What Workshop does

Workshop is a Durham, North Carolina-based climate and nature consultancy founded in 2015 by Anna and Ben Adlard. The firm operates as a boutique professional services practice of approximately five core team members, partnering with Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, and foundations to translate climate and nature ambitions into focused action. Workshop's core offering is Wayfinder, a proprietary activation methodology developed over ten years of engagement work; it blends facilitation methods, design thinking, and collective action practices and was released as a beta product in 2024 under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Service lines include strategic planning, activation sprints, convening design, and training programs.

The firm's business model is professional services, generating revenue through custom-priced client engagements that are typically multi-month to multi-year in duration. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, supported by thought-leadership content (insights blog, quarterly newsletter), case studies, and high-visibility convenings such as Climate Week NYC workshops and a Bellagio Center convening hosted with the Rockefeller Foundation. Notable clients include Google (global sustainability standards for the Real Estate and Workplaces team), Apparel Impact Institute (three-year supply chain decarbonization convening arc), Textile Exchange (five-year strategic planning and MEL framework), Environmental Defense Fund, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, American Museum of Natural History, Habitable, and RegenCA. Workshop is privately held with no outside funding rounds or institutional investors disclosed, and ownership remains concentrated with the co-founders.

Strategically, Workshop has moved to productize its methodology through Wayfinder while continuing to expand geographically into India-based apparel supply chain coalitions and adjacent verticals such as sustainable real estate and regenerative agriculture. The firm relies on technical implementation partners (e.g., Viget for the Cradle to Cradle data platform) to extend delivery capacity beyond its small in-house team. There is no evidence of proprietary AI/ML technology, APIs, or software products beyond Wayfinder, and the company's competitive positioning is grounded in facilitation expertise, founder credibility, and convening access rather than technology differentiation.

Name

Workshop

Legal name

Workshop

Website

https://weareworkshop.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Workshop is a Durham, NC-based climate and nature consultancy of approximately five people that helps Fortune 500 companies, NGOs, and foundations turn climate ambitions into focused action through strategic planning, activation sprints, convening design, and its proprietary Wayfinder activation methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate and Sustainability Consulting

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Training Delivery Services (Onsite/Virtual Instruction, Workshops, Coaching) (BPAEANAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Internal Meeting & Workshop Management (THAHAIAA), Training, Enablement & Talent Development Summits (THAHAMAH)

Keywords

• Climate strategy consulting
• Sustainability facilitation services
• Convening design
• Climate activation methodology
• Collective action consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel

Revenue model

1. Professional Services Engagements: Workshop generates revenue through client engagements including strategic planning, activation sprints, convening design, and training programs. Services are tailored to purpose-driven organizations including corporations, NGOs, and foundations committed to climate and nature goals.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Workshop is a climate and nature consultancy that helps purpose-driven organizations align, activate, and advance climate and nature goals. It delivers professional services — strategic planning, activation sprints, convening design, and training programs — supported by Wayfinder, a proprietary activation methodology and toolkit that blends facilitation methods, design thinking, and collective action practices.

Product overview

Workshop is a climate and nature consultancy offering professional services including strategic planning, activation sprints, convening design, and training programs. The company's core proprietary product is Wayfinder, an activation methodology and toolkit developed over ten years of climate work. Wayfinder serves as the structured framework for delivering facilitation services and action planning, combining agile methodology, design thinking, and collective action practices. The methodology is now available as a standalone beta product under Creative Commons license, representing Workshop's systematized approach to helping organizations activate climate goals through collaboration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wayfinder: A tested toolkit and activation methodology developed over ten years of impact work with Fortune 500 companies, leading NGOs, and global coalitions. Wayfinder blends facilitation methods, design thinking, and collective action best practices to help diverse stakeholders activate climate goals. It is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

Products and services

• Strategic Planning

Quantifiable outcome

• Engaged 100+ brands, suppliers, and funders through Climate Week NYC workshops
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Creative Commons (Wayfinder License)coreOthersWayfinder methodology released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, making the climate activation toolkit widely accessible to empower teams with tools and frameworks for achieving climate goals at scale.
• VigetsupportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnical partner that worked with Workshop to build and roll out the data assessment platform for Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, including beta testing and training with assessment teams.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SustainAbility: SustainAbility is a sustainability strategy and advisory firm helping corporates and NGOs navigate climate and systems change. Comparable to Workshop's strategic planning and thought leadership positioning, particularly around stakeholder convening and long-term systems change frameworks.
• Forum for the Future: Forum for the Future is a nonprofit sustainability and climate consultancy running multi-stakeholder programs and convenings on systems change. Closely comparable to Workshop's coalition/convening work, MEL framework development, and purpose-driven organizational focus, with similar methodology-driven positioning.
• Carbon Trust: Carbon Trust is a climate consultancy advising businesses and governments on decarbonization strategy, carbon footprinting, and net-zero planning. Comparable to Workshop's climate activation and corporate sustainability work, particularly for organizations setting and operationalizing 2030 climate targets.
• Anthesis Group: Anthesis is a sustainability consulting firm advising corporates on climate strategy, supply chain decarbonization, and ESG advisory. Directly comparable to Workshop's climate strategic planning and supply chain decarbonization work (e.g., AII engagement), though Anthesis operates globally with a much larger headcount.
• South Pole: South Pole is a climate solutions provider offering strategy consulting, carbon credit development, and corporate climate advisory. Comparable in serving corporates on climate activation and decarbonization strategy, with overlapping client base in fashion, tech, and consumer goods sectors.

Broad incumbents

• IDEO: IDEO is a global design and innovation consultancy whose human-centered design and facilitation methods underpin Workshop's Wayfinder approach. Comparable in design thinking methodology and workshop facilitation craft, though IDEO operates at much broader scale across industries.
• BSR (Business for Social Responsibility): BSR is a long-standing sustainability strategy consultancy that works with large corporates and coalitions on climate, supply chain, and human rights programs. Comparable to Workshop in serving purpose-driven organizations on climate activation and stakeholder collaboration, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader service portfolio.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): ERM is one of the world's largest environmental and sustainability consultancies serving corporates across climate strategy, supply chain, and regulatory advisory. Overlaps with Workshop's climate and supply chain decarbonization services but at vastly larger scale with broader industry coverage.

Emerging players

• Clarity AI: Clarity AI is a sustainability technology platform providing ESG analytics, climate impact measurement, and reporting tools. Adjacent comparable to Workshop in serving corporate climate programs and investors on measurement frameworks, but operates as a software/analytics platform rather than a facilitation consultancy.
• Climate Action Associates: Climate Action Associates is a boutique climate strategy and advisory firm focused on corporate net-zero pathway development. Comparable to Workshop's boutique, methodology-driven positioning in climate strategy and activation for purpose-driven organizations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/workshop-incorporated

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Workshop