Companies are spending less on sustainability consulting, according to a new study. As the wider consultancy sector is affected by difficult macroeconomic conditions, sustainability advice seems to follow this pattern.
Two further interesting perspectives come out of this study:
1️⃣ Some of the spend seems to have moved from sustainability to other corporate areas. One interpretation could be that as sustainability moves towards implementation, which usually happens in business units, consulting follows this path. This throws up the question: What exactly counts as 'sustainability advice'? At least for some projects, it is difficult to draw clear lines between sustainability advice and advice on other topics.
2️⃣ The study finds that companies tend to hire more tech consultancies when it comes to sustainability work. One reason for this are the challenges of new reporting legislation which makes "Management-by-Spreadsheets" not really an option anymore. By the way, a survey found that 55% of firms still use Excel to manage their ESG information, so the move towards software is not surprising when you face more elaborate reporting frameworks (https://lnkd.in/dmjvCCX2).
In the end, these shifting dynamics in sustainability consulting only reflect what we see in the broader sustainability context: a move towards deeper integration and regulation...
#sustainability, #esg, #consulting
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7moI would add being technically qualified and competent with significant industry experience, before becoming a consultant.