Enterprises seek platforms that can address process improvement and diverging regulations with support for insights and compliance, new research says

Sustainability software is increasingly essential in enterprises as regulators and stakeholders expect organizations to measure and disclose environmental impacts, driving demand for applications that collect, analyze and report sustainability data, according to new research from global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III).

The ISG Buyers Guide™ for Sustainability Management, produced by ISG Research, provides the rankings and ratings of 20 software providers and their products to support environmental sustainability. The research finds that enterprises need to accurately measure and disclose environmental impacts to fulfill their sustainability goals, and sustainability software supports these requirements by enabling organizations to provide transparent, auditable disclosures. The Buyers Guide for Sustainability Emerging Providers ranks and rates 12 innovative providers of sustainability software that may better suit specific enterprise needs or offer a lower total cost of implementation and ownership.

“Companies need consistent, accurate sustainability data to both comply with regulations and monitor how resources are used across the business,” said Robert Kugel, executive director, Business Research, ISG. “They have a growing number of software platforms to choose from that can meet diverse, evolving requirements.”

The environmental realm is the most complex of the three areas of sustainability companies must address, which also include social and governance topics, the research finds. It extends to environmental risks to a business and strategies to mitigate those risks. Under the principle of double materiality, enterprises need to understand both how their business affects the environment and how environmental factors can affect business results.

Yet despite the emergence of frameworks to create uniformity of data and disclosures, many enterprises still struggle with ambiguous definitions, inconsistent measurement methods and limited visibility into environmental data, the research shows. Through 2027, one-half of enterprises will lack sufficient data and software to measure their sustainability metrics to inform governance strategy, risk management and performance targets, ISG finds.

Divergent measurement and reporting standards across different regulatory environments compound the problem, the research finds. While the European Union has established a stronger mandate with its Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, several other governments have their own requirements, and state-level regulations are emerging in the U.S. These differences shape enterprise strategies and create complexity for multinational organizations.

In the face of growing challenges, companies are seeking sustainability software that can automate data collection, increase accuracy and reduce compliance risk, ISG finds. There is growing demand for real-time tracking, audit-ready disclosures and advanced capabilities including risk analysis, AI-driven forecasting and predictive analytics.

For its 2025 Buyers Guide for Sustainability Management, ISG evaluated software providers across three platform categories — Sustainability Management, Sustainability Insights and Sustainability Compliance. A total of 20 providers were assessed: AMCS, AuditBoard, Benchmark Gensuite, Cority, Diligent, IBM, Microsoft, Nasdaq, Oracle, Persefoni, Position Green, Sage, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Sievo, Sphera, Tango, Wolters Kluwer and Workiva.

ISG Research rates software providers in five evaluation categories: Overall, Product Experience (incorporating Capability and Platform) and Customer Experience. Providers ranked in the top three for each evaluation category are named as Leaders. Within each platform category, those with the most Leader rankings are named as Overall Leaders.

The Overall Leaders of the 2025 Buyers Guides™ for Sustainability were the following:

Sustainability Management: Workiva was the top Overall Leader, followed by Salesforce and Oracle. All three Overall Leaders were designated Leaders in four evaluation categories each. All three were rated Exemplary, along with Benchmark Gensuite, Diligent, Position Green and SAP. IBM and Microsoft were rated Innovative.

Sustainability Insights: Salesforce was the top Overall Leader, followed by Workiva and Oracle. Salesforce was designated a Leader in five evaluation categories, Workiva in three and Oracle in four. All three Overall Leaders were rated Exemplary, along with Benchmark Gensuite, Position Green, SAP and ServiceNow. Cority, IBM and Microsoft were rated Innovative.

Sustainability Compliance: Workiva was the top Overall Leader, followed by Oracle and Salesforce. All three Overall Leaders were designated Leaders in four evaluation categories each. All three were rated Exemplary, along with Benchmark Gensuite, Diligent, SAP, ServiceNow and Sphera. IBM and Microsoft were rated Innovative.

For its 2025 Buyers Guide for Sustainability Emerging Providers, ISG evaluated 12 providers: Datamaran, EcoOnline, Greenly, Green Project, Lucanet, Novata, Novisto, Plan A, Pulsora, Sweep, Watershed and Worldly.

The Overall Leaders of the 2025 Buyers Guide for Sustainability Emerging Providers were the following:

Sustainability Emerging Providers: Pulsora was the top Overall Leader, followed by Watershed and Sweep. Pulsora was designated a Leader in three evaluation categories, Watershed in four and Sweep in three. All three Overall Leaders were rated Exemplary, along with Greenly. Green Project and Lucanet were rated Innovative.

“Enterprises evaluate sustainability software based on multiple factors, including the platform’s adaptability to integrate with existing systems,” said David Menninger, executive director, software research, ISG. “This research provides a comprehensive set of software provider ratings based on our RFI (request for information) framework, which allows organizations to determine which products can best meet their current and future needs.”

The ISG Buyers Guides™ for Sustainability are the distillation of more than a year of market and product research efforts. The research is not sponsored nor influenced by software providers and is conducted solely to help enterprises optimize their business and IT software investments.

Visit this webpage to learn more about the ISG Buyers Guides™ for Sustainability and read executive summaries of each of the two reports. The complete reports, including provider rankings across seven product and customer experience dimensions and detailed research findings on each provider, are available by contacting ISG Research.

About ISG

ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments.

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Companies need consistent, accurate sustainability data to both comply with regulations and monitor how resources are used across the business. They have a growing number of software platforms to choose from that can meet diverse, evolving requirements.