We're continuing our journey through 13 different services offered by sustainability consultants, and today we're wrapping up with #13:
13. Software Automation (8.2%)
Developing sustainability software and offering it to clients.
Very few of the 250+ firms we researched actually developed and/or touted their own proprietary software. But the few that did were so impressive they warranted a software category. Sustainability software tends to focus on carbon, energy management and environmental, health and safety. Enterprise Carbon and Energy Management systems (ECEM) is the name behind these types of software programs . Much like the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software shifted from Excel spreadsheets to more effective, specified programs like Salesforce; experts expect the same for ECEM.
Note: This is not a category that encompasses all sustainability software providers, since there are many IT companies that develop software but do not also offer sustainability consulting (beyond training on their own software). For the purposes of our analysis, we only included sustainability consultancies that ALSO developed their own software.
Common Jargon and Terminology: Green Software, Sustainability Software, etc.
Where You’ve Seen It: Viridis Strategy Group boast a scorecard that encompasses all aspects of sustainability with a dashboard feel. Five Winds has become heavily software-focused with their well-known suite of GABI and SOFI, among others. Greener Results has a program called Endeavor to help firms consolidate all sustainability activities. Natural Logic’s software offering consists of Business Metabolics (dashboard), RetrofitOptimizer and SCIwatch Continuous Commissioning.
See the other types of sustainability consulting we've already covered:
- #1: Strategic Planning and Implementation
- #2: Training/Education
- #3: Marketing/Communication
- #4: Sustainability Reporting
- #5: Stakeholder Engagement
- #6: Benchmarking and Competitive Analysis
- #7: Built Environment Consulting
- #8: Energy Auditing and Operational Efficiency
- #9: Carbon and Renewable Energy
- #10: Product and Value Chain
- #11: Peer Networking
- #12: Green Events and Event Planning
Check out our past blogs to follow the “State of the Sustainability Consulting Industry” series:
- What Sustainability Consulting Is (and Isn’t),
- Types of Sustainability Consulting Organizations,
- By the Numbers: U.S. Sustainability Consulting Market,
- and State of the Sustainability Consulting Industry to learn more about the background for these findings.
If you are a new or aspiring sustainability consultant and would like to take your practice to the next level, check out the 2013 Consultant Cohort: a 6-month intensive program hosted by the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) and led by SSC President Jennifer Woofter.