Business for Social Responsibility

What Business for Social Responsibility does

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1992 and headquartered in San Francisco, operating as a membership-based sustainable business network and advisory consultancy. BSR serves nearly 300 member companies—including 81 Forbes 500 firms with a combined market capitalization of approximately US$5.5 trillion and 16 million direct employees—across nine industries: consumer products, financial services, technology, energy and extractives, healthcare, food/beverage/agriculture, industrials, transport and logistics, and travel and tourism. The organization employs 150-185+ staff across eight offices (San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Copenhagen, London, Paris) and addresses sustainability challenges through three integrated lines of business: corporate membership with annual dues, fee-for-service advisory engagements, and grant-funded multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives.

BSR's core offerings center on sustainability advisory services (Strategy Design, Company-wide Implementation, External Implementation, Executive Sensemaking and Support), the Sustainable Futures Lab for scenario analysis, and a content/research portfolio that includes BSR Insights+ and the annual BSR-GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Survey. Its proprietary assets consist of methodologies such as the Five-Step Stakeholder Engagement Approach and the CAHRA Risk Tool, rather than software products. The organization manages more than 20 collaborative initiatives spanning human rights (RISE, Global Business Coalition Against Human Trafficking, Tech Against Trafficking, Human Rights Working Group), climate and nature (Action for Sustainable Derivatives, Building Responsibly, Fair Circularity Initiative, Future of Reporting), responsible technology, responsible luxury, and inclusive business.

BSR generates revenue through three streams: corporate membership dues (tiered annually by company size and engagement), fee-for-service advisory and consulting engagements, and philanthropic and government grants supporting multi-stakeholder initiatives. Major philanthropic partners include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Laudes Foundation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), GIZ, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Omidyar Network, and others; the Sida partnership alone leveraged over US$1.8 million between 2021 and 2023. BSR's go-to-market is enterprise field sales with regional Managing Directors for the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and the organization distributes insights through the BSR website, member portal, podcast series, annual conference, regional member events (e.g., Tokyo Member Day, Climate Week NYC), and earned media. Aron Cramer led BSR for 22 years before Diederik Timmer was named President and CEO effective September 1, 2026.

Name

Business for Social Responsibility

Legal name

BSR® (Business for Social Responsibility®)

Website

https://bsr.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

BSR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit sustainable business network and advisory consultancy serving nearly 300 member companies—including 81 Forbes 500 firms—across nine industries, offering membership services, fee-for-service advisory, and grant-funded collaborative initiatives through eight global offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Advisory Services

NAICS

Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Supply Chain Sustainability & Responsible Sourcing (SMETA, supplier ESG) (EUAHAJAE)

Keywords

• Sustainability advisory services
• ESG consulting
• Corporate sustainability strategy
• Responsible business network
• Human rights due diligence

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Corporate Membership Dues: BSR operates as a membership organization with companies paying annual dues to join the BSR network. Membership provides access to insights, advisory services, collaborative initiatives, member portal resources, and networking opportunities. Dues are tiered based on company size and engagement level, as indicated by the membership eligibility and dues page.
2. Advisory and Consulting Services: BSR generates revenue through fee-for-service advisory engagements with member and non-member companies. Services include strategy design, company-wide implementation, external implementation, executive sensemaking and support, and specialized consulting across BSR's focus areas.
3. Grant-Funded Collaborative Initiatives: BSR receives philanthropic and government grants to fund multi-stakeholder collaborative initiatives. Partners include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Laudes Foundation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), GIZ, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Omidyar Network, and others. Grant funding supports specific programs such as RISE, CoLab SDGs, and Keeping Workers in the Loop (KWIL).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) is a nonprofit sustainable business network and consultancy that provides sustainability advisory services, including strategy design, company-wide implementation, and executive sensemaking. It operates a corporate membership program with nearly 300 member companies (including 81 Forbes 500 firms) and manages 20+ collaborative initiatives and roundtables addressing systemic challenges across climate, human rights, responsible technology, and inclusive business.

Product overview

BSR (Business for Social Responsibility) is a sustainable business network and consultancy offering a portfolio of interconnected services: Advisory Services as the core offering (including Strategy Design, Company-wide Implementation, External Implementation, Executive Sensemaking, and the Sustainable Futures Lab), a Membership Network providing peer learning and exclusive resources through a Member Portal, and Collaborative Initiatives including roundtables and multi-company forums on topics like Responsible AI, Climate, and Human Rights. Content resources include BSR Insights+, Reports and Research (including the annual BSR-GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Survey), primers, and case studies. Focus Areas span Business Transformation, Climate and Nature, Human Rights, Inclusive Business, and Responsible Technology. Notable collaborative initiatives include Tech Against Trafficking (TAT), RISE for gender equality, and the Responsible Luxury Initiative. BSR does not operate as a software product company but as a professional services organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BSR Insights+: Premium insights and analysis on sustainable business topics for members.
• Tech Against Trafficking (TAT)
• Responsible Luxury Initiative®
• Sustainable Futures Lab
• Action for Sustainable Derivatives
• Building Responsibly
• RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality)

Quantifiable outcome

• BSR's member companies collectively represent US$5.5 trillion in market capitalization and directly employ 16 million people.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers44 records

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership with Sida (Swedish development agency) to test, incubate, and scale multi-stakeholder collaborations designed to increase private sector contribution to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Leveraged over US$1.8 million between 2021 and 2023 to launch new initiatives including Sustainable Coconut Partnership, Energy for a Just Transition, and Fair Circularity Initiative. The program included participation of 81 members and 35 partners.
• We Mean Business CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBSR serves as a director of the We Mean Business Coalition, a global coalition working to accelerate business and policy action on climate change.
• Survivor AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBSR's Tech Against Trafficking initiative partnered with Survivor Alliance to design and pilot a Lived Experience Consultation Group for technology companies. Survivor Alliance drew on its network of 1,400 members to select lived experience consultants for the pilot. The partnership created paid professional advisory opportunities for consultants with lived experience of trafficking.
• Meta Platforms, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeta proposed and funded the Tech Against Trafficking Lived Experience Consultation Group pilot as part of its ongoing efforts to integrate affected stakeholder perspectives into its safety work. Meta participated in the pilot alongside other TAT member companies, and Meta's VP Global Head of Safety (Antigone Davis) provided a statement endorsing the pilot.
• H&M GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunder and supporter of Keeping Workers in the Loop (KWIL) initiative, which assessed circular fashion dynamics and just transition challenges.
• TargetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunder and supporter of Keeping Workers in the Loop (KWIL) initiative.
• GlobeScancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBSR partners with GlobeScan to conduct the annual State of Sustainable Business Survey. GlobeScan draws from its extensive network of qualified senior corporate sustainability professionals to supplement BSR's membership. The 2026 survey gathered insights from 124 BSR members and other sustainability professionals at large companies.
• OpteraminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBSR has partnered with Optera since 2022 to measure and calculate its GHG footprint annually across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 in line with the GHG Protocol.
• Gap Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGap Inc. co-founded and supports RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality), along with BSR (HERproject), Care International, and Better Work. RISE is the merger of the four largest women's empowerment programs in the apparel industry.
• Care InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality), a collaboration of the four largest women's empowerment programs in the apparel industry.
• Better WorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in RISE (Reimagining Industry to Support Equality), a collaboration of the four largest women's empowerment programs in the apparel industry.
• Sustainable Freight Buyers AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported by BSR through the Sida partnership. The Sustainable Freight Buyers Alliance emerged from the merger of existing initiatives into new umbrella groups under BSR's collaborative initiative portfolio.
• Watch & Jewellery Initiative 2030minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported by BSR through the Sida partnership as part of collaborative industry initiatives advancing sustainability in the watch and jewellery sector.
• Sustainable Coconut PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew initiative launched with support from the Sida partnership, focusing on sustainable coconut supply chains.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): WBCSD is a CEO-led, global membership organization of ~200 forward-thinking businesses working on sustainable development. It is the most structurally comparable to BSR: membership dues, advisory services, collaborative projects, and policy advocacy on sustainability, with similar focus on circular economy, climate, and human rights.
• Ceres: Ceres is a nonprofit sustainability advocacy organization working with investors, companies, and policymakers. Similar to BSR in being a North America-based nonprofit mobilizing large enterprises on ESG, including climate, water, and human rights, with strong convening and thought leadership.
• Forum for the Future: Forum for the Future is a nonprofit sustainability consultancy and network with a futures-focused practice similar to BSR's Sustainable Futures Lab. It serves global companies on sustainability strategy and purpose, with comparable grant-funded and member-supported programs.

Regional players

• CSR Europe: CSR Europe is a European business network for corporate sustainability and social responsibility, with similar membership and peer-learning model. Comparable to BSR's European operations and member base, including many shared multi-national members.

Broad incumbents

• Environmental Resources Management (ERM): ERM is the world's largest pure-play sustainability consultancy, advising multinational corporations on environment, health, safety, and sustainability. Overlaps significantly with BSR's advisory services but operates as a for-profit firm with broader service scope and deeper delivery teams.
• Anthesis Group: Anthesis is a global sustainability consultancy serving large enterprises with advisory and implementation services. Comparable to BSR on ESG strategy, supply chain, and climate work, but operates as a commercially focused firm with deeper technical implementation capacity.

Emerging players

• World Resources Institute (WRI): WRI is a global research organization that works with businesses and governments on sustainability. Overlaps with BSR on climate, supply chain, and corporate sustainability work, but is more policy and research focused versus BSR's membership and advisory model.
• South Pole Group: South Pole is a global climate solutions and advisory firm. Comparable to BSR's climate and nature practice, with particular overlap in supply chain decarbonization and corporate climate strategy for large multinationals.
• Accountancy Europe Sustainability Services: Accountancy Europe represents the European accounting profession and runs sustainability-related working groups on non-financial reporting. Has thematic overlap with BSR's Future of Reporting initiative and CSRD advisory work, but serves a different primary audience.

Others

• GreenBiz Group: GreenBiz operates events (GreenBiz Forum, Climate Week), research, and content for the corporate sustainability community. Overlaps with BSR's events, content, and member engagement model, but functions primarily as a media/events business rather than a peer advisory network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bsrnews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/BusinessSocialResp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/162839
• Facebookfacebook.com/BSRorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Business for Social Responsibility