GIST Impact

What GIST Impact does

GIST Impact is a Swiss-based provider of environmental and social impact data and analytics for institutional investors and global corporations. Founded in 2008 by Pavan Sukhdev — who led the landmark UN-, EU-, and G8+5-commissioned TEEB study — the company operates an AI-powered platform covering Nature and Biodiversity Intelligence, Climate Risk, and Impact on Society, supported by ESG, Revenue, and Asset Data foundations. The platform covers 20,000+ companies and 3+ million assets across 105 distinct asset types, using AI-curated data with ML-based gap filling and location-specific scientific methodologies dating from 2016 onwards. Flagship analytical frameworks include the Nature Value at Risk (NVaR) dataset, which translates ecosystem disruption into revenue-at-risk by company, sector, and geography, and the Climate Risk Intelligence module delivering ESRS-aligned composite scores across 16 risk layers and three IPCC scenarios through 2080. The company is GDPR-compliant and headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland as GIST Advisory Switzerland S.A.

Revenue is generated through enterprise SaaS subscriptions delivered via a Data Portal (web apps, APIs, and data feeds) and data licensing including Snowflake marketplace distribution. Pricing is quote-based with annual billing. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales augmented by a deep partnership channel, with GIST data embedded into FNZ's platform (used by 650+ financial institutions), TMX Group's ESG Data Hub, Clarity AI, Novisto, Integrum ESG, and Snowflake. Customer segments span asset owners, asset managers, banks, wealth managers, and exchanges (financial services is primary), together with corporates, consultants, and technology providers. The company is privately held with strategic investments from FNZ (May 2022) and UBS Next (June 2024), and its clients collectively manage over $8 trillion in assets.

Name

GIST Impact

Legal name

GIST Advisory Switzerland S.A.

Website

https://gistimpact.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

GIST Impact is a Swiss-based provider of AI-powered environmental and social impact data and analytics covering 20,000+ companies and 3+ million assets, serving institutional investors, global corporates, and consultants with regulatory-aligned nature, climate, and social intelligence delivered via SaaS, API, and data partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

ESG Data and Analytics Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (51321), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Reporting, Dashboards & Regulatory Submittals (Automated Reports, e-Reporting) (EUAHAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Impact Investing (Intentional, Measurable Social/Environmental Outcomes) (FSAAALAC), GIS & Spatial Data Management Platforms (BPAMANAK), Environmental Data Integration, ETL & Interoperability (APIs, Standards, Data Pipelines) (EUAHAKAB)

Keywords

• ESG data analytics
• Nature risk intelligence
• Biodiversity impact data
• Climate risk analytics
• Impact measurement platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Nyon

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Impact Data and Analytics SaaS: Software-as-a-service platform providing impact data and analytics to help investors and companies measure and manage environmental and social impacts. Delivered via data feeds, API, and user-friendly web apps. Subscription-based access with tiered pricing implied by enterprise sales motion.
2. Data Licensing: Flexible data delivery options including data feeds, API access, and one-click download options for datasets. Data accessible via Snowflake marketplace.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GIST Impact operates an AI-powered impact data and analytics SaaS platform that delivers science-validated, location-specific intelligence on environmental and social impacts across 20,000+ companies and 3+ million assets. Its offerings cover nature and biodiversity intelligence, climate risk analytics, and social impact valuation mapped to UN SDGs, delivered through a Data Portal, API, data feeds, and Snowflake marketplace for financial institutions, corporates, and consultants managing over $8 trillion in assets.

Product overview

GIST Impact offers a unified AI-powered impact data and analytics platform with distinct intelligence modules and data foundations. The Intelligence Suite includes Nature and Biodiversity (with NVaR, Dependencies & Pressures, DIRO Analysis, and Sensitive Location Assessment sub-modules), Climate Risk (ESRS-aligned composite scores across IPCC scenarios), and Impact on Society (Social Return on Investment, Human Capital Impact, Produced Capital Impact mapped to UN SDGs). The Data Foundations layer provides ESG Data, Revenue Data, and Asset Data with AI-curated augmentation and full source traceability. All offerings are delivered via the Data Portal (SaaS platform) with flexible data delivery options including API and Snowflake integration. The company serves clients managing over $8 trillion in assets including financial institutions, corporations, and wealth managers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nature and Biodiversity Intelligence Suite AI-powered analytics suite for locating, evaluating and assessing nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities across 10,000–20,000+ companies and 3+ million assets. Covers Areas of Biodiversity Importance, Ecosystem Integrity, Indigenous Peoples and Community Lands, Dependencies on Ecosystem Services and Commodities, Pressures on Ecosystems, Impact on Biodiversity, Deforestation, Nature Value at Risk, Physical Risks and Nature-Related Opportunities, aligned with TNFD, CSRD and SBTN frameworks.
• Climate Risk Intelligence Measurement, valuation and mitigation of exposure to climate change effects and the transition to net zero. Delivers ESRS-aligned composite risk scores with 16 individual risk layers across three IPCC scenarios for future time horizons 2030, 2050 and 2080. Provides forward-looking climate data for portfolio- and asset-level decision-making.
• Impact on Society Quantification of the full value created through business activities and social programmes, mapped to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Features Social Return on Investment, Natural Capital Impact, Human Capital Impact and Produced Capital Impact analyses across seven distinct impact pathways for 20,000+ companies.
• ESG Data Point-in-time and forward-looking ESG metrics with full traceability to source and clearly flagged AI-augmented estimates. Covers environmental, social and governance indicators for 20,000+ companies to power decision-grade analytics across the platform.
• Revenue Data Business activity and geographic revenue segmentation data enabling users to follow the money across business activities and geographies for impact attribution across the 20,000+ companies covered.
• Asset Data Global network mapping of business operations across 3+ million assets classified into 105 distinct asset types with location-specific scientific methodologies for granular asset-level impact assessment.
• Nature Value at Risk (NVaR) Framework and dataset that translates ecosystem disruption into financial risk language, calculating revenue at risk by company, sector and geography. Helps investors quantify financial exposure to nature loss and water-related shocks.
• Climate, Nature and Biodiversity Portfolio Analysis Tool Portfolio-level assessment tool for analysing climate risk, nature dependencies, impacts and biodiversity metrics across investment portfolios at scale for financial institutions and asset managers.
• Data Portal SaaS platform and web application for accessing and managing GIST Impact's datasets, analytics and reporting tools. Provides flexible data delivery via data feeds, API and user-friendly web apps for enterprise subscribers.
• Impact360X Platform Impact measurement and management platform launched at the World Economic Forum 2020 in Davos, enabling investors and corporates to measure and manage performance across all value dimensions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients managing over $8 trillion in assets rely on GIST Impact data
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Integrum ESGcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 March 2026GIST Impact's nature and biodiversity intelligence now available through Integrum ESG platform, expanding distribution of biodiversity data.
• Green2ViewminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership for enhanced sustainability data and analytics capabilities.
• SINAIminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Partnership to advance sustainability and impact measurement capabilities.
• DIFCminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2025GIST Impact named Official Impact Knowledge Partner for DIFC's 1 Million Learners Programme, supporting sustainability education in Dubai International Financial Centre.
• Natural History Museum LondoncoreTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2025Partnership to launch world's most comprehensive biodiversity insights for corporate assets. Museum provides Biodiversity Intactness Index, Mean Species Abundance, and measures of land area change data.
• MicrosoftcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2025GIST Impact featured in Microsoft's UK Impact Report, demonstrating social value measurement capabilities. Collaboration on embedding social value data.
• Nature PositiveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Strategic partnership to advance nature-positive business practices, supporting companies in their sustainability journey.
• FlourishminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2025Partnership to deliver compliant and compelling sustainable marketing solutions.
• Global CanopycoreTechnology or Integration · 1 May 2025Partnership to deliver comprehensive deforestation risk data to investors. Forest IQ Pro data enables understanding of corporate deforestation exposure, materiality and reporting performance.
• IFVIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Collaboration with International Foundation for Valuing Impacts on standardized impact valuation approaches aligned with IFVI methodologies.
• Nature Tech CollectiveminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025GIST Impact joins Nature Tech Collective to advance nature technology solutions and collaborate with other nature tech innovators.
• NovistocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Partnership to offer EFRAG-aligned approach to double materiality assessments for CSRD compliance, combining GIST Impact's intelligence and dataset with Novisto's CSRD solution to reduce cost and complexity for companies.
• IBATcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Partnership to expand investor access to world-leading biodiversity data. IBAT provides Areas of Biodiversity Importance data including Key Biodiversity Areas, WDPA Protected Areas, and IUCN Red List Species.
• Value Balancing Alliance (VBA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Partnership for CSRD impact accounting, aligning methodologies for measuring corporate impacts on natural, human, social and produced capitals.
• Wharton ESG InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2024Data collaboration with Wharton ESG Initiative to support groundbreaking impact valuation research.
• KPMGcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 June 2024Ongoing collaboration including roundtable discussions and CSRD engagements. KPMG Chile partnership enabled Nestlé Chile to use GIST Impact tools for measuring environmental impact.
• Systems 7minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 June 2024Partnership to enhance double materiality assessments for EU CSRD reporting.
• TMX GroupcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 September 2023Partnership to deliver GIST Impact datasets via TMX ESG Data Hub, providing comprehensive sustainability, impact and biodiversity data to TMX clients for portfolio construction and enhanced investment strategies.
• Clarity AIcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2023Partnership to launch market-leading biodiversity assessment and reporting capabilities, combining GIST Impact's biodiversity data with Clarity AI's sustainability platform.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Watershed: Watershed offers enterprise carbon accounting and climate disclosure software. Competes with GIST's Climate Risk Intelligence suite on the corporate side for measurement, audit-grade reporting, and regulatory readiness.
• Persefoni: Persefoni is a SaaS climate management and accounting platform for enterprises, competing with GIST's Climate Risk Intelligence and corporate-focused modules, particularly for carbon footprint and CSRD reporting.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): CDP runs the global environmental disclosure system used by investors and corporates for climate, water, and forests data. Overlaps with GIST for environmental impact measurement, particularly deforestation and nature-related data.

Broad incumbents

• MSCI ESG Research: MSCI ESG & Climate is the largest incumbent ESG data provider covering ~14,000 issuers with ratings, screening, and climate analytics. Directly competes with GIST Impact for institutional investor ESG, climate, and nature-related mandates but as part of a much broader index/risk franchise.
• Sustainalytics (Morningstar): Sustainalytics provides ESG risk ratings and is now part of Morningstar. It competes head-to-head with GIST in portfolio-level environmental and social risk analytics, serving many of the same asset managers and asset owners.
• LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) ESG: London Stock Exchange Group's ESG data business (built on the Refinitiv acquisition) competes with GIST for Asset Manager ESG/sustainability data needs, with deep integration into financial workflows.
• Bloomberg ESG Data: Bloomberg's ESG Data product delivers standardized environmental, social, and governance data to terminal subscribers. It competes with GIST for buy-side and corporate use cases, leveraging Bloomberg's enterprise distribution.
• S&P Global ESG (Trucost): S&P Global's sustainable1 platform incorporates Trucost carbon and environmental data. It overlaps with GIST in nature, climate, and double-materiality data for investors and corporates.

Direct peers

• ISS ESG: ISS ESG provides ratings, climate, and biodiversity data for institutional investors. Directly comparable to GIST Impact's nature/biodiversity, climate risk, and impact intelligence suites.
• Clarity AI: Clarity AI is a direct competitor in AI-powered ESG/impact analytics, already partnered with GIST for biodiversity assessment but also competing for the same investor segment. Closely aligned technology approach (AI/ML on sustainability data).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gistimpact
• Xx.com/Gistimpact

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GIST Impact