Shelton Group

What Shelton Group does

Shelton Group, now operating as ERM's Marketing and Communications Agency following acquisition by ERM (Environmental Resources Management), is a sustainability-focused B2B marketing and communications agency headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1991, the firm serves approximately 120 enterprise clients annually across 15 industries and launches roughly 100 campaigns per year. The agency offers six integrated service capabilities — Insights (market research), Strategic Communications, Creative, Digital Services, Reputation Management, and Reporting & Comms — supplemented by Pulse, a bi-weekly proprietary research offering tracking consumer sustainability behavior and communications trends.

The agency's core value proposition is combining creative storytelling with the technical depth of ERM, the world's largest pure-play sustainability consultancy. This positioning enables Shelton Group to help large multinational corporations navigate greenwashing, greenhushing, and greenwishing risks while building reputational value from sustainability disclosures, increasingly relevant given regulatory drivers such as the EU's CSRD. Named clients include Wilsonart, Bush's, American Efficient, and the Canned Good Coalition, spanning manufacturing, food & beverage, energy efficiency, and advocacy sectors. Leadership is stable and long-tenured, with Suzanne Shelton serving as President & CEO.

Commercially, the firm operates a professional services revenue model with quote-based, customized engagements, likely a mix of project work and retainers, sold through direct enterprise field sales targeting global corporations. The agency maintains a small team (11–50 employees) and runs multi-channel thought leadership marketing via LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, a blog, and a bi-weekly newsletter. Following the ERM acquisition, the firm is positioned as the sustainability-focused marketing arm of a much larger global consulting platform, though specific financial terms, integration synergies, and standalone revenue figures have not been disclosed.

Name

Shelton Group

Legal name

The ERM International Group Limited

Website

https://sheltongrp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shelton Group, now ERM's Marketing and Communications Agency, is a Knoxville-based sustainability-focused B2B marketing agency serving approximately 120 global enterprise clients annually across 15 industries with integrated creative, digital, strategic communications, and reputation management services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Marketing & Communications Services

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Technology & B2B PR (BPAFADAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Sustainability marketing services
• Strategic communications consulting
• Creative campaign development
• Reputation management services
• Sustainability reporting communications

Headquarters

HQ city

Knoxville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Communications Services: Professional services revenue generated through consulting engagements, marketing campaign development, strategic communications, and creative services for enterprise clients. Revenue is likely project-based and retainer-based given the B2B agency model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Shelton Group is a B2B sustainability marketing and communications agency offering six integrated capabilities — Insights, Strategic Communications, Creative, Digital Services, Reputation Management, and Reporting & Comms — for global enterprise clients. It pairs creative storytelling with the technical sustainability depth of parent consultancy ERM and publishes Pulse, a proprietary bi-weekly research offering covering consumer behavior and sustainability communications trends.

Product overview

Shelton Group, now operating as ERM's Marketing and Communications Agency, is a sustainability-focused full-service marketing agency offering a unified portfolio of six integrated service capabilities: Insights (market research), Strategic Communications, Creative, Digital Services, Reputation Management, and Reporting & Comms. The agency also provides Pulse, a research and insights offering delivering bi-weekly reports on sustainability trends. Rather than a software product, this is a services-based agency that combines technical expertise with market insights to help clients build reputational value, drive brand preference, and tell sustainability stories. The agency works with approximately 120 clients annually across 100 campaigns and 15 industries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Insights Market research and audience intelligence service that delivers rich market insights to inform sustainability communications strategies for enterprise clients.
• Strategic Communications Strategic communications service that identifies opportunity areas and develops messaging frameworks for sustainability storytelling targeted at enterprise audiences.
• Creative Creative service that fuels sustainability storytelling through content development, visual design, and brand narrative creation for enterprise clients.
• Digital Services Digital marketing and web service that helps clients connect, amplify, and convert audiences through digital channels to support sustainability communications.
• Reputation Management Reputation and risk management service that helps clients mitigate sustainability-related risks and build brand value through credible positioning.
• Reporting & Comms Reporting and disclosure service that helps organizations communicate sustainability metrics and leverage them for stakeholder communications.
• Pulse Bi-weekly research and insights publication providing data-driven perspectives on consumer behavior and sustainability communications trends for enterprise clients.

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Futerra: B2B sustainability communications and marketing agency founded in 2001. Direct peer in the sustainability-focused creative and strategic communications space, serving global brands on purpose-driven marketing.
• Salterbaxter MSL: Specialist sustainability and purpose communications consultancy, now part of MSL (Publicis Group). Direct peer competing for the same enterprise sustainability messaging and ESG narrative engagements.
• Purpose: Communications and strategy agency focused on social and environmental impact campaigns. Direct peer in purpose-driven brand storytelling, strategic communications, and creative campaign development for mission-led clients.
• Terranova: Boutique sustainability communications and brand strategy agency serving large enterprise clients. Direct peer in strategic sustainability storytelling, ESG reporting communications, and reputation management.
• SRW: Purpose-driven communications agency working with brands on sustainability positioning and storytelling. Direct peer in B2B sustainability marketing campaigns and reputation management.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Largest global independent PR firm with a dedicated Sustainability & ESG practice. Broad incumbent offering overlapping capabilities (reputation, ESG reporting comms, purpose campaigns) but across a much wider portfolio than Shelton Group's focused niche.
• FleishmanHillard: Global PR and communications firm (Omnicom) with sustainability and corporate responsibility expertise. Broad incumbent competing on enterprise sustainability communications RFPs with far larger resource pools.
• Porter Novelli: Global communications agency (Omnicom) with a purpose and sustainability practice. Broad incumbent with overlapping capabilities in corporate reputation, sustainability storytelling, and ESG narrative development.

Emerging players

• We First: B2B purpose and sustainability marketing agency working with brands on brand strategy and storytelling. Emerging player with partial overlap in purpose-driven brand narratives for sustainability-focused enterprise clients.

Others

• SustainAbility (by ERM): Sustainability strategy and advisory firm now part of ERM — the same parent that owns Shelton Group. Sister company within ERM providing sustainability consulting, and a natural internal cross-sell partner as well as an adjacent competitor for sustainability advisory engagements.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@erm_mca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ermmca
• Instagraminstagram.com/erm_mca
• Xx.com/sheltongrp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Shelton Group