ESG reporting software: A category rising above the noise

In a year marked by regulatory uncertainty and politicized backlash, one thing is clear: the need for high-quality ESG data isn’t going anywhere. That’s the message underscored by Gartner’s newly released Market Guide for ESG Reporting and Management Software (June 2025), which outlines the continued momentum of enterprise investment in ESG tooling. The report serves as further validation that ESG Reporting and Management Software has not only become an established category—it’s evolving to meet a new level of organizational scrutiny and sophistication.

In parallel - the market continues to do Z and Y, the larger environment, blah blah blah.. MAKE AN INTRO LINE TO SOFTEN IT AND TALK ABOUT HOW IT”S MORE GENREAL 

Recognized for the third consecutive year

We’re proud to been named a Representative Vendor in this year’s Market Guide, marking our third consecutive inclusion since 2023. As momentum around ESG software continues to build, we believe this consistent recognition affirms our growing presence and focus in a rapidly maturing market.

It also follows our recognition as a Leader in Verdantix’s Green Quadrant and recent Series C funding announcement—another milestone reinforcing investor confidence in our platform, our team, and our long-term vision. As we scale, we remain committed to helping organizations turn ESG reporting from a burden into a business advantage. 

Companies and investors are staying the course - despite ESG backlash 

Gartner’s report speaks to larger themes about where the market is goind… 

Even as political pressure mounts, global companies and institutional investors remain resolutely committed to sustainability. A recent Reuters Events white paper found that the majority of American firms and investors are maintaining their ESG programs, with just one in ten investors retreating due to political pushback. Similarly, a 2025 BNP Paribas survey of 420 institutional investors across 29 countries found that 87% have maintained their ESG objectives despite geopolitical shifts. Moreover, a strong majority (84%) anticipate that sustainability progress will continue at the same pace or pick up speed by 2030.

These numbers aren't simply optimistic—they reflect a deeper reality: sustainability efforts are being pursued as defenses against a backdrop of systemic risks. The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2025 points to mounting concerns over geopolitical instability, armed conflict, and extreme weather events. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2024 was the hottest year on record, with global average temperatures exceeding 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels for eleven consecutive months.

Ultimately, the steadfast commitment to ESG and sustainability programs isn’t occurring in a vacuum. And, while regulatory proposals such as the CSRD Omnibus package in Europe may aim to streamline certain disclosure requirements, these do not signal or symbolize a global, widespread retreat from ESG, a stated fear amongst some early critiques of the package. As we noted in The Omnibus CSRD Proposal—simplification, but no death knell,companies are staying the course because ESG risks are still business risks and these risks need to robust mitigation and management. Thus, it’s become increasingly apparent that companies are holding the line, irespective of changing regulatory policies and political turbulence. 

Continued investment in ESG reporting software 

Despite public debate and political headwinds, companies are doubling down on systematizing ESG data—not only to meet external disclosure requirements, but to help them manage increasingly complex sustainability programs. And it’s this, in part, is what’s fuelling the market 

According to Verdantix, the global ESG reporting and data management software market exceeded $1.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% through 2029. Moreover, their Global Corporate Survey 2024: ESG & Sustainability Budgets, Priorities And Tech Preferences found that 81% of firms indicated plans to increase their ESG software investments, pointing to ongoing growth fueled by expanding disclosure requirements, regulatory pressure, and the drive for better risk oversight and performance visibility.

These findings align with Gartner’s 2025 Market Guide for ESG Reporting and Management Software, which similarly notes that organizations are continuing to invest in ESG tools to meet both compliance demands and broader performance goals. As Gartner puts it, “organizations continue to invest in tools that manage and report enterprise environmental, social, and governance data to drive compliance and sustainability performance”. 

Against the wider backdrop of converging risks and sustained investor focus, Gartner’s latest Market Guide reinforces what many leaders already recognize: ESG software is no longer a temporary compliance tool—it’s becoming foundational to how companies manage performance, mitigate risk, and align strategy with stakeholder expectations.

A pure-play platform built for all of E-S-G

While many vendors in Gartner’s market guide originated from EHS, GRC, or carbon accounting backgrounds, Novisto is different. We’re a pure-play ESG platform—built from the ground up by sustainability professionals forsustainability professionals and the teams they interact with (finance, investor relations, legal, etc.).

That distinction matters. Our platform was purposefully designed to manage all three pillars of ESG, not just carbon emissions or as ‘add-on’ feature to financial reporting software. In addition to 2000+ built-in metrics and 14,000 data points across all E-S-G categories, we provide support for 25+ ESG taxonomies, allowing companies to ‘collect data once and report to many’. 

Gartner also recognized Novisto’s robust CSRD capabilities, including integrated workflows for double materiality assessments and XBRL tagging—two critical components for companies preparing for Europe’s most demanding sustainability regulation. In addition, the report highlights our growing integration ecosystem, with built-in connectivity to carbon management software leaders like SINAI and Minimum. 

“Novisto provides GenAI, AI and ML capabilities, including identifying outliers in data collection and automating the extraction of benchmarking data for comparison against peers.”

• Gartner’s Market Guide for ESG Reporting and Management Software, June 2025

The market is evolving—and so are the needs

Gartner notes that the ESG reporting and management software market is being propelled by the increasing scale, complexity, and scrutiny of sustainability programs—including the rising demand for auditable, decision-useful disclosures that satisfy a broadening set of stakeholder expectations. 

Overall, their findings affirm what we hear from customers every day: teams are ill-equipped to meet this growing complexity and end up spending too much time on manual tasks. As reporting requirements expand and data sources multiply, many teams find themselves stuck in reactive mode—wrangling spreadsheets, chasing down inputs, and struggling to produce reliable, audit-ready outputs. Gartner analysis confirms that the right ESG platform can transform this experience, enabling faster access to insights, reducing compliance risk, and setting the stage for long-term sustainability performance management.

But not all platforms are created equal, and the right capabilities aren’t always easy to evaluate. Strong data collection, governance, and integration are foundational, yet often overlooked during the buying process. That’s why we created a step-by-step ESG software buyer’s guide, to help companies navigate this complexity with confidence.

“ESG reporting solutions are needed to meet increasingly complex requirements, freeing up capacity of ESG teams to focus on strategic execution rather than lower-level data tasks.”

• Gartner’s Market Guide for ESG Reporting and Management Software, June 2025

Looking for ESG reporting software?

Let’s talk. Book a quick 15-minute conversation to explore your ESG goals, challenges, and what’s next on your roadmap. Learn why leading global enterprises like SLB, the Emirates Group, and Sanofi trust Novisto to drive their ESG data management and reporting objectives.