HFS Horizons: Sustainability Services, 2024

The HFS Horizons: Sustainability Services, 2024 report is for chief sustainability officers, ESG leaders, and sourcing executives evaluating service providers to scale decarbonization and ESG transformation.

Overview

HFS Horizons: Sustainability Services, 2024 is a competitive assessment of consulting, technology, engineering, and business services providers supporting enterprise sustainability transformation. It applies the HFS Horizons framework, classifying providers into Horizon 1 Disruptors, Horizon 2 Enterprise Innovators, and Horizon 3 Market Leaders by innovation scope and value aspiration, and introduces HFS Research’s Critical Mass for Sustainability concept, the alignment of policy, consumer behavior, and business needed to reach sustainability’s positive tipping points. The assessment draws on briefings with 25 providers, reference checks with 28 clients and 33 partners, and HFS Pulse survey data covering roughly 600 service provider ratings.

Key findings

1. HFS Research assessed 25 service providers and named nine Horizon 3 Market Leaders, in alphabetical order: Accenture, Capgemini, ERM, EY, IBM, Infosys, KPMG, TCS, and Wipro, each distinguished by strength in sustainability strategy and decarbonization.
2. ERM completed 14 acquisitions in the three years leading up to 2024 to expand its sector expertise, geographic footprint, and technology partnerships.
3. The 25 assessed providers reported average dedicated sustainability services revenue of approximately $900 million, serving roughly 2,000 dedicated clients with an average relationship tenure of 2.5 years.
4. Across a client survey of 24 respondents and a partner survey of 33 respondents, clients rated providers’ sustainability consulting services at 3.6 out of 5, below providers’ own 4.1 self-rating and partners’ 4.3.
5. In HFS Pulse research spanning 392 Global 2000 executives, ESG and sustainability ranked as the top-value third-party service for 6% of respondents, on par with finance and accounting.

HFS assesses that Horizon 3 leaders outperform on sustainability strategy, decarbonization, and digital-led transformation, while aligning offerings with evolving regulatory standards such as CSRD, SEC, and ISSB. HFS finds that acquisitions remain a primary lever for providers to scale carbon strategy and ESG consulting capabilities as clients move toward net-zero commitments.

Research methodology

This report combines vendor briefings across 25 participating sustainability service providers with reference checks among 28 clients and 33 partners and HFS Pulse survey data covering approximately 600 service provider ratings, conducted in 2024.

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