ESG advisory services, from the first materiality workshop to disclosures an assurance provider can test.

It is reporting readiness from the first request to the independent conclusion: the framework map, gap analysis, materiality assessment, greenhouse gas inventory, data controls, policies and targets, the draft disclosure or questionnaire, internal audit and assurance readiness. Effivity and Sterling Academy access are included with the engagement. Sterling does not provide assurance, verify inventories, score questionnaires or validate targets; those conclusions stay with independent parties.

No. Sterling prepares the programme, the data and the evidence, and keeps out of the conclusion. A CSRD statement receives limited assurance from the statutory auditor or, where the Member State allows it, an accredited independent assurance services provider. An ISO 14064-1 inventory is verified under ISO 14064-3 by a body accredited to ISO/IEC 17029 and ISO 14065.

Usually not. The frameworks overlap: CDP's climate questions align with GHG Protocol accounting, IFRS S1 and S2 fully incorporate the TCFD recommendations, and the ESRS were written for interoperability with global standards, GRI and IFRS S2 among them. One inventory, one policy set and one evidence base, mapped to each framework, answers most of the overlap. The real differences, such as double against financial materiality, are handled in the mapping rather than by starting again.

It depends on the framework and your starting point. Indicative ranges for a first programme: an EcoVadis submission three to five months, a CDP response or a GHG Protocol inventory three to six, GRI reporting four to eight, SBTi targets four to nine, ISSB reporting five to nine and a first CSRD statement six to twelve. An existing emissions inventory or ISO 14001 system shortens the path; collecting scope 3 data from suppliers for the first time lengthens it.

No, and be wary of anyone who does. EcoVadis analysts score your sustainability management system from 0 to 100 and award medals on percentile rank; CDP scores responses from D- to A against its published methodology. What we make sure of is a complete, consistent submission, on time, with evidence behind every answer the analyst can credit, and a plan built from the scorecard for the next cycle.

Often, yes, as a starting point. We test it against the GHG Protocol or ISO 14064-1:2018: boundaries, the scope 1, 2 and 3 split, emission factors, the base year and the trail back to invoices and meter readings. The GHG Protocol and ISO plan a joint corporate standard for publication in the fourth quarter of 2028; until then, the current editions apply.

Because your customers report, or choose suppliers on ratings. Large reporters need value chain data for their own disclosures, and procurement teams use EcoVadis ratings and CDP Supply Chain requests when onboarding suppliers and in tenders. Under the amended CSRD, companies protected by the value chain cap, those with no more than 1,000 employees, may decline requests beyond the voluntary standard.

Only if someone you answer to expects them, and only once your inventory can carry them. SBTi Services validates targets against the SBTi criteria, and from 1 February 2028 every new submission must follow Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0. A carbon neutrality claim under ISO 14068:2026, the renumbered ISO 14068-1, puts reductions before offsetting and is verified independently. Both are public commitments, so we model them before you announce anything.

The discovery call can usually be held within a few days of your enquiry. For the proposal we need the request you are answering, the entities and countries in scope, approximate headcount, what already exists and your reporting deadline. Work starts once the proposal is accepted and a programme owner is named; if a deadline is close, the plan works back from it.