What SalterBaxter does

SalterBaxter is an international sustainability strategy and communications consultancy founded in 1998 and headquartered in London, with additional offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Sydney. The firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Publicis Groupe and operates as a private, for-profit professional services company serving large global enterprises across mining, consumer goods, real estate, fashion, automotive, food & beverage, retail, and consumer electronics. Named clients include Anglo American, ASOS, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Landsec, Bugaboo, Ford, Centrica, Hershey, Hammerson, Logitech, Steve Madden, Forterra, T-Mobile, Scania, UBS, Ferrero, Canada Goose, and Pernod Ricard.

The firm's offering spans four service lines: (1) Sustainability Strategy and Advisory, including materiality assessments, horizon scans, and strategic frameworks; (2) Reporting and Compliance, covering integrated reporting and alignment with GRI, CSRD, TCFD, and TNFD; (3) Engagement and Communications, including creative campaigns, reputation management, and crisis/issues advisory; and (4) Leadership and Learning, providing professional development for client teams. Its most distinctive technical specialization is deep expertise on the Workiva reporting platform—seven years and 40+ reports produced, including the first 'designed' Workiva FTSE 100 Annual Report delivered for Anglo American in 2021—anchored by a "single source of truth" methodology that links financial and non-financial data for real-time reporting.

Revenue is generated exclusively through professional services fees structured around project scope and client needs; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is enterprise sales-led: business development is driven by thought leadership content (e.g., 2025 Sustainability Halfway Point research, Healthcare ESG Disconnect), direct engagement with corporate leaders, and embedded multi-year engagements with named enterprise clients. Distribution leverages the Publicis Groupe global network, while the distribution channel itself is direct consultancy delivery rather than channel partners. The firm productizes one diagnostic tool (ProgressPoint) and maintains strategic partnerships with Workiva (technology), Future-Fit Foundation (methodology), Future Frontiers, Autism Forward, and UnLtd.

Name

SalterBaxter

Legal name

Salterbaxter

Website

http://www.salterbaxter.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

SalterBaxter is an international sustainability strategy and communications consultancy founded in 1998, serving large global enterprises with strategy, ESG reporting, communications, and learning services. The firm is a Publicis Groupe subsidiary operating from London, New York, Los Angeles, and Sydney.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sustainability Consultancy Services: Strategy and advisory engagements helping businesses unlock value from sustainability and corporate reporting through data-driven, evidence-based consulting.
2. Reporting and Compliance Services: Regulatory alignment and reporting services including integrated reporting, ESG reporting, CSRD, TCFD, TNFD alignment, and governance frameworks.
3. Communications and Engagement Services: Creative campaigns, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement services connecting businesses with politicians, policymakers, activists, NGOs, investors, employees and consumers.
4. Leadership and Learning Services: Empowering leaders and colleagues to deliver on sustainability through engaging learning programs and educational initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SalterBaxter is a sustainability strategy and communications consultancy that sells professional services to large enterprises across four interconnected offerings: strategy and advisory, reporting and compliance, engagement and communications, and leadership and learning. It also offers specialized Workiva reporting services underpinned by 7+ years and 40+ reports of platform expertise, including the ProgressPoint diagnostic tool for companies on or considering the Workiva platform.

Product overview

SalterBaxter is a sustainability consultancy offering integrated professional services rather than a software product. The core offering spans four interconnected service areas: (1) Sustainability Strategy and Advisory — including horizon scans, materiality assessments, and strategic frameworks; (2) Reporting and Compliance — covering integrated reporting, ESG reporting, and regulatory alignment with GRI, CSRD, TCFD, and TNFD; (3) Engagement and Communications — including creative campaigns, reputation management, and crisis communications; and (4) Leadership and Learning — professional development programs. Supporting these core services, they offer Workiva Reporting Services as a specialized technical capability, ProgressPoint as a diagnostic tool, and publish proprietary research on sustainability trends. Founded in 1998, the company is part of Publicis Groupe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sustainability Strategy and Advisory Expert consultancy services for enterprise clients, including horizon scans, trends analysis, goal and ambition setting, narrative and positioning, double materiality assessment, strategy development, and strategic sustainability frameworks.
• Reporting and Compliance Regulatory alignment and corporate reporting services for enterprises, covering integrated reporting, ESG reporting, and alignment with GRI, CSRD, TCFD, and TNFD frameworks, plus regulatory readiness assessments and governance framework design.
• Engagement and Communications Integrated 360-degree creative campaigning, reputation management, employee engagement, executive communications, coalition-building, crisis and issues management, and green-claims advisory to engage politicians, policymakers, activists, NGOs, investors, employees, and consumers.
• Leadership and Learning Learning programs and professional development initiatives that empower leaders and colleagues to deliver on sustainability commitments.
• Workiva Reporting Services Specialized consultancy built around the Workiva reporting platform, covering design and production of full annual and sustainability report suites, ESG Explorer implementation, prelims and presentations, and back-end implementation for enterprise clients.
• ProgressPoint Sustainability strategy diagnostic tool that helps companies navigate their sustainability journey, offered to organizations considering or already using the Workiva platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40+ reports produced fully in Workiva with 7+ years of platform experience
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 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

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Future FrontiersminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Education charity partnership launched in 2022 as part of DEI strategy to help make sustainability careers accessible to all. Delivers careers coaching programme to school students from low socio-economic backgrounds.
• Future-Fit FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Accredited Partner since 2021 providing expertise in the Future-Fit Business Benchmark which translates 30+ years of scientific research into metrics to guide and measure progress toward environmental and social goals.
• UnLtdminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Charitable partnership since 2011 with organization that campaigns to break down barriers for social entrepreneurs. Salterbaxter closes its doors annually to bring together 100+ creative minds from Publicis Groupe to help social enterprises with growth and communications challenges.
• Publicis GroupeflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company backing providing data, digital, and planning power. Salterbaxter is part of Publicis Groupe, offering connected services across sustainability strategy, reporting, governance, communications, design, advocacy, and education.
• WorkivacoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for reporting platform. Salterbaxter has 7+ years and 40+ reports worth of experience with Workiva, pioneering the first 'designed' FTSE 100 Annual Report. Partners include clients like Anglo American, Centrica, Hershey, and Forterra using Workiva.
• Autism ForwardminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst UK agency partnership with autism charity to ensure reasonable adjustments for effective neurodiverse recruitment. Launching apprenticeship program for neurodiverse people.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Anthesis Group: Global sustainability consultancy offering strategy, reporting, and advisory services to large enterprises. Closely comparable in service mix (strategy + reporting + communications) and target buyer (FTSE/Global 500 sustainability teams).
• BSR (Business for Social Responsibility): Sustainable business network and consultancy advising large global companies on ESG strategy, reporting, and stakeholder engagement. Direct competitor for sustainability advisory mandates and a comparable membership/thought-leadership model.
• South Pole: Climate and sustainability consultancy delivering strategy, carbon accounting, and reporting services to Fortune 500 buyers. Comparable in customer profile, advisory-led revenue model, and emphasis on regulatory-grade ESG reporting.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): Global environmental and sustainability consultancy serving large enterprises across mining, energy, and consumer goods — overlapping client roster with SalterBaxter (Anglo American, Ford) and a comparable strategy-to-reporting service stack.
• Futerra: Sustainability strategy and communications agency working with global brands on purpose, behavior change, and ESG narrative. Closely comparable on the engagement-and-communications service line and creative-led positioning.
• EcoAct (an ENGIE Impact company): Climate consultancy offering carbon accounting, Net Zero strategy, and sustainability reporting to multinationals. Overlaps with SalterBaxter's strategy and TCFD/CSRD-aligned reporting engagements, particularly for energy and industrials clients.
• Systemiq: Systems-change advisory firm working with corporates, investors, and policymakers on sustainability transformation. Comparable in serving large enterprise strategy buyers with senior-led, evidence-based consulting.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Sustainability & Climate Services: Big Four advisory practice offering integrated sustainability, reporting, and assurance services. Broader portfolio but competes head-to-head for multi-jurisdictional ESG reporting and transformation mandates at large enterprises.
• Accenture Sustainability Services: Global consultancy with a dedicated sustainability practice covering strategy, technology, and reporting. Competes for transformation-level ESG mandates and brings technology-platform scale SalterBaxter cannot match.

Others

• Workiva: Cloud reporting platform and SalterBaxter's core technology partner. Not a competitor but an ecosystem dependency — Workiva's own professional services expansion could disintermediate SalterBaxter's implementation revenue.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/salterbaxtermsl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 SalterBaxter