Environmental, social and governance (ESG)

Integrating ESG into business strategy is key to driving growth, resilience and competitiveness. Companies that embed ESG into their operations generate more value for both the business and its stakeholders. By evaluating the sustainability business case in financial terms, organizations are able to make informed decisions that deliver clear returns on investment.

We help organizations define, implement and transform their ESG strategies.

Setting direction

• ESG maturity and materiality assessments
  Benchmark sustainability performance, identify key risks and opportunities and prioritize ESG initiatives.
• Vision and target setting
  Define measurable ESG goals that support overall business strategy and ensure long-term success.
• Governance and strategy development
  Build strong structures to ensure ESG integration across businesses and functions.
• Measuring ROI
  Measure return on investment of sustainability programs, initiatives and activities.

Implementation and transformation

• Process integration and action plans
  Embed ESG into core business functions and drive decarbonization, circular economy and biodiversity strategies.
• Regulatory compliance and risk management
  Navigate ESG regulations, supply chain risks and human rights due diligence.
• Data, reporting and sustainable finance
  Strenghten ESG tracking, reporting and financing strategies.
• Data-driven ESG integration
  Turn sustainability into a competitive advantage, ensuring long-term success in an evolving market.

Sustainability is a core consideration for investors and lenders. Sustainable financing creates value by future-proofing businesses and reducing risks. While most lenders and investors already consider climate change impacts, biodiversity and social responsibility are also increasingly in focus.

We support financial organizations of all sizes, from smaller private equity firms to large institutions in their sustainability work.

Our services

• Investment and asset management
  Sustainability in investment strategy, risk management, reporting, assurance, due diligence and tax related matters.
• Insurance
  Sustainability solutions in product development, underwriting, reinsurance, asset management, distribution, claims, ESG risk management and modeling as well as data management.
• Banking
  Green finance frameworks, ESG risk management, sustainable product offering, green bonds issuance and assurance, net zero commitments and achievement of a just transition.
• Private equity
  ESG-based value creation, managing sustainability impacts in funds and transforming funds to meet investor and regulatory demands, investor analysis and IPOs.
• Public finance
  Sourcing public finance for green projects and incorporating private finance, ESG ratings and benchmark analysis.
• Corporate finance
  Understanding stakeholders' sustainability expectations, achieving and disclosing ESG performance, responding to ESG ratings, designing sustainable finance products and managing investor and lender relations.
• Compliance
  Compliance services in cooperation between our ESG and legal teams to ensure the fulfilment of EU's sustainable finance regulatory requirements across sectors and in all situations.

Climate change and biodiversity depletion are among the most pressing global issues, driving economic transformation and fundamental changes in business models. Businesses are increasingly committed to reaching net zero emissions and reducing their environmental impact, preparing for a low-carbon future in response to stakeholder demands for accountability.

Our services

• Asses and manage climate and nature-related risks
  Benefit from climate and nature risk assessments and strategic responses.
• Decarbonization strategy and implementation
  Develop actionable transition plans to achieve net zero.
• GHG accounting and science-based climate target setting
  Enbed greenhouse gas (GHG) calculation and decarbonization into business strategy and operations.
• Climate policy and incentives advisory
  Achieve growth and impact from embracing decarbonization and climate resilience, taking into account regulation and available funding options.
• Guidance on low-carbon investment and transactions
  Capture new opportunities from decarbonization and climate resilience.

Supply chains face significant challenges, from energy usage and emissions to human rights concerns. Addressing these issues is crucial not only for sustainability, but also for enhancing supply and value chain resilience and delivery security. As regulatory pressures and stakeholder expectations rise, companies must transform their supply chains to mitigate risks and ensure stability.

However, achieving these goals requires robust technology, data insights and specialized expertise. Without them, businesses may struggle with compliance and risk stakeholder skepticism, reputation damage and financial repercussions.

Our services

• Risk management
  Identify and manage key risks, ensuring more secure and reliable operations while maintaining compliance with regulation like the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and other due diligence regulation.
• Transformation
  Supply chain transformation through intelligent data management to enhance transparency, ethical standards and sustainability. Improve supplier collaboration and accountability and secure delivery promises in an increasingly demanding market.

Accurate, scalable ESG data is critical for companies navigating compliance, strategy and impact measurement. As ESG reporting becomes increasingly complex - covering entire value chains, regulatory requirements and rising stakeholder expectations - organizations need well defined data governance, robust data solutions and cutting-edge technology to maintain their competitive edge.

Our services are designed to address these challenges comprehensively.

Our services

• Target operating model design
  Develop target operating models that align people, processes and technology to drive enhanced ESG performance across the organization.
• Vendor selection and proof-of-concept (POC) testing
  Support in vendor selection processes and validating tools through rigorous proof-of-concept testing, to ensure optimal technology fit tailored to right use cases, data management and software ecosystem.
• Techonology implementation
  Implementation of sophisticated ESG data platforms that integrate compliance, reporting and change management efforts, enabling seamless operations.
• ESG reporting support
  Starting from materiality analysis, reporting scope and data mapping all the way to last mile reporting with e.g. managed CSRD reporting services. Optimize and streamline the entire ESG reporting process and bring correct technological solutions to facilitate the reporting process.

Although technology agnostic, we have partnerships with main ESG technology providers such as Microsoft, SAP, ServiceNow and Workiva, and we have successfully supported clients to transform their ESG data management to drive performance.

Mandatory assurance of sustainability statements

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) drives alignment of financial and ESG reporting in terms of auditability, contents and timing. Sustainability reporting for companies in the scope of the CSRD need to have their sustainability statements assured.

Mandatory sustainability reporting must be prepared and assured in the same time frame as the financial statements, with the assurance report signed by the company's financial auditor. We deliver CSRD-related services to our audit clients with a combination of ESG advisory and financial audit expertise. Examples of additional services to complement the mandatory assurance include commenting on double materiality assessment and CSRD gap analysis as well as performing (test) assurance.

Voluntary assurance of ESG disclosures

Assurance provides additional credibility also to voluntary disclosures. We can perform assurance of your sustainability reporting against voluntary reporting frameworks such as SASB, VSME, GRI, GRESB and sustainable finance frameworks such as PRB, PRI and PSI. We can also provide assurance reporting on green and social bonds and sustainability-linked loans.

Voluntary disclosure assurance:

• Builds trust and credibility
  Independent assurance gives stakeholders confidence in the accuracy of organizations sustainability data, enhancing its reputation.
• Reduces risk
  Uncovers data gaps and lowers the risk of greenwashing and reputational damage.
• Unlocks value
  Credible disclosures attract investors, customers and partners who value transparency and sustainability.

Sustainability has become a key consideration in transactions (M&A, IPO, re-financing). We help you integrate ESG into your deals along the entire transaction cycle.

Our services

• Deal strategy
  Align the M&A strategy with target's ESG strategy - identifying gaps or innovation requirements.
• Byu-side ESG Due Diligence
  Create the ESG Due Diligence (ESG DD) framework and ESG risk approach. Conduct ESG DD to identify and analyze material ESG issues and their potential impact on deal value.
• Acquisition decision
  Integrate ESG-related findings into negotiations (Sale and purchase agreement, SPA) and bid price.
• Integration and post-acquisition phase
  Include ESG factors in the integration principles tailored to the acquisition rationale.
• Sell-side ESG documentation
  Prepare sell-side report or an ESG-driven commercial equity story in the Investor Memorandum which proactively addressess potential ESG-related concerns or highlights areas of opportunity.

In today's business landscape, tax and legal considerations have become key factors in driving the sustainability agenda. With growing ESG expectations from the public, investors and other stakeholders, there has been a corresponding increase in ESG-focused regulation. As ESG is subject to constantly evolving multi-level regulation, keeping pace with and navigating in this complex regulatory environment requires a proactive approach.

Our services for ESG tax matters:

• ESG tax governance, transparency, and benchmarking
• EU Green Deal advisory on tax and regulatory matters (e.g. Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, CBAM)
• EU incentives, subsidies, and grants applications
• Environmental taxes (e.g. plastic taxes)
• International fair tax advisory (e.g. BEPS 2.0 and country-by-country reporting)

Our services for ESG legal matters:

• Managing ESG legal risks and litigation
• ESG compliant contracts with suppliers
• ESG regulatory monitoring
• Inclusive and sustainable work 
• ESG-driven rewarding programs
• Legal due diligence
• Real estate development and environmental compliance

Traditional "take, make, waste" production methods are unsustainable. To address challenges like climate change, resource scarcity and growing population, we must shift from linear consumption to a circular approach.

We help companies adopt circular economy models that support regulatory compliance and create sustainable growth oppotunities. These models enhance efficiency, profitability, innovation and stakeholder relationships.

Our services

• Assessment and goal setting
  Define your company’s current state and desired future, set circular economy goals and metrics, and benchmark your performance against industry leaders and key competitors.
• Circularity measurement
  Measure your company’s circularity using the Circular Transitions Indicator (CTI) tool and provide recommendations for key areas of improvement.
• Business model development
  Support for the development and piloting of new circular business models and help for modeling business opportunities.
• Regulatory navigation
  Assistance in navigating circular economy regulations such as digital product passports and the battery directive. We can assess your readiness for new regulation, create a practical implementation plan, and support execution.
• Digital solutions
  Support for the design and implementation of digital solutions that enhance transparency and traceability in supply chains, ensuring compliance with regulations (e.g., Digital Product Passport, DPP)
• Strategic integration and change management
  Integrate circular economy principles into your company’s strategy and operations, train and engage stakeholders, and support change management.

Strong governance is essential for driving environmental and social responsibility while ensuring compliance and accountability. As businesses navigate evolving regulation, boards and management must proactively address ESG oversight challenges, from risk management and data protection to board competence and shareholder rights.

We help organizations build robust governance frameworks through strategic oversight, risk and compliance management and leadership development, enabling better decision-making, transparency, and long-term sustainability.

Our services

• Governance strategy and oversight
  Strengthen governance structures to align with ESG objectives and regulatory demands.
• Risk and compliance management
  Implement safeguards against data breaches, regulatory risks, and financial exposures.
• Board competence and leadership
  Ensure boards and leadership teams have the expertise to drive ESG initiatives effectively.

Stakeholders demand credible, verifiable, and comparable ESG metrics for informed decision-making.

We help you prepare high-quality ESG disclosures based on regulatory requirements and voluntary frameworks.

Our Services

• Sustainability reports
  Publish transparent and informative sustainability disclosures focusing on material topics, for example in alignment with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), International Sustainability Standards Board's (ISSB), Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Task Force for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), and CDP reporting frameworks and initiatives as well as EU-level regulation on sustainability reporting and materiality assessments such as Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
• Fulfilling requirements
  Understand and fulfill CSRD, ESRS, EU Taxonomy, TCFD, and TNFD requirements.
• Managing ESG data
  Collect, analyze, and manage ESG data using technology solutions and AI tools. 
• Reporting operating model
  Develop a reporting operating model which also considers the reporting services model, people, and financials in addition to data and system aspects.
• Assurance and maturity assessments
  Provide test assurance and, when ready, limited or reasonable assurance on disclosures.