ESG Consulting Meets Software: Empowering Consultants to Deliver Real Impact

Introduction: ESG Consulting is Changing

As ESG reporting requirements such as the EU’s CSRD become more demanding, companies have been, and still are turning to ESG consultants for support. But there’s a challenge: consultants often spend more time gathering documents, checking frameworks, and building spreadsheets than delivering the strategic insight clients really need. It does not make much sense to use expensive sustainability consultation work for that, does it?

That’s where technology steps in. Planmark’s CSRD/ESG software doesn’t replace ESG consultants — it empowers them. By automating the time-consuming parts of reporting, consultants can focus on what truly matters: creating strategies, guiding decision-making, and ensuring long-term sustainability.

Why ESG Consultants should use ESG Software?

Let’s face it — If an AI powered software can do 80% of the ESG data collection and mapping automatically all data in data points as eg. csrd directive says, and its all done in minutes, it does not make much sense using expensive ESG consultant for that kind of work.  ESG consultants are still needed, but for creating and supporting your sustainability strategy, providing insights from other companies, etcetera – not for collecting data and creating reports – that is more efficiently done by AI and software such as planmark. This way we get real results and the time used in ESG Strategy and Reporting does not get waisted. 

• You get fast answers, real-time dashboards. You know where your company stands at all times, and real change not only is happening, but we can monitor it in real time.
• Frameworks keep changing, but your esg data is always accurate and organized. When the framework changes, its your ESG Data Management where the change is implemented, not in your ESG data. This is transparent to you.
• ESG Reporting will always be detailed, accurate, and audit-ready – Always!

What should ESG Consultant not do?

• Hours of comparing your documentation against ESG frameworks (Planmark AI does this in minutes)
• Manually tracking progress toward compliance – no matter how fancy excel´s you use, AI & integrated and up to date directives are easier, more accurate and effective always. 
• Constant back-and-forth with clients for missing data (Collaboration like this is extremely time consuming – Instead of paying to ESG consultant, you would also be using your internal sustainability team time.

With Planmark, most of this work becomes automatic – and you start creating sustainability strategies and implement real change.

Planmark: Your AI-Powered Co-Pilot for ESG Consulting

Planmark is a smart CSRD/ESG platform designed to:

• Compare existing documentation to CSRD requirements using AI
• Identify gaps instantly
• Track compliance progress in a clear dashboard
• Provide easy collaboration tools for both clients and consultants

No more sifting through files or building reports from scratch.

How Planmark Elevates your ESG Consulting into a next level

By offloading the technical legwork to software, ESG consultants can:

• Take on more clients without sacrificing quality
• Focus on advisory and strategy (This is where esg consulting true value is)
• Deliver clear, visual results to stakeholders

We believe Planmark can be quite an extraordinary tool for an ESG consulting company or consultant to demonstrate for the customers visually and in real-time where the customer is at right now, and where are the focus points to concentrate in the coming months.

What Should an ESG Consultant Do for a Company?

An ESG consultant plays a critical role in helping companies meet sustainability expectations, comply with regulations like CSRD, and build long-term value. We have listed some key responsibilities, but of course, companies internal resources always play an important role deciding the consultants role:

• Assessing ESG Readiness:
  Reviewing existing internal practices and making sure the documentation is in line with the practise.

• Identifying Gaps:
  Sustainability reporting tool as Planmark has a dashboard to show the status in real time, but a consultant can be a driving force for the progress.  The consultant can be highlighting missing data, disclosures, or processes needed for full compliance.

• Defining KPIs and Metrics:
  Helping define measurable sustainability indicators tailored to the business.

• Strategy Development:
  Building an ESG roadmap that balances regulatory compliance, stakeholder expectations, and business objectives.

• Training & Stakeholder Engagement:
  Educating internal teams and supporting board-level alignment and communication.

• Reporting Support:
  Assisting in the preparation of ESG reports or advising on software like Planmark to automate the reporting process.

In short, a great ESG consultant translates complexity into clarity, and with the help of smart tools, focuses more time on what really drives sustainable business outcomes.

Who Should Use Planmark

• Independent ESG consultants: Save time and increase client capacity
• ESG consulting firms: Standardize processes across teams
• In-house sustainability teams: Support internal and external collaboration
• Big 4 and advisory groups: Streamline engagements across industries

Conclusion: ESG Consulting + ESG Software = Create Real Sustainable Impact efficiently

ESG consulting isn’t going away — but it is evolving. To deliver faster, smarter, and more strategic results, consultants need tools that scale with demand.

Planmark is that tool. It doesn’t replace ESG Consultants expertise. It amplifies it. ESG Consultancy using Planmark is like ESG Consultant with steroids.

Ready to work smarter? Book a free demo today and discover how Planmark can power up your ESG consulting practice.