McHugh & Shaw

What McHugh & Shaw does

McHugh & Shaw Limited is an independent sustainability assurance provider headquartered in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand, founded in 2012. The firm delivers carbon auditing and environmental verification services across a 15-service portfolio that includes organisational, community/city, product, and event greenhouse gas inventory audits; Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards (NZ CS 1, 2, 3) assurance; Airport Carbon Accreditation verification (Levels 1-5); certification programme reviews (including Ekos BioCredita biodiversity credits); GRI reporting assessment; sustainability-linked loan assurance; and second-party/pre-assurance reviews. All work is conducted in accordance with ISO 14064-1, ISO 14064-3, GHG Protocol, and NZ SAE 1 standards, with every full audit led or overseen by a CEP Certified Carbon Auditor.

The firm operates without a central office, deploying a distributed team of six core staff, an Advisory Board, and a network of specialist independent contractors and partners across Christchurch, Auckland, Kāpiti Coast, Tasman, New Plymouth, and Tauranga, supplemented by partners including ECO GROWTH NZ, Constantia Consulting, TIERRO, and Wildland Consultants. Technical credentials within the team include ACA Verifier status, Certified Environmental Practitioner (EIANZ), and IEMA registered Environmental Auditor designations. The company is a Certified B Corp, a Living Wage accredited employer, an approved supplier under the NZ Carbon Neutral Government Programme, and a member of the Carbon Accounting Alliance.

McHugh & Shaw generates revenue through fee-for-service professional assurance engagements sold via direct client engagement (sales-led motion), serving government agencies, large enterprises, airports, local councils, and small and medium businesses across more than 20 industry verticals including Construction, Education, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Airports, Financial Services, and Local Government. Pricing is custom-quoted and not publicly disclosed. The firm explicitly does not provide consultancy, advisory, software, or carbon credit sales, positioning structural independence as its core differentiator in the NZ market. Australia is the only served market outside New Zealand.

Name

McHugh & Shaw

Legal name

McHugh & Shaw Limited

Website

https://mchugh-shaw.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

McHugh & Shaw is an independent sustainability assurance provider in Aotearoa New Zealand offering carbon auditing and environmental verification services to government agencies, enterprises, airports, councils, and SMBs under ISO 14064, GHG Protocol, and NZ Climate Standards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (541620)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Assurance, Audit & Attestation (ISAE 3000/3410, SOC, Chain-of-Custody) (EUABACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Voluntary Carbon Credit Verification & Validation (VCS/Gold Standard/ACR/CAR) (EUABACAA), Audit-Ready Controls, Assurance & Compliance Workflow Tools (CSRD/SEC/ISSB) (EUABAEAG), Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Standards & Reporting Cooperation (BPADANAI)

Keywords

• Sustainability assurance services
• Carbon footprint auditing
• Greenhouse gas verification
• Climate disclosure assurance
• ESG reporting review

Headquarters

HQ city

Fendalton

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices7 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 Assurance Services: Professional fee-for-service for independent carbon and sustainability assurance, including greenhouse gas audits, environmental assurance, and verification services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

McHugh & Shaw provides independent third-party sustainability assurance and carbon auditing services to organizations across New Zealand and Australia. The firm verifies greenhouse gas inventories against international standards (ISO 14064-1, ISO 14064-3, GHG Protocol) and assures climate-related disclosures under NZ SAE 1, alongside specialized assurance for Airport Carbon Accreditation, B Corp certification, ethical trading, and other sustainability schemes.

Product overview

McHugh & Shaw is an independent sustainability assurance provider offering a comprehensive portfolio of carbon auditing and environmental assurance services. The company's core offerings are organised into 15 distinct service lines, including organisational GHG inventory audits, Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards assurance, product/event carbon footprint audits, community-scale carbon inventories, Airport Carbon Accreditation verification, certification programme reviews, GRI reporting assessment, sustainability-linked loans assurance, expert sustainability report reviews, product stewardship assessments, pre-assurance assessments, independent quality reviewer services, second-party audits, ESG returns assessment, and third-party council assurance. These services follow international standards including ISO 14064-1, ISO 14064-3, GHG Protocol, and NZ SAE 1. All full audits are led or overseen by CEP Certified Carbon Auditors. The company does not provide software products but delivers professional assurance services directly to clients across New Zealand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% of revenue comes from sustainability-linked outcomes (FY25)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ECO GROWTH NZ (Tina Hartung)coreTechnology or IntegrationTina Hartung is a certified lead auditor for ISO 14001 (PECB) and ISO 14064-3 (CEP NZ) with extensive experience in verifying greenhouse gas inventories across organizations and industries. She provides sustainability consulting and technical expertise.
• Constantia Consulting (Dr Neil Gilbert)coreTechnology or IntegrationDr Neil Gilbert has 25 years of experience implementing and advising on environmental and carbon management systems. He is a trained auditor with 6 years auditing to ISO 14064-1 and 10 years to ISO 14001, and a Polar specialist with over 40 years experience.
• TIERRO (Lewis Foster)coreTechnology or IntegrationLewis Foster is an approved Airport Carbon Accreditation (Level 5) Verifier and experienced lead carbon auditor including leading complex national and international engagements. He specializes in carbon measurement, GHG auditing, and climate-related disclosures.
• Wildland Consultants LtdcoreTechnology or IntegrationWildland Consultants Ltd has 150 staff including terrestrial, vegetation and freshwater ecologists, and ecological restoration experts across 12 locations in Aotearoa New Zealand. They provide technical expert and project site visit functions for BioCredita validation and verification.
• EkoscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEkos is an established certification provider that recognises McHugh & Shaw audits. The company provides verification and validation services to the Ekos SD (BioCredita) biodiversity credit programme.
• Carbon Accounting Alliance (CAA)minorOthersMcHugh & Shaw is a member of the Carbon Accounting Alliance (CAA).
• Carbon and Energy Professionals (CEP) NZcoreOthersAll full audits are led or overseen by CEP Certified Carbon Auditors. The team holds Carbon and Energy Professionals NZ Certified Carbon Auditor qualification.
• Airport Carbon Accreditation ProgrammecoreOthersMcHugh & Shaw conducts ACA accredited verification (Levels 1-5) for the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Carbon Trust: Independent climate consultancy offering carbon footprint certification, verification and advisory globally. Comparable as an independent assurance-led brand addressing corporate carbon claims and product footprints.
• Toitū Envirocare: New Zealand-based carbon verification and environmental certification provider, also an approved CNGP supplier. Most direct head-to-head peer on NZ government carbon assurance mandates and voluntary GHG verification.
• SCS Global Services: Independent third-party certification and verification body providing carbon footprint verification, GHG assertion audits and sustainability claim assurance — comparable in service mix and independence positioning.
• Enviro-Mark Solutions: NZ-based carbon and environmental certification scheme operator (now part of the Toitū group) offering EMS, carbon footprint certification and verification — overlapping directly with McHugh & Shaw's organisational and product GHG audit services.

Broad incumbents

• SGS: World-leading testing, inspection and certification company providing GHG verification, ISO 14064 audits and sustainability assurance across industries and geographies — a broad incumbent serving the same assurance mandates.
• LRQA: Global assurance provider (formerly Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance) offering ISO 14064 verification, GHG validation and sustainability assurance — overlapping with McHugh & Shaw's assurance methodology.
• Bureau Veritas: Global TIC firm offering independent sustainability assurance, GHG verification and ISO-based certification services. Competes with McHugh & Shaw on enterprise and government climate assurance engagements.
• DNV: Global assurance and certification giant with extensive climate, GHG verification, ISO 14064 and sustainability assurance practice. Competes for the same large-enterprise and government assurance contracts McHugh & Shaw serves.

Emerging players

• Aster Global: Independent emissions verification body providing GHG inventory verification, ACA verification and climate disclosure assurance for airports, states and corporates — closely comparable on the airport/airline carbon verification side.
• Carbon Check: Accredited validation/verification body for voluntary carbon credits and GHG inventories across multiple standards (VCS, GS, ISO 14064). Comparable on the VVB/crediting programme side of McHugh & Shaw's BioCredita work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mchugh-shaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/McHughShaw

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 McHugh & Shaw