Roots for Sustainability

What Roots for Sustainability does

Roots for Sustainability (R4S Group) is a Barcelona-headquartered sustainability consultancy founded in 2010 by Raimon Puigjaner, Pep Tarifa, and Pablo Sánchez, serving enterprise clients, multilateral organizations, and cooperatives across 18 countries, primarily in Spain, Latin America, and Africa. The firm offers four core service lines: Impact Business Strategy (purpose, governance, business model innovation), Sustainability Activation (B Corp certification, EcoVadis rating acceleration, compliance, impact dashboard), Resilient Supply Chains (ESG risk, procurement intelligence, human rights due diligence, decarbonization, inclusive circularity), and Inclusive Business (socioeconomic baselines, capacity building, formalization, advocacy). Its proprietary assets include specialized methodologies for B Corp certification and inclusive business development, supported by a high in-house B Impact Score of 115.17 and a 100% B Corp certification success rate for advised companies.

The business operates on a project-based, professional-services revenue model with quote-based pricing tailored to each engagement, frequently structured as multi-year strategic partnerships with enterprise and institutional clients. Distribution is direct and sales-led, with 65% of revenue derived from loyal repeat clients (as of 2025) and notable customers including Danone, Camper, Ferrer, CELSA Group, Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Buff, Ternua, Raventós Codorniu, and Reig Jofre on the enterprise side, alongside the World Bank, IDB, IFC, and UNIDO on the multilateral side. R4S has co-founded two ecosystem entities: B Lab Spain (2019), an independent foundation advancing the B Corp movement nationally, and Skills4Impact (2020), a learning hub combining challenge-based training, mentoring, and AI tutors for sustainability and digital skills. The firm is privately held with no external institutional investment, retains ~25 team members, and is structured as ROOTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY, S.L. (NIF B65479339), registered in Barcelona.

Name

Roots for Sustainability

Legal name

ROOTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY, S.L.

Website

https://r4sgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Roots for Sustainability (R4S Group) is a Barcelona-based sustainability consultancy founded in 2010 that delivers impact strategy, B Corp and EcoVadis certification, supply chain ESG, and inclusive business services to enterprises, multilateral institutions, and cooperatives across 18 countries in Europe, Latin America, and Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Consulting

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Circular Economy & Resource Efficiency (BPADALAM)

Keywords

• Sustainability consulting
• ESG advisory services
• Impact measurement
• Circular economy consulting
• Inclusive business advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Sant Andreu

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Sustainability Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for sustainability strategy, B Corp certification, ESG development, supply chain resilience, and inclusive business development. Revenue is generated through project-based engagements with enterprise clients, typically structured as multi-year partnerships.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Roots for Sustainability is a Barcelona-based consultancy that helps organizations embed sustainability into their strategy and operations. The firm delivers sustainability consulting, impact measurement, ESG reporting support, and advisory for inclusive and circular business models, with a focus on B Corp certification and supply chain resilience.

Product overview

R4S Group is a positive impact agency offering professional consulting services organized around four core service areas: Impact Business Strategy, Sustainability Activation, Resilient Supply Chains, and Inclusive Business. The Impact Business Strategy service encompasses strategic consulting for embedding positive impact into business models, including impact strategy, purpose alignment (Purpose Lab), business model innovation, cultural evolution, governance and change management, learning solutions, and Strategic Impact Sprints. Sustainability Activation provides certification support including B Corp Journey, EcoVadis rating acceleration, smart compliance, external sustainability office, and impact dashboard services. Resilient Supply Chains focuses on supply chain sustainability with ESG Risk 360°, ESG Procurement Data Intelligence, Supplier Alliance Programme, Human Rights Due Diligence, decarbonisation, and inclusive circularity offerings. Inclusive Business addresses social inclusion and informal economy challenges with services including socioeconomic baseline studies, capacity-building, formalisation of economic activities, advocacy and public policy support, value chain upgrading, and citizen awareness campaigns. R4S also co-founded Skills4Impact, a collaborative learning hub providing AI-powered sustainability education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Skills4Impact: Collaborative learning hub combining challenge-based practical training, mentoring and AI-powered tutors to develop integrated sustainability and digital skills for professionals and organizations.

Products and services

• Sustainability Consulting Strategic advisory services that help organizations integrate sustainability into their core operations, strategy, and value chain. Targets enterprises, SMEs, and institutions seeking to advance sustainability outcomes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65% of revenue from loyal clients (2025)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers24 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Skills4ImpactcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by R4S, Skills4Impact is a collaborative learning hub combining challenge-based practical training, mentoring, and AI tutors for developing integrated sustainability and digital skills for professionals and organizations. Materializes R4S's vision for capacity building in sustainability and digitalization.
• B Lab EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerR4S was appointed Country Partner of B Lab Europe in 2015, bringing the B Corp movement to Spain and launching the certification framework locally.
• B Lab SpaincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founded by R4S in 2019 as an independent foundation dedicated exclusively to expanding and advancing the B Corp movement in Spain with rigorous, demanding, and measurable standards.
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on inclusive recycling projects including SWITCH2CE bottle-to-bottle recycling initiative with Equatorial Coca-Cola Bottling Company.
• United Nations Development Programme Bolivia (PNUD)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on sustainable development initiatives in Bolivia, including inclusive business projects.
• Adelante2 Cooperación Triangular UE-ALCstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerTriangular cooperation project supporting Latin America and Caribbean countries, including the National Recycler Network of Bolivia project.
• World Bank GroupstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on global sustainability projects including solid waste management in Ivory Coast (PARU project) and tourism-linked waste solutions in Mozambique.
• Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerProjects including plastic packaging recycling alternatives analysis in Dominican Republic and gender-inclusive social plans for Duquesa landfill recyclers.
• Fundación AVINAstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic ally sharing common vision for impact in inclusive recycling, promoting this agenda in Latin America and supporting organizational processes of cooperatives and recycler groups.
• Latitud RstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform for promoting inclusive recycling in Latin America, with shared vision of transforming solid waste management with inclusive and circular models.
• Ship2BminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImpact ecosystem organization supporting sustainable business development and innovation.
• Port de BarcelonaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on sustainability initiatives with Barcelona port authority.
• Circle EconomyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization focused on accelerating the transition to a circular economy, collaboration on inclusive business projects.
• Global Methane HubminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit focused on reducing methane emissions, partnership on sustainability and environmental projects.
• NCBA-CLUSA (National Cooperative Business Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational cooperative development organization, collaboration on inclusive business and cooperative formalization.
• FixitminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSustainability and impact-focused consultancy or service provider.
• AERCEminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional association or network related to sustainability and corporate responsibility.
• We are GolfminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association or initiative in the sports/sustainability space.
• Harvard DeustominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership for sustainability learning and development programs.
• PlastiksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlatform or initiative focused on plastic sustainability and recycling.
• GEAccountingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreen accounting or environmental accounting organization.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Anthesis Group: Global sustainability consultancy offering ESG strategy, supply chain sustainability, climate and circular economy advisory. Closely comparable to R4S across service lines and enterprise+multilateral client mix, with a larger global footprint.
• Quantis: Sustainability consulting firm specializing in environmental footprinting, science-based targets and sustainable transformation strategy for large enterprises. Closely aligned with R4S's Impact Business Strategy and ESG measurement offerings.
• EcoAct (an Accenture company): Climate strategy and net-zero advisory firm now part of Accenture, serving large corporates on decarbonization, carbon accounting and sustainability strategy. Directly competes with R4S on enterprise ESG mandates, though at significantly larger scale.
• South Pole Group: Climate strategy and sustainability consultancy with deep work in carbon, supply chain decarbonization and ESG advisory for multinational corporates. Direct competitor to R4S's Sustainability Activation and Resilient Supply Chains practices.
• SLR Consulting: Global environmental and sustainability advisory with practices in ESG strategy, supply chain due diligence and circular economy. Comparable service portfolio to R4S, particularly on supply chain sustainability and inclusive circularity.

Broad incumbents

• WSP: Global professional services firm with sustainability, climate and ESG advisory practices serving infrastructure, real estate and industrial clients. Adjacent incumbent overlapping with R4S's enterprise sustainability work.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection and certification giant with a sustainability services line covering ESG assurance, supply chain audits and B Corp-style certification support. Comparable on certification and assurance work R4S performs.
• Sia Partners: Global management consultancy with a dedicated Sustainability & Climate practice covering ESG strategy, reporting and supply chain. Competes for the same enterprise sustainability mandates as R4S but as part of a much broader consulting portfolio.
• Ramboll: Global engineering and sustainability consultancy with strong ESG advisory and climate practices serving large enterprises and public sector. Adjacent incumbent that competes for the same enterprise RFPs as R4S.
• ERM (Environmental Resources Management): One of the largest global sustainability and environmental consultancies, offering strategy, ESG, supply chain, climate and impact services to multinationals. Overlaps substantially with R4S but operates at much greater scale and breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Roots for Sustainability