The demand for sustainability consulting in Australia has never been higher. Mandatory ESG reporting, net zero commitments, and growing investor pressure have created an enormous market for people who can help companies navigate the transition. And into that market has rushed an extraordinary range of practitioners, from deeply experienced professionals to people who rebranded themselves as sustainability consultants last Tuesday.

I have a problem with this, and I think the sector should too.

The credentials gap

Here’s the thing about sustainability consulting: there’s no standard qualification, no mandatory certification, and no professional body with real teeth. Anyone can call themselves a sustainability consultant. And many people do.

I’ve encountered “sustainability consultants” whose prior experience was entirely in marketing. I’ve met “ESG advisors” who couldn’t explain what Scope 3 emissions are. I’ve seen proposals from “climate strategy consultants” that were clearly generated by AI and barely edited.

This isn’t to say that all sustainability consultants are incompetent. Many are brilliant. The environmental engineers, climate scientists, social researchers, and policy experts who’ve been working in this space for decades bring invaluable knowledge. But they’re competing for the same clients as people with far less substance, and clients often can’t tell the difference.

The deliverable problem

The standard output of a sustainability consulting engagement is a strategy document. And most of these documents are remarkably similar. They identify material issues through a stakeholder engagement process. They set targets aligned with international frameworks. They recommend a governance structure. They outline an implementation roadmap.

On paper, this looks reasonable. In practice, many of these strategies sit on shelves gathering dust. The consulting firm delivers the report, sends the invoice, and moves on. The client organisation, which may have expected the consultants to also implement the strategy, discovers that implementation is a completely different challenge.

I’ve talked to sustainability managers at multiple Australian companies who’ve told me essentially the same story: “We paid $200,000 for a sustainability strategy, and it told us things we already knew, in language so generic it could have been written for any company in our sector.”

The greenwashing assistance problem

Here’s the part that really bothers me. Some sustainability consultants are actively helping companies present a better sustainability image than their actual performance warrants. Not through outright fraud, but through careful selection of metrics, generous interpretation of data, and the art of saying a lot while committing to very little.

A well-crafted sustainability report can make a company with mediocre environmental performance look like an industry leader. That’s not consulting. That’s PR with a sustainability label.

The best sustainability consultants I know refuse to help clients greenwash. They’ll push back on misleading claims. They’ll insist on honest reporting. They’ll tell clients things they don’t want to hear. These consultants build long-term credibility, but they also lose pitches to competitors willing to be more accommodating.

What good sustainability consulting looks like

Good sustainability consulting starts with honesty. An honest assessment of where the organisation is, not where it wants to pretend to be. An honest conversation about what’s achievable and what’s aspirational. An honest report that includes the gaps alongside the achievements.

Good consulting leads to action, not just strategy. The best consultants stay involved through implementation, building internal capability rather than creating dependency. They measure outcomes, not just activities. And they hold their clients accountable.

Good consultants also know the limits of their expertise. Sustainability is a vast field, and no single person or firm can be expert in everything from carbon accounting to supply chain labour rights to biodiversity offsets. The best consultants are honest about what they know and bring in specialists when needed.

What clients should demand

If you’re hiring a sustainability consultant, here are some questions to ask.

What specific experience do you have in our industry? Generic sustainability knowledge isn’t enough. You need someone who understands the specific challenges and opportunities of your sector.

Can you provide references from clients where your work led to measurable outcomes? Not just delivered reports — actual changes in performance, emissions, or practice.

What’s your approach to implementation support? If the engagement ends with a strategy document, how will your organisation actually implement it?

How do you handle disagreements with clients about the accuracy of sustainability claims? This question will quickly reveal whether you’re hiring an advisor or a PR firm.

What are your own sustainability credentials? A consultant who can’t demonstrate their own commitment to sustainability might not be the best guide for yours.

The industry needs standards

Ultimately, the sustainability consulting sector needs to professionalise. That means recognised qualifications, continuing professional development requirements, ethical standards with real enforcement, and transparency about methodologies and conflicts of interest.

Some moves in this direction are happening. Professional associations are developing certification programs. University qualifications in sustainability are growing. But we’re a long way from the kind of professional standards that exist in accounting, law, or engineering.

Until then, caveat emptor. There are excellent sustainability consultants in Australia, and there are charlatans. The difference between them matters more than ever as the stakes of getting sustainability right continue to rise.