What GlobeScan does

GlobeScan is a privately held insights and advisory firm founded in 1987 that specializes in trust, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. Its core offering combines rigorous social-science research methodologies — global public opinion surveys, stakeholder mapping, consumer behavior studies, and materiality assessments — with strategic advisory across seven service areas: Trends & Foresight, Materiality & Issues Prioritization, Reputation & Trust-building, Sustainability Strategy & Integration, Consumer Engagement & Sustainable Living, Stakeholder Engagement & Activation, and Thought Leadership & Advocacy.

The firm monetizes through three streams: commissioned custom research projects for enterprise and civil-society clients, recurring research products (e.g., the State of Sustainable Business report with BSR and the Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey), and ongoing advisory retainers. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Distribution is built on direct enterprise field sales supported by a thought-leadership content engine (weekly insights, webinars, the "All In" podcast) and co-branded research partnerships with organizations such as The Economist, EAT, Marine Stewardship Council, Oxford University, Ashoka, and America's Grasslands Coalition.

GlobeScan operates 11 regional offices across North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia, and serves a client base that includes Fortune 500 enterprises (Unilever, Walmart, Citi, IKEA, Sun Life, Gold Fields, Absa, Nutrien), industry NGOs (WWF, BSR, MSC), and government/intergovernmental customers. The company is incorporated as GlobeScan Incorporated in the United States and is B Corp- and ESOMAR-certified.

Name

GlobeScan

Legal name

GlobeScan Incorporated

Website

https://GlobeScan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

GlobeScan is a global insights and advisory firm founded in 1987 that delivers trust, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement research and strategy to Fortune 500 enterprises, NGOs, and government clients across 11 regional offices worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advisory and Consulting Services: Strategic advisory engagements providing evidence-based insights on trust, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. Services include materiality assessment, reputation building, and sustainability strategy integration delivered through seven core service areas.
2. Research Reports and Insights: Published research reports and data insights sold or provided to clients, including industry reports like the State of Sustainable Business, offshore wind industry surveys, and consumer behavior studies.
3. Custom Survey and Poll Services: Commissioned research services where clients like Dajin Heavy Industry, Marine Stewardship Council, Zalando, and Coca-Cola Europe commission GlobeScan to conduct specific consumer or stakeholder surveys.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GlobeScan is an insights and advisory firm that delivers evidence-based research, strategic advisory, and stakeholder engagement services focused on trust, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. Offerings span seven core service areas—from Trends & Foresight and Materiality Assessment through Reputation & Trust-building and Sustainability Strategy Integration to Consumer Engagement, Stakeholder Activation, and Thought Leadership—delivered to enterprise, government, and civil society clients via custom research commissions and recurring research publications.

Product overview

GlobeScan is an insights and advisory firm specializing in trust, sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. The company offers a portfolio of seven integrated service areas spanning research, strategy, and activation: Trends & Foresight and Materiality & Issues Prioritization (understanding the shifting landscape); Reputation & Trust-building and Sustainability Strategy & Integration (crafting evidence-based strategies); Consumer Engagement & Sustainable Living, Stakeholder Engagement & Activation, and Thought Leadership & Advocacy (influencing for real-world results). Supporting these services are proprietary research offerings including GlobeScan Trends Research, the GlobeScan Expert Contributor Community, the annual State of Sustainable Business Report, and the Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey. The company operates globally through 11 regional offices and produces regular content through its Insight of the Week series and the All In The Sustainable Business Podcast.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Trends & Foresight Advisory service that identifies, interprets, and anticipates emerging trends and stakeholder expectations, turning them into actionable guidance tailored to clients' strategic context. For enterprise, government, and civil society clients.
• Materiality & Issues Prioritization Stakeholder-driven, evidence-based materiality and issues prioritization service that goes beyond compliance to sharpen strategic focus, guide action, and create value. For corporate sustainability and strategy teams.
• Reputation & Trust-building Advisory service that builds resilient reputations and cultivates trust to secure a societal license to operate, navigate risk, and shape future context. Includes proprietary framework for measuring and building organizational trust and reputation (deployed with clients such as Gold Fields and Absa).
• Sustainability Strategy & Integration Advisory service that crafts credible sustainability strategies and compelling narratives and helps integrate them across the business for real-world delivery. For corporate sustainability, strategy, and executive leadership teams.
• Consumer Engagement & Sustainable Living Advisory service that uncovers what drives consumer behavior and turns insight into real-world actions supporting healthier, more sustainable lifestyles and stronger brands. For consumer goods, retail, and lifestyle brands.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Activation Advisory service that engages and activates stakeholders to build trust, align interests, and co-create solutions for collective action. For corporate, government, and NGO clients managing multi-stakeholder initiatives.
• Thought Leadership & Advocacy Advisory service that uses credible insights and powerful narratives to shape public discourse, influence policy, and mobilize partners for real-world change. For NGOs, advocacy groups, and corporate affairs teams.
• GlobeScan Trends Research Ongoing global survey research program tracking public and stakeholder opinions on sustainability, trust, and corporate reputation over time across 30,000+ respondents and 30+ markets. For enterprise, government, and NGO clients seeking longitudinal trend data.
• State of Sustainable Business Report Annual report providing insights from 124+ global sustainability leaders on the shifting sustainability landscape from ambition to implementation. Produced in partnership with BSR. For corporate sustainability leaders, investors, and policy stakeholders.
• Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey Annual survey conducted in partnership with Oxford University examining corporate affairs professionals' perspectives on geoeconomics, AI, governance, and trust. For corporate affairs, communications, and government affairs leaders.
• All In The Sustainable Business Podcast Recurring podcast series featuring discussions with sustainability leaders—including Chief Sustainability Officers—on integrating sustainability into business strategy. Hosted by GlobeScan CEO Chris Coulter with David and Mark.

Quantifiable outcome

• Surveys conducted across 30,000+ respondents in 31+ countries for major research initiatives
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EATcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing research partnership conducting large-scale consumer surveys on sustainable diets and plant-based food consumption. GlobeScan conducts surveys of 30,000+ respondents in partnership with EAT nonprofit to understand barriers to healthy and sustainable eating.
• Oxford UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership on the Oxford-GlobeScan Global Corporate Affairs Survey, providing panel insights on geoeconomics, AI, governance, and trust for global businesses.
• Coca-Cola EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to publish report on successful water stewardship collaborations with NGOs across Europe, identifying seven key success factors for effective business-NGO partnerships.
• Marine Stewardship CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted consumer survey showing 90% of Canadian seafood consumers concerned about ocean health. GlobeScan surveys consumers across 23 countries on sustainable seafood attitudes for MSC.
• BSRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership producing the annual State of Sustainable Business report, polling 124+ global sustainability leaders on industry trends and shifting priorities.
• MastercardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on consumer research exploring the next era of conscious consumption and how affordability, durability, and trust are shaping consumer behavior.
• AshokacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnership on employee agency and participation, studying how employee involvement in social and environmental impact strengthens motivation, loyalty, and organizational purpose.
• Dajin Heavy IndustryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned research on Europe's offshore wind industry covering 85% of capacity, exploring delivery challenges, policy certainty, and supply chain constraints.
• ZalandominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on sustainable fashion consumer research finding that 74% of consumers want to dress more sustainably, with 41% finding sustainable garments too expensive.
• The EconomistcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal polling partnership conducting surveys of 30,000 people worldwide to gauge views on international affairs including US elections, trade, defense alliances, and rise of China.
• America's Grasslands CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConducted nationally representative survey finding half of Americans have little knowledge of grasslands, with appreciation for conservation rising when people learn more.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ipsos: Ipsos is one of the world's largest market and public opinion research firms, operating across all of GlobeScan's geographies with established sustainability and stakeholder insights practices that directly overlap GlobeScan's core offering.
• Kantar: Kantar is a global insights and consulting firm with a dedicated Sustainability Practice that delivers stakeholder research, brand trust measurement, and ESG advisory closely comparable to GlobeScan's positioning.
• BSR: BSR is a global nonprofit consultancy that advises Fortune 500 companies on sustainability strategy and produces the annual State of Sustainable Business report in partnership with GlobeScan; it operates in an adjacent but overlapping space as both partner and competitor for corporate sustainability advisory work.
• Economist Impact: Economist Impact is the policy research and insights arm of The Economist, conducting large-scale global polling and sustainability research; it is a co-partner on the Oxford-GlobeScan Corporate Affairs Survey and adjacent competitor for high-profile thought leadership research.

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Edelman is a global communications firm whose Trust Barometer and Edelman's sustainability/ESG advisory services compete directly with GlobeScan's reputation research and stakeholder engagement offerings, albeit at much larger scale across a broader service portfolio.
• FTI Consulting: FTI Consulting's Strategic Communications and ESG & Sustainability Advisory practices deliver stakeholder research, reputation advisory, and ESG counsel to large enterprises in many of the same sectors GlobeScan serves (financial services, mining, retail, energy).
• Accenture Strategy: Accenture's Sustainability Services practice delivers corporate sustainability strategy, materiality assessments, and stakeholder research at large global scale, frequently sourcing benchmarks and consumer insights that overlap with GlobeScan's advisory deliverable set.
• PwC Sustainability Services: PwC's ESG and Climate Change practice provides assurance, reporting, and sustainability advisory to multinational clients, competing for the ESG strategy and reporting-related engagements where GlobeScan's materiality and sustainability integration services are positioned.

Emerging players

• Forum for the Future: Forum for the Future is an international nonprofit that runs sustainability leadership programs and consumer research on sustainable living, partially overlapping GlobeScan's sustainable diet and consumer engagement research with a more nonprofit/government-focused delivery model.
• RepRisk: RepRisk is an ESG data science firm that provides reputational risk and stakeholder intelligence on corporate sustainability performance via an automated data platform, competing for the stakeholder monitoring and reputation analytics portions of GlobeScan's deliverable set at different scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/globescan
• Xx.com/GlobeScan

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 GlobeScan