How to find clients for your ESG or CSRD consultancy
· Updated · The Saleshunt Team
Find them by what they publish. Whether a company needs an ESG, CSRD or SFDR adviser rarely shows in its sector or size. It shows in what the company says about itself: a sustainability report, an EcoVadis rating (or no mention of one), Article 8 or 9 funds. So the way to find clients is to check every company in your market for those facts, with a source for each answer.
Why a company database can't tell you who fits
A database knows sector, number of employees, revenue and country. Useful for drawing the outline of a market, but none of those fields tell you whether a company is a fit for your consultancy. Two manufacturers of the same size in the same region can be years apart in their sustainability reporting.
The questions that decide fit
These are the questions that tend to decide fit for an ESG consultancy, and why each one matters:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Publishes a sustainability report? | Reporting has started, so the question is how, not whether. |
| EcoVadis rating mentioned? | If they don't mention one, they may not have one yet, and a customer may ask for it soon. |
| Mentions CSRD or VSME reporting? | The topic is on their agenda, in their own words. |
| Runs Article 8 or 9 funds? | For fund managers, the SFDR question that decides fit. |
| Has a sustainability lead? | Someone owns the topic, so there is someone to talk to. |
| Mentions customers asking for ESG data? | Pressure from their own customers is often what starts the work. |
Check every company in your market for them
Describe your market in a sentence, then add the question that decides fit. Saleshunt checks each company against it and shows the answer with its source. Asked “Publishes a sustainability report but has no EcoVadis rating?”, it looks like this:
| Company | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hoogland Verpakkingen Tilburg | Report 2025 · no rating mentioned | Annual report 2025 |
| Maasdelta Logistiek Rotterdam | Report 2024 · no rating mentioned | Company website, sustainability page |
| Hesselkamp Metaal Apeldoorn | First report 2025 · no rating mentioned | Company press release, March 2025 |
| Veldkamp Ingrediënten Ede | Report 2025 · no rating mentioned | Company website, ESG page |
We asked Claude a real version of this question, with and without Saleshunt: manufacturers in Baden-Württemberg with a sustainability report but no EcoVadis rating. The results are in Can ChatGPT or Claude build your prospect list?
Every answer shows where it came from
Before you contact a company, you want to see why it fits. Each answer comes with its source: the page, report or press release it came from. Where we couldn't confirm something, the answer says so, and that is the part to check yourself.
Open any answer in Saleshunt to see how it was reached and the sources behind it.
Reach out at the right moment
Tell Saleshunt which changes matter. It keeps checking the companies on your list and shows what changed, with the source. Three moments worth watching for:
A company publishes its first sustainability report
They have started. The next reporting step is often where an adviser becomes useful.
A new sustainability or ESG lead joins
A new owner of the topic is likely to review support, systems and reporting priorities.
A company starts talking about CSRD or VSME
Intent appears in the company's own words, before a consultancy has necessarily been chosen.
Then talk to the right person
For every company that fits, Saleshunt finds the right person, such as the sustainability lead or CFO, and checks they still work there. You decide who to contact and what goes out.