Anthesis Consulting Group

Anthesis Consulting Group

Anthesis launched in 2013 when London-based sustainability consultancy Best Foot Forward merged with ten other specialized firms across Europe, North America, and Asia, backed by private equity firm Palatine Private Equity. Co-founders Stuart McLachlan and Dean Sanders consolidated niche practices covering carbon accounting, circular economy design, and supply-chain transparency into a single platform. The firm has since acquired more than 20 additional consultancies, including American sustainability stalwart M.J. Bradley and digital products studio Cake. It operates as a for-profit consultancy owned by Carlyle Group, which acquired a majority stake in 2022. The firm delivers climate risk assessment, net-zero transition planning, and ESG data management to large corporates and governments. Its project portfolio spans renewable energy supply-chain optimization for UK grocer Tesco, circular-economy product design for luxury group Kering, and methane-leak monitoring for energy majors. Anthesis does not make direct investments or manage pooled funds; instead it originates advisory mandates across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region, often embedding teams inside client organizations for multi-year transformations. With roughly 1,300 professionals, the firm is the largest specialist sustainability consultancy by headcount, operating from 40 offices in over 20 countries. Its digital division builds custom software for enterprise carbon accounting and life-cycle assessment. In September 2023, Anthesis acquired Carbon Credentials, a UK-based energy performance specialist, deepening its managed services bench. The firm also operates Anthesis Compassion Fund, an employee-directed grant-making entity for local environmental nonprofits. Unlike generalist consultancies that bolt ESG practices onto legacy audit or strategy engines, Anthesis is entirely architectured around sustainability — it has no audit practice, no tax advisory, and no conflict-of-interest firewall separating carbon advice from financial consulting. The Carlyle acquisition separated the firm from its original private equity sponsor while providing growth capital for aggressive consolidation in a fragmenting market, making it a pure-play consolidation vehicle at scale.