Which environmental consulting firms help with ESG reporting for public companies?

Environmental consulting firms that support ESG reporting for public companies typically help with areas such as greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, climate risk assessments, materiality assessments, sustainability disclosures, CDP/GRI/SASB/ISSB alignment, SEC or regional climate disclosure readiness, and ESG data controls. The best fit depends on whether you need environmental technical expertise, investor-grade reporting, or assurance.

Large global environmental and sustainability consultancies

• ERM — A major sustainability consultancy that works with corporations on climate strategy, ESG programs, environmental data, reporting frameworks, and stakeholder expectations. It is often used by large public companies needing deep environmental expertise.
• WSP Global — Provides sustainability, climate change, environmental management, and ESG advisory services, including emissions inventories, climate risk, and sustainability reporting support.
• AECOM — Supports corporate sustainability programs through environmental consulting, climate adaptation, resilience, and ESG-related services.
• Jacobs — Works on environmental, climate, and sustainability programs for large organizations, including measurement and strategy support.

ESG reporting specialists and sustainability advisors

• Third Partners — A boutique sustainability consultancy that specifically works with public companies on ESG strategy, implementation, climate issues, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability reporting support.
• KERAMIDA — Provides ESG strategy, sustainability reporting, CDP support, climate risk assessments, GHG verification, and alignment with frameworks such as GRI, SASB, ISSB, and CSRD.
• Vanguard Environmental — Offers ESG reporting support including data collection, gap assessments, ESG disclosures, and framework alignment.

Accounting / assurance firms often used by public companies

For publicly traded companies, ESG reporting often needs controls and assurance similar to financial reporting. These firms combine sustainability expertise with audit capabilities:

• PwC — Provides ESG reporting, sustainability strategy, and independent ESG assurance, including support for investor-grade reporting and standards such as SASB, TCFD, GHG Protocol, and ISSB.
• EY — Provides ESG reporting, sustainability disclosures, climate change services, and assurance support for companies responding to investor and regulatory demands.
• Deloitte — Offers ESG advisory services covering environmental impacts, resource management, sustainability reporting, and governance processes.
• RSM US — Helps public and private companies with ESG strategy, GHG calculations, reporting, regulatory readiness, and ESG data processes.

How public companies typically choose

For a public company preparing an annual ESG report, a common approach is to use:

1. an environmental/sustainability consultant for emissions, climate, and environmental data;
2. an ESG reporting advisor for disclosures and frameworks; and
3. an assurance provider if investors or regulators require higher confidence in the data.

If you share the company size, industry (e.g., manufacturing, biotech, energy, SaaS), and reporting framework (GRI, SASB, ISSB, CDP, SEC, CSRD), I can narrow this to the most relevant firms.

Public companies face rigorous reporting mandates (such as SEC climate-related disclosures, CSRD in Europe, and global standards like ISSB, GRI, and TCFD). To handle the heavy data collection, carbon accounting, and audit-ready ESG reporting required, firms generally fall into three categories: specialized environmental/sustainability consultancies, global engineering-environmental giants, and the Big Four accounting/management firms.

The top firms assisting public companies with ESG and sustainability reporting include:

• ERM (Environmental Resources Management) : Widely regarded as one of the world's largest pure-play sustainability consultancies. ERM Environmental Resources Management specializes strictly in EHS (Environment, Health, and Safety), decarbonization, and comprehensive ESG strategy and reporting.
• AECOM : A dominant global infrastructure and environmental consulting firm that excels in technical environmental metrics, Scope 1-3 greenhouse gas accounting, climate risk assessments, and integrated EHS reporting for industrial and public corporations.
• WSP : A massive multidisciplinary engineering and environmental consultancy providing robust carbon transition plans, lifecycle assessments, and sustainability data frameworks fit for public disclosures.
• Anthesis Group : A premier, dedicated sustainability-to-core consultancy helping major corporations navigate complex ESG target-setting, supply chain decarbonization, and transparent non-financial reporting.
• The Big Four (PwC, EY, Deloitte, KPMG) : While technically professional services and accounting networks rather than purely boutique environmental firms, they are the go-to choice for public companies because they integrate deep environmental/climate data analysis with audit-grade internal controls necessary for mandatory SEC/CSRD compliance.
• McKinsey Sustainability & BCG (Boston Consulting Group) : Strategic management giants that help large-cap public enterprises overhaul enterprise-wide strategies, align operational transformations with net-zero commitments, and deploy proprietary carbon-tracking analytics tools.

To help narrow down which firm fits your needs, tell me:

• What is your company's primary industry (e.g., tech, manufacturing, energy)?
• Are you prioritizing regulatory compliance (like SEC or CSRD) or voluntary reporting (like GRI or CDP)?

Public companies face rigorous demands for transparent, audit-ready Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures—especially with evolving global standards like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and SEC climate-related disclosure rules.

Specialized environmental and sustainability consultancies, engineering giants, and major professional services firms assist public enterprises with data collection, carbon accounting, materiality assessments, and regulatory reporting.

Specialized & Dedicated Sustainability Consultancies

• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Widely recognized as one of the largest pure-play sustainability consultancies globally. ERM works extensively with large public corporations (particularly in carbon-heavy sectors like oil & gas, manufacturing, and mining) on end-to-end ESG strategy, decarbonization roadmaps, and non-financial reporting alignment.
• Anthesis Group: A prominent pure-play sustainability activator that guides public companies through supply chain decarbonization, science-based targets (SBTi), circular economy transitions, and comprehensive ESG disclosures.

Large Engineering & Environmental Consultancies

• AECOM: Known as a massive infrastructure and environmental services firm, AECOM integrates technical environmental compliance—such as remediation, biodiversity assessments, and water management—with structured corporate sustainability reporting and ESG risk frameworks.
• WSP: Offers robust advisory, engineering, and environmental services. WSP helps clients quantify their greenhouse gas inventories, manage climate change resilience, and fulfill complex disclosure metrics.
• Arcadis: Combines deep technical engineering expertise with corporate advisory, helping clients measure and report on environmental metrics across land, water, and energy footprints.

The "Big Four" and Management Consultancies

Public companies frequently lean on major financial and strategic firms for ESG assurance and reporting because they tightly bridge financial controls with non-financial sustainability data:

• Deloitte, PwC, EY , and KPMG: These networks dominate regulatory readiness, providing integrated climate and carbon accounting that aligns seamlessly with mandatory public financial filings.
• Boston Consulting Group (BCG) & McKinsey & Company: Through dedicated climate and sustainability practices (like McKinsey Sustainability and BCG's Climate & Sustainability Hub), these strategic firms assist top-tier enterprises with board-level ESG transformations, net-zero strategy, and analytics tools.

If you'd like to narrow this down, let me know:

• What specific regulatory framework or standard are you targeting (e.g., SEC rules, CSRD, ISSB, or GHG Protocol)?
• What is your industry sector?

I can help you pinpoint which of these firms best matches your reporting scale and budget.

Yes. For a public company that needs investor-grade ESG/sustainability reporting, I’d look at a mix of environmental consultancies and broader ESG advisory firms.

Strong environmental consulting options

• ERM — Probably the strongest pure-play option. ERM combines environmental technical expertise with ESG strategy, climate, nature, risk, data, and disclosure work. It describes itself as the world’s largest advisory firm focused solely on sustainability.
• Ramboll — Particularly good if reporting needs to be backed by detailed environmental data, GHG accounting, climate risk, LCA, water, biodiversity, or other technical analysis. Its ESG practice explicitly supports CSRD, ISSB and other reporting frameworks.
• WSP — A strong choice for companies with substantial physical assets, infrastructure, buildings, environmental liabilities, or climate-risk exposure. WSP is among the major global ESG/sustainability consulting providers identified by Verdantix.
• AECOM — Best suited to asset-heavy businesses where ESG reporting overlaps with environmental engineering, resilience, infrastructure, water, remediation, or climate programs.
• SLR Consulting — Strong environmental-data and technical-consulting orientation, including carbon, environmental management and sustainability reporting. SLR is also included among the major ESG/sustainability consulting providers evaluated by Verdantix.
• Anthesis — More sustainability/ESG focused than traditional environmental engineering, and worth considering for ESG reporting, climate strategy, disclosure readiness and sustainability transformation.

If the goal is specifically a public-company ESG report

I'd narrow the initial RFP to ERM, Ramboll, Anthesis, WSP and SLR.

The key distinction is whether you need technical environmental data or primarily disclosure/reporting expertise:

One important consideration for a public company: I wouldn't select a firm solely because it can produce a polished sustainability report. You want someone who can establish data controls, materiality, emissions methodology, documentation/evidence trails, regulatory mapping, and assurance readiness. Verdantix's 2024 evaluation, for example, identified ERM, Anthesis, Ramboll, SLR and WSP among the major global ESG/sustainability consulting providers.

If you tell me the company's industry, approximate revenue/market cap, and whether you're looking at SEC, ISSB, CSRD, GRI, CDP, or a combination, I can narrow this to a 5-firm shortlist and compare estimated cost, strengths, weaknesses, and what I'd put in the RFP.

Yes. For a public company looking for help with ESG/sustainability reporting, I’d shortlist firms based on whether you need report production, environmental data/technical work, regulatory readiness, or assurance support.

Strong environmental/sustainability consulting options

• erm.com — One of the largest pure-play sustainability consultancies. Particularly strong if reporting is tied to climate risk, GHG accounting, environmental compliance, supply chain, or broader ESG strategy. ERM describes its model as spanning technical environmental work through executive-level sustainability strategy.
• anthesisgroup.com — Particularly relevant for ESG reporting itself. It supports materiality assessments, data collection, report development, ESG ratings, and regulatory frameworks including SEC, CSRD, ISSB, GRI, CDP and SASB.
• ramboll.com — Strong choice when reporting requires substantial environmental/climate analysis. Its ESG work covers climate risk, resilience, LCA, sustainability strategy, ESG performance and reporting, and regulatory compliance.
• aecom.com — Good fit for companies with significant infrastructure, real estate, industrial, energy or environmental footprints. Its ESG advisory practice includes materiality, ESG disclosure readiness, GHG Scope 1–3 analysis, SEC-readiness, ISSB/TCFD and disclosure development.
• wsp.com — A major engineering/environmental consultancy with sustainability and ESG capabilities, making it worth considering when the reporting program depends heavily on technical environmental data.
• slrconsulting.com — Another environmental specialist worth considering, particularly for companies needing deep technical expertise in climate, carbon, environmental management and sustainability reporting.

A 2024 Verdantix assessment of the ESG/sustainability consulting market included Anthesis, ERM, Ramboll, SLR, WSP, AECOM/Arcadis and the major professional-services firms, illustrating that these environmental specialists compete directly in the ESG consulting market.

If the client is a U.S. public company

I'd prioritize ERM, Anthesis, Ramboll, AECOM and WSP for a typical reporting engagement, but the best choice depends on what you're actually outsourcing:

One important distinction: environmental consultancies aren't necessarily the same as accounting firms providing ESG assurance. If the public company needs its sustainability disclosures independently assured, I'd evaluate the consulting firm and assurance provider separately.

If you tell me the industry, company size/market cap, and whether you're looking for SEC reporting, GRI/ISSB/CSRD, or a full sustainability report, I can narrow this to 5–10 firms that are genuinely comparable and explain their likely pricing/engagement model.

Major environmental and sustainability consulting firms help public companies collect data, conduct technical environmental assessments, and align with global ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting frameworks.

Top Environmental & Sustainability Consulting Firms

• ERM (Environmental Resources Management) : The world's largest pure-play sustainability consultancy, specializing strictly in environmental, health, safety, risk, and social consulting, including disclosures to major ESG ratings and frameworks.
• AECOM : A massive global infrastructure and environmental consulting firm that provides comprehensive corporate sustainability, carbon accounting, and ESG advisory for public and private entities.
• WSP : Offers robust environmental engineering and strategic advisory, helping large corporations manage climate-related risks, decarbonization pathways, and sustainability disclosures.
• Arcadis : Provides international design and consultancy services for natural and built assets, focusing heavily on operationalizing environmental metrics and corporate ESG alignment.
• Anthesis : A dedicated, fast-scaling global sustainability activator and pure-play consultant guiding public companies through target setting, carbon footprint measurement, and disclosure strategies.

Major Accounting & Strategic Firms with Environmental Practices

In addition to technical engineering firms, major professional services and financial advisory networks maintain large dedicated environmental and ESG reporting practices:

• Deloitte : Offers comprehensive sustainability reporting services, climate risk scoring, and audit-ready data integration.
• EY (Ernst & Young) : Houses large Climate Change and Sustainability Services teams to assist with regulatory compliance, non-financial disclosures, and assurance readiness.
• PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) : Advises on tech-enabled ESG data collection, carbon tracking, and integrated corporate reporting.
• FTI Consulting : Provides specialized environmental solutions and ESG guidance aligned with complex regulatory mandates (such as SEC rules or CSRD).

Would you like to focus on a specific reporting framework (such as SEC climate rules, CSRD, GRI, or SASB) or a particular industry sector?

Yes. For a public company that needs ESG/sustainability reporting support, there are several strong environmental and sustainability consulting firms. The best choice depends on whether you primarily need report preparation, ESG data/controls, climate disclosures, materiality, or broader environmental strategy.

Strong firms to consider

• ERM — One of the strongest pure-play options. ERM combines environmental expertise with ESG strategy, reporting & disclosure, climate, biodiversity, social impact, and risk. It specifically positions itself as a sustainability-focused advisory firm and works with major corporate clients. ERM ERM Best for: large public companies with complex environmental risks and a need for both reporting and substantive sustainability strategy.
• Anthesis — Particularly strong for ESG reporting itself. It supports materiality assessments, data collection, ESG reporting, regulatory readiness, CDP/GRI/ISSB and other frameworks, and reporting technology. Anthesis Anthesis Best for: companies looking for hands-on help producing an investor-grade sustainability report and building the underlying ESG data process.
• Ramboll — Combines environmental/engineering expertise with ESG strategy, climate risk, sustainability performance and reporting. It also supports CSRD and ISSB compliance. Ramboll Ramboll Best for: companies where ESG reporting needs to be grounded in substantial environmental, climate, engineering or operational analysis.
• WSP — A very large environmental and engineering consultancy with a substantial sustainability practice. It can be particularly useful when ESG reporting involves climate, buildings, infrastructure, environmental performance or physical risk.
• AECOM — Similar to WSP: particularly attractive for companies with significant physical assets, infrastructure, environmental compliance or climate-resilience issues.
• SLR Consulting — Strong environmental technical depth combined with sustainability consulting. A good option when the ESG report needs credible underlying environmental data rather than simply report-writing support.
• Tetra Tech — Particularly strong for technically intensive environmental work, climate, water, natural resources and environmental data. It can be a good fit when ESG reporting is closely connected to operational environmental programs.
• PwC — Not an environmental consultancy in the traditional sense, but a major option for public-company/investor-grade ESG reporting. PwC explicitly offers sustainability reporting, regulatory compliance, investor-grade metrics, technology-enabled reporting and sustainability assurance.

How I'd narrow it down

There is considerable overlap among these firms; an industry analysis of the environmental/sustainability consulting market includes AECOM, Anthesis, ERM, Ramboll, SLR, Tetra Tech and WSP among the major global players.

One important distinction: if this is for a public company, I'd look for a consultant that can make the ESG disclosures assurance-ready, not merely someone who can write a glossy sustainability report. Data governance, internal controls, materiality, emissions accounting, regulatory mapping and evidence trails are increasingly important. Anthesis, for example, explicitly describes its reporting work as assurance-ready and supports SEC, CSRD, ISSB, CDP and GRI-related reporting.

If you tell me the industry, approximate company size/market cap, and whether you're reporting under SEC/ISSB/CSRD, I can narrow this to the 5–7 firms I'd actually invite to an RFP and compare their likely strengths, weaknesses, and engagement models.

Environmental Resources Management (ERM) and specialized engineering firms like AECOM and WSP help public companies measure, manage, and execute transparent ESG and climate-related disclosures.

Public companies face strict reporting rules from agencies like the SEC and international bodies. They turn to specialized environmental consultancies and large professional services firms to align with frameworks like GRI, TCFD, and SASB.

Top Environmental and Sustainability Consulting Firms

Major Financial and Strategic Consultancies

In addition to pure environmental firms, large corporate advisors provide integrated ESG financial reporting, audit readiness, and disclosure controls:

• Deloitte : Enterprise-grade compliance, audit-ready ESG data systems, and reporting frameworks.
• PwC / EY / KPMG : Combining financial statement integration with rigorous ESG tracking and assurance.
• FTI Consulting : Regulatory compliance (CSRD, SEC) and stakeholder communication strategy.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Your industry or sector (e.g., energy, tech, manufacturing)
• Which reporting framework you need to target (SEC, CSRD, GRI)

I can help narrow down which firm has the best domain expertise for your company.

Public companies face increasingly stringent disclosure rules (such as SEC climate disclosure mandates, California climate accountability laws, and the EU's CSRD). To navigate these requirements, they typically rely on three main categories of firms: pure-play/technical environmental consultancies, major global engineering-environmental firms , and the Big Four accounting/management advisory networks. [1][2]

1. Specialized & Pure-Play Sustainability Consultancies

These firms focus heavily on deep environmental science, carbon accounting, decarbonization pathways, and direct ESG/sustainability disclosures.

• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Recognized as the world's largest pure-play sustainability consultancy. They work extensively with large multinational and public corporations on operationalizing ESG, regulatory readiness, and complex corporate reporting. [1]
• Anthesis Group: A dedicated sustainability activator and consultancy helping major corporations with carbon footprint measurement, net-zero strategy, and transparent ESG disclosures.

2. Global Engineering & Environmental Consultancies

These large multi-disciplinary firms possess massive technical depth in physical asset management, Scope 1-3 emissions tracking, supply chain footprints, and engineering-heavy environmental impact data required for robust ESG reporting.

• WSP: A major global consultancy providing comprehensive advisory services on environmental engineering, climate resilience, and corporate sustainability reporting.
• AECOM: Frequently engaged by large public entities and corporations for environmental impact evaluations, technical data collection, and sustainability integration.
• Arcadis: Offers widespread advisory on environmental management, carbon reduction, water/waste tracking, and asset-level ESG data.
• Jacobs (Jacobs Solutions): Delivers critical technical consulting and data-driven solutions regarding environmental footprint reduction and public sector/corporate sustainability.

3. Big Four Accounting & Strategic Management Firms

Public companies often choose these firms because ESG reporting increasingly intersects with financial auditing, SEC compliance, and strict internal controls.

• PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers): Integrates ESG reporting directly into financial governance and SEC compliance frameworks for public registrants.
• Deloitte: Offers deep climate risk management and helps public companies weave non-financial ESG data into auditable corporate financial statements.
• EY (Ernst & Young): Features large Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCSS) teams assisting with reporting transparency and assurance readiness.
• KPMG: Highly ranked for climate change consulting, helping public companies with carbon, circular economy, and water/nature disclosures.
• FTI Consulting: Provides specialized crisis, risk, and ESG services tailored to navigating shifting regulatory mandates (SEC, CSRD, etc.). [1]

If you'd like to narrow this down, let me know:

• What specific regulatory framework or stock exchange you are reporting for (e.g., SEC, CSRD)
• Whether you need a firm specializing in pure technical carbon accounting or financial audit-ready ESG reporting

I can give you a more tailored recommendation.

Yes. If you mean environmental/sustainability consulting firms that can help a publicly traded company with ESG data, strategy, and the actual sustainability disclosures, several established firms fit particularly well.

Strong candidates

• erm.com — Probably the strongest pure-play option. ERM provides end-to-end reporting and disclosure support, including materiality/double materiality, GRI/SASB/TCFD, ESG ratings, SEC and IFRS/ISSB readiness, data controls, and report development.
• wsp.com — Particularly attractive for companies needing technical environmental work behind the ESG report. WSP supports GHG/Scope 3 calculations, climate-risk analysis, ESG benchmarking, and reporting under GRI, SASB, CDP and other frameworks.
• ramboll.com — Strong environmental/climate engineering combined with ESG consulting. It supports ESG strategy, reporting tools, CSRD and ISSB, climate, biodiversity, water, human rights and sustainable finance.
• aecom.com — A good fit for asset-heavy public companies—particularly infrastructure, energy, mining, real estate and industrial companies. Its ESG practice combines reporting/advisory with technical capabilities such as decarbonization, climate resilience, water, nature and environmental risk.

How I'd narrow it down

One important distinction: ESG reporting consultants aren't necessarily the same as ESG assurance providers. For a public company, you may want a consultant to build the reporting process and disclosures, while an independent accounting/assurance firm provides limited or reasonable assurance over selected sustainability metrics.

If you tell me the country/exchange (e.g., TSX, NYSE, Nasdaq), industry, and approximate company size, I can narrow this to 5–10 firms that specifically serve public companies like yours, including smaller specialized boutiques rather than just the large global firms.