About the Authors

Priyanka Bawa

Priyanka Bawa

Senior Analyst

Priyanka is a Senior Analyst at Verdantix, where she leads research to enable sustainability leaders and services firms to analyse shifting market dynamics and evaluate innova…

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Elisa Molero

Elisa Molero

Industry Analyst

Elisa is an Industry Analyst at Verdantix, specializing in supply chain sustainability. Her research covers 100 vendors in the supply chain sustainability market, supporting b…

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Kim Knickle

Kim Knickle

Research Director

Kim Knickle is a Research Director at Verdantix, bringing more than two decades of analyst experience to the evolving world of sustainability. Her current research spans ESG a…

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