The Verdantix ESG & Sustainability Consulting Green Quadrant: A Rapidly Evolving Market

The Verdantix ESG & Sustainability Consulting Green Quadrant: A Rapidly Evolving Market

The recently released 2022 Verdantix Green Quadrant assesses fifteen ESG and Sustainability consulting firms and their capabilities. Our research included two-hour live briefings, desktop research, vendor responses to a 97-point questionnaire and findings from our Global Corporate Survey of 400 ESG and sustainability senior executives. What are the key insights from the benchmark of ESG and sustainability consulting firms?

Few firms can deliver depth and breadth across all of the capabilities we included in the Verdantix definition of ESG & Sustainability consulting. Only four firms positioned in the Leaders’ Quadrant – ERM, EY, PwC, and WSP - demonstrated the most advanced all-round ESG and sustainability consulting capabilities. ERM, EY and PwC all scored above average in at least 13 of the 15 capabilities areas assessed. WSP exhibited market leading capabilities in environment & resource management and GHG emissions & carbon management. The fact that only four firms managed to be positioned in the Leaders’ Quadrant showcases the difficulty in providing an holistic service across the multiple sub-segments in the ESG & Sustainability consulting market. 

Firms seeking ESG & sustainability services often evaluate their options based on current needs, rather than selecting a single partner. Buyers need to focus on what type of ESG & Sustainability consulting service they are seeking and choose the correct firm accordingly – as there are a range of firms who are leading the market in each sub-sector with eight different firms demonstrating market-leading capabilities in at least one sub-sector. Thus, corporates are seeking multiple ESG and Sustainability consulting firms at the same time for different projects. 

The ESG & Sustainability consulting market is still rapidly evolving. The fifteen firms included in the benchmark are sitting in a strong position to continue to grow in the market, but there is still a great opportunity for other firms to enter the growing market. Consulting firms need to invest in high quality talent and conduct digital innovation to build and maintain a competitive offering in the market.

To learn more about the fifteen most prominent ESG and Sustainability consultancy firms in the market, read the full report: Green Quadrant: ESG & Sustainability Consulting 2022