MatchZINE – The ESG magazine

ESG reporting consulting: Who helps with implementing ESG regulations?

ESG regulations are completely new territory for many companies: The EU requires regular reports on sustainable business practices via CSRD, the EU taxonomy, LkSG, EUDR & Co. But how can the various reporting and implementation processes be set up efficiently? In most cases, with ESG consulting.

  • Dieser Artikel wurde am 31. March 2026 aktualisiert.
E

ven gaining an overview of the various upcoming ESG regulations and the tasks associated with them is a real challenge for many mid-sized companies. With the planned "Omnibus regulations", priorities in the reporting area are currently being reorganised, and many companies are looking for external support to create the right structures.

We explain to you how and where ESG consulting supports your activities, which competencies are required, and how external experts ensure efficiency and compliance right from the start.

In addition to information on the selection process, we support you with our know-how from over 700 ESG matchings in the individual selection process for ESG consulting.

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Everything about ESG consulting

Overview of ESG Consultations

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The basics: Why is external ESG consulting necessary?

The ESG roadmap is multifaceted, and implementation can certainly be equated with a transformation process. Therefore, ESG consulting can cover a wide range of tasks (depending on a company’s structure, size, and industry):

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Developing a sustainability strategy

Matchilla -  Identifying and assessing risks

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Implementing systems for data collection, analysis, and reporting for meaningful ESG reports

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Developing an engagement and communication strategy with stakeholders

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Optimizing ESG Performance Management

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Complying with all legal requirements for future reporting

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Monitoring developments in ethics policies

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Expertise in marketing and communications 

At present, many mid-sized companies equate ESG consulting with CSRD consulting. And that’s not wrong. The CSRD, with e.g. the double materiality assessment, the ESRS standards, etc., is the first and most important ESG regulation—even if the future legal situation is still unclear.   

CSRD-Beratung gesucht - über 15.000 Unternehmen suchen externe Unterstützung
CSRD-Beratung gesucht - über 15.000 Unternehmen suchen externe Unterstützung

However, ESG reporting does not only include the CSRD; it also consists of many other requirements and laws.       

How do consultants help with implementing the CSRD, EUDR, PPWR, EU Taxonomy or CSDDD?

First, you decide on individual consulting modules. Targeted, selective support is currently the most commonly chosen approach in practice.

ESG consultancies have the invaluable advantage of looking at your company from the outside, without bias. This makes it easier to support you in integrating ESG into your business practices and strategies.

Consulting firms develop ESG strategies, assess ESG risks, and identify cost savings and/or efficiency gains. They also improve data management and reporting, optimize engagement and communication with stakeholders, ensure compliance aspects, and strengthen governance and ethics within your company. Afterwards, ESG consulting agencies can also evaluate the investments you have made in ESG. Last but not least, they support you in implementing ESG and climate policies, particularly with regard to climate change and sustainability.

If the topic of supply chains is relevant for your company, there are also consulting firms that specialize in the European Supply Chain Directive (CSDDD), the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG).

The same applies here: Compliance with due diligence obligations is required by law, and at the latest when the topics of penalty payments and liability come up, the need is quickly understood.

What should ESG consulting bring to the table?

In the past, managers and executives at a company primarily had the task of increasing equity value. Today, they must balance the interests of all stakeholders connected to the company. As companies are increasingly expected to actively contribute to solving societal problems (keyword: sustainability, the environment, ethics, dealing with customers and employees), new approaches are required.

Keeping control of all this can become a mammoth task – especially for ESG management in SMEs. Good sustainability consulting should therefore help your company in the following areas:

ESG-Beratung Recording all ESG criteria relevant to you

Beratungsmodule Identifying all relevant ESG regulations and directives such as the EU Taxonomy

Matchilla - ESG-Consulting Developing a concept for implementing a corporate strategy to improve ESG criteria

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Analyzing current or new sustainability trends relevant to you

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Benchmarking in the ESG area and identifying differentiation potential

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Holistic management of the internal ESG project and reporting

Questions you should ask potential ESG consultancies

First, you should clarify internally where your specific ESG requirements lie. Which ESG aspects are relevant for your company? Next, it’s about taking a close look at potential external ESG consultants. It’s advisable to draft a catalogue of questions in advance. The following questions – or at least a selection of them – will help you quickly find a suitable ESG consultancy:

ESG-Beratung Aufzählung What experience or expertise does the consulting company have in the field of ESG/sustainability? Ask openly about qualifications and experience the agency can demonstrate. Have them show you specific projects from other clients.

ESG-Beratung Kriterien Are there meaningful references? Ideally, the consulting agency will provide you with references.

ESG-Beratung Aufzählung What is the approach to ESG analysis and reporting?The consulting firm should present the process for collecting, analysing and reporting ESG data. The question of the approach to the Double Materiality analysis is particularly interesting.

Matchilla - Beratung für ESG Which software and methods are used? Find out which methods and tools the consultants use for ESG assessment and reporting and which ESG software they recommend to you.

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz Is there support with strategy development? Find out to what extent the consultants can also support you in developing your ESG strategy.

Matchilla - ESG-Beratung How strong is their industry knowledge? An important point: the consulting agency should understand your industry and the resulting ESG requirements.

Matchilla - ESG-Berater How up to date are they with current developments in the ESG field? Good consulting firms operate at the pulse of the times and know the industry-relevant requirements, from the digital product passport through to the EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR). Ideally, this question will also give you an outlook on what to expect in the coming years.

Matchilla - Matching-Plattform und Marktplatz What will it cost us to hire you, and how long will implementation take? Have them explain how long the consulting (and possibly implementation) will take and what the pricing structure looks like in general.

At the end, it’s advisable to assess the extent to which the consulting company follows ESG criteria in its own business practices, or what additional services the agency offers (e.g. in the form of further workshops or training sessions).

Compare ESG consultancies – efficiently find your new partner

The question now is how to find the right ESG consultancy. For over two years, we have been working intensively on ESG, CSRD & Co. for our platform users. We continuously screen the German-speaking market for ESG software and ESG consulting providers.

You can now benefit from our expertise gained from over 700 ESG matchings for mid-sized companies and corporations. We collect your individual specifications once and match the criteria with our database of ESG consultancies. As a result, you receive the three most relevant consultancies in a shortlist (we call it Matchboard).

Simply use the following Match Assistant, which you can complete in just a few minutes!

The entire matching process is free of charge, anonymous, and non-binding for you!

Free and non-binding matching: ESG consulting selection

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    Bitte beachtet: Umso detailierter eure Angaben und das Briefing, desto besser sind eure Ergebnisse. Bei Fragen stehen wir euch unter [email protected] zur Verfügung.

    Welche ESG-Regulatoriken betreffen euer Unternehmen?

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    Vielen Dank für die Angaben! An dieser Stelle benötigen wir deine Kontaktdaten, um dir die individuelle Shortlist (Matchboard) mit den drei für euch passenden ESG-Beratungsanbietern zuzusenden. Unser Service ist für euch als Suchende unverbindlich, kostenlos und anonym. Die persönlichen Daten werden nicht mit den Anbietern geteilt.

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    Christian Batz VP Digital, igus AG


    Matchilla’s approach is brilliant: I no longer have to laboriously research consultancies and software providers and fight my way through countless comparison portals – the right providers come to me, so to speak – with just a few minutes of effort. The matching process saves us a lot of resources.

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    Heiko Stötzel Global Head Social Responsibility, SSI Schäfer


    Searching for suitable ESG service providers is easy and super-fast with Matchilla. Making contact, defining specifications, and after just a few days the results were there. This way, we received information about providers we hadn’t heard of before. Real added value.

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    Alexander Barion Head of Marketing CE, Fidelity International


    With Matchilla, we can easily open ourselves up to ideas from new service providers that were previously outside our radar. Our search criteria are matched against a database, but the final recommendations are in the hands of the Matchilla team. The result: high quality and great service!

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    ESG expert

    Ulli Theves is Head of ESG Matchings at Matchilla and an expert in sustainability consulting. In the MatchZINE, he shares his expertise and regularly publishes current updates and useful information on the topic of ESG.

    CSRD, Lieferketten, EUDR, ESPR, PPWR, CBAM & Co. sind Themen, die alle Unternehmen betreffen. Wir teilen im MatchZINE unser geballtes Praxiswissen aus über 1.000 Matchings für Mittelständler und Konzerne.

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