What Brightworks does

Brightworks Sustainability LLC is a U.S. sustainability and ESG consulting firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon, founded in 2001 by Scott Lewis. The firm delivers advisory and technical services through seven practice areas — ESG + Corporate Sustainability, Government Sector Sustainability, Sustainable Built Environments, Healthier Built Environments, Carbon Services, Energy Services, and Materials Services — covering decarbonization strategy, GHG and embodied carbon accounting, green building certification (LEED, BREEAM, Living Building Challenge, WELL, Fitwel), energy auditing, climate action planning, and healthier materials evaluation.

Brightworks serves Fortune 500 corporations (Google, Microsoft, Meta, Salesforce, Wells Fargo, Starbucks, Boeing, BMW, Gucci), federal agencies (NASA, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. General Services Administration), state and local governments (City of Portland), and higher-education and healthcare institutions (Stanford, UCSB, OHSU). The firm operates from five U.S. offices (Portland, Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York) and one London office, with the 2015 leadership buyout by partners Heath Blount, Christopher Forney, Joshua Hatch, and Brandon G. Sprague enabling the addition of new practice areas such as Biodiversity and ESG Outsourcing. Proprietary contributions include the Common Materials Framework authored for Mindful Materials and a WRI GHG Protocol Sector Supplement methodology published in November 2021.

The business is a fee-for-service professional services firm that engages clients through a proposal-based, custom-scoping model (no public rate cards) and supports delivery via an enterprise field-sales motion targeting large organizations with complex sustainability needs. Revenue, contract values, and utilization are not publicly disclosed, and the firm operates as a privately held LLC certified as a B Corporation since 2010. Differentiation rests on tenure (24 years), engagement volume (1,700+), cross-practice delivery, industry-affiliation roles (iMasons Climate Accord, SDIA, GeSI, USGBC, Living Future Institute), and the formal 10% service-innovation program that channels consultant time into emerging areas such as biodiversity, low-carbon concrete, and nature-based solutions.

Name

Brightworks

Legal name

Brightworks Sustainability LLC

Website

https://brightworks.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brightworks is a privately held sustainability and ESG consulting firm founded in 2001 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, serving Fortune 500 corporations, federal agencies, and universities across 35+ industries through seven practice areas spanning decarbonization, green building certification, ESG reporting, and sustainable materials.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability & ESG Consulting

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Engineering Services (541330)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG), ESG Governance, Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Advisory (BPAHAFAJ), Sustainability & ESG Reporting (GRI/SASB/ISSB/CSRD) (EUAHAJAB)

Keywords

• Sustainability consulting
• ESG advisory services
• Carbon accounting
• Green building certification
• Decarbonization strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sustainability Consulting Services: Brightworks generates revenue through professional sustainability consulting services, providing advisory and technical expertise to corporations, government entities, and institutions across their practice areas including ESG strategy, carbon accounting, green building certification, and materials evaluation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Brightworks is a sustainability and ESG consulting firm that delivers advisory and technical services across seven practice areas: ESG + Corporate Sustainability, Government Sector Sustainability, Sustainable Built Environments, Healthier Built Environments, Carbon, Energy, and Materials. Its work includes decarbonization strategy, GHG emissions accounting and reporting, green building certifications (LEED, BREEAM, WELL, Fitwel, Living Building Challenge), embodied carbon life cycle assessment, energy auditing, climate action planning, and sustainable materials consulting for enterprises, public agencies, and institutions.

Product overview

Brightworks Sustainability is a sustainability and ESG consulting firm offering comprehensive advisory services through seven practice areas: ESG + Corporate Sustainability, Government Sector Sustainability, Sustainable Built Environments, Healthier Built Environments, Carbon Services, Energy Services, and Materials Services. The firm provides technical and advisory consulting rather than a software product, helping clients across 35+ industries measure, manage, and mitigate environmental and social impacts through services including decarbonization strategy, green building certifications (LEED, BREEAM, WELL, Fitwel), GHG emissions accounting, ESG reporting, energy analysis, and sustainable materials consulting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ESG + Corporate Sustainability Comprehensive sustainability advisory for enterprise clients covering decarbonization and GHG emissions reduction, biodiversity strategy, ESG program design, implementation, reporting, disclosure, and outsourcing.
• Government Sector Sustainability Sustainability consulting for federal, state, and local government entities covering climate action planning, public agency sustainable operations, high-performance public buildings, sustainable infrastructure, and renewable and clean energy consulting.
• Sustainable Built Environments Green building consulting covering LEED, BREEAM, GreenPoint Rated, and Living Building Challenge certifications, sustainable building design, zero carbon buildings, energy modeling, commissioning, sustainable building materials, biophilic design, and biodiversity/nature-based solutions.
• Healthier Built Environments Services focused on healthy building certifications (WELL, Fitwel) and healthier building materials selection to support occupant health and wellness.
• Carbon Services Carbon and GHG emissions accounting, reporting, embodied carbon and whole-building life cycle assessment, operational carbon management, zero carbon buildings, net-zero energy strategy, and electrification services.
• Energy Services Energy auditing and energy management services to optimize building and organizational energy performance, including energy analysis, modeling, commissioning, and renewable and clean energy consulting.
• Materials Services Healthy and sustainable materials program development, material evaluation, embodied carbon life cycle assessment, and support for architects, designers, and manufacturers selecting or improving building materials.

Named customers20 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Global Enabling Sustainability Initiative (GeSI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry-level partnership working to make markets for sustainability where they have not previously existed through mediating industry-level agreements that overcome systemic impediments to stewardship action.
• iMasons Climate AccordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrightworks team members provide staff augmentation to iMasons Climate Accord, convening stakeholders, establishing and managing day-to-day operations and special programs, and facilitating all working groups including the governing body.
• Mindful MaterialscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrightworks created the Common Material Framework for Mindful Materials, working with hundreds of experts and industry leaders to align thousands of product screening criteria into five impact areas of concern. Ongoing partnership for CMF tools development and industry adoption.
• Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance (SDIA) North AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership focused on transforming the digital infrastructure industry toward sustainability through industry-level initiatives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): ERM is the largest pure-play global sustainability and environmental consulting firm, offering ESG advisory, carbon services, and EHS consulting to enterprise clients across 40+ countries. It is the closest large-scale analog to Brightworks in terms of service portfolio (sustainability strategy, carbon accounting, ESG reporting) and Fortune 500 client base.
• Ramboll: Ramboll is an engineering, architecture, and consulting firm with a strong sustainability and climate practice, including ESG advisory, carbon services, and green building consulting. It is a direct peer to Brightworks in serving corporate and government clients on decarbonization and ESG strategy, with deeper European presence.
• ICF International: ICF is a global consulting and digital services firm with a significant climate, energy, and sustainability practice serving federal agencies and Fortune 500 clients. It directly competes with Brightworks on climate action planning, GHG emissions reduction, and federal sustainability engagements (NASA, U.S. DOE).
• Antea Group: Antea Group is a global engineering and environmental consulting firm providing ESG strategy, sustainability reporting, and EHS advisory to enterprise clients. It is a direct mid-sized peer to Brightworks in offering multi-disciplinary sustainability services across corporate and government segments.
• SLR Consulting: SLR Consulting is a global environmental and sustainability advisory firm providing ESG strategy, climate advisory, and green building services to corporate and institutional clients. It is a closely comparable mid-to-large peer to Brightworks in offering multi-disciplinary sustainability services.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: AECOM is a global engineering and infrastructure firm with a substantial sustainability practice spanning LEED consulting, carbon advisory, climate resilience, and ESG strategy. It competes with Brightworks in green building certification and embodied carbon work, particularly on large institutional and government projects, while offering much broader engineering scale.
• WSP: WSP is a global professional services firm with a major environment and sustainability practice offering carbon advisory, ESG strategy, and green building services. It competes with Brightworks for enterprise and government sustainability mandates while providing deep engineering and technical advisory scale.
• Schneider Electric Sustainability Business: Schneider Electric's Sustainability Business division offers energy and sustainability advisory, carbon reporting, and ESG consulting to large enterprises, particularly in energy and resource management. It overlaps with Brightworks' energy auditing, electrification, and corporate sustainability work at the enterprise level.

Emerging players

• Sphera: Sphera is an ESG and operational risk management software and services firm offering carbon accounting, ESG reporting, and product sustainability solutions. It overlaps with Brightworks in carbon and ESG advisory but competes via a software-enabled model that could pressure pure-services economics.

Regional players

• Carbon Trust: Carbon Trust is a UK-based climate and sustainability consultancy advising businesses and governments on carbon reduction, ESG strategy, and green building certification. While UK-headquartered, it serves global enterprise clients in similar practice areas to Brightworks, including LEED/green building and corporate sustainability strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/965982

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Brightworks