Metals and minerals are, and will continue to be, vital components of everyday life. They play pivotal role in the construction of items essential to the infrastructures we rely on.

Mining companies are often criticized, not just for how they operate and what they leave behind, but also for the environmental effects of their products (such as coal). These issues are compounded by more immediate challenges including managing costs, supply-demand imbalances, increasing investor scrutiny, and safety concerns in an industry with such high fatality rates. We are helping our mining clients form a new narrative to demonstrate their societal and economic value leading to what we term as: ‘The mine we want to see.’

ERM works with major and junior mining companies around the world to help them address strategic, tactical, and operational challenges. This includes:

• Major incident and accident prevention, managing operational risks and control;
• Water custodianship corporate strategies and technical solutions;
• Social issues, human rights, stakeholder mapping and engagement, and conflict resolution;
• Data and resource efficiency, system streamlining, information solutions;
• The industry’s pivotal involvement in a product life-cycle and product stewardship;
• Mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, transaction strategies, liability and compliance assessments; and
• Long-term planning for closure and regeneration.

Our capabilities have been further enhanced by the recent acquisition of CSA Global, who have been providing outstanding technical and expert services to public and private mining companies for 30 years.

The projects we do with our mining clients add significant value across the mining lifecycle while helping them grow, better manage risk, realize a return on capital, improve their sustainability aspirations, and become better corporate citizens.

Renewable energy holds the key to cutting global greenhouse gas emissions and meeting one of the biggest challenges facing humanity.

Around 90% of the renewable capacity required to hit net zero emission targets by 2050 is yet to be built, and global renewables installed capacity will need to grow 10-fold by 2050 and requires over $25 trillion investment.

Success for companies in this rapidly expanding and increasingly competitive market, means facing many challenges and navigating risks which vary across markets and technologies:

ERM brings renewables support at every level of the organization and at every decision gateway, be it securing project approvals, supporting day-to-day operations, or tackling strategic challenges – all while reducing risk and driving value creation.

Our global team of leading experts in renewable energy combines international best practice with local understanding of regulations to help our clients implement leading renewable energy solutions at pace. This knowledge and expertise is leveraged with proprietary, cutting edge digital tools and proven workflows to provide integrated ESG, project development, and technical advisory solutions on a global scale.

The power sector is experiencing a fundamental shift in structure and underlying economics.

Ongoing deregulation, new market entrants, operating cost, and increasing political pressure are among the factors forcing developed markets into adopting renewables and driving traditional utilities to change their business models. These issues are further compounded by the ambition to de-carbonize power generation to mitigate the impact on climate change, while still remaining cost effective.

ERM partners with our Power clients to understand their challenges and provide both strategic and tactical solutions, including:

• Supporting their capital projects portfolio;
• Managing asset hardening;
• Addressing environmental health, social and safety (EHSS) operational performance improvement issues;
• Developing leading edge safety programs;
• Providing managed services to address resource concerns;
• Ensuring regulatory compliance;
• Creating and implementing strategies and tactics to sustainably retire assets; and
• Supporting refurbishment of brownfield sites for renewed economic development.

We are increasingly finding that the intricacy of the challenges requires a multi-discipline solution. ERM’s cross-disciplinary approach incorporates our broad technical knowledge with in-depth market insights to help bring significant value to our clients efforts to substantially improve business performance.

Financial Services is at the heart of every economy around the world. Without it, no other sector can operate.

Companies in the financial services sector and the organizations they work with are experiencing increasing pressure from regulators and wider society for greater transparency around the actions they are taking to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors in their investment and ownership processes and the way they themselves operate. This can be seen throughout the industry, in statements from leading investors like BlackRock and initiatives like the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

ERM works with all aspects of the financial services sector from banks and development institutions, to asset managers such as private equity and their portfolio companies, as well as asset owners including pension funds, insurers and Sovereign Wealth Funds. We have a range of services to help our clients in this industry address strategic, tactical, and operational opportunities and risks arising from ESG factors. These include:

• ESG strategy, policy and implementation framework and related advisory services
• Transaction Advisory services (Mergers & Acquisitions, Sell-side due diligence, Equator Principles due diligence and monitoring, post-merger and post-acquisition integration, Impact analysis, liability and compliance assessments)
• Low carbon economy transition services including TCFD aligned assessments and scenario analysis, Greenhouse gas (GHG) footprinting, application of Science Based Targets (SBTs) and Net-Zero strategies.
• Sustainability/ESG reporting and disclosure, ESG ratings/rankings, Investor engagement
• Portfolio analysis and strategy
• Social issue advisory including, human rights, supply chain, stakeholder mapping, and conflict resolution

ERM continues to evolve the range of skills and experiences within financial services, to help in operationalizing sustainability with world’s leading organizations. Our intention is to give our clients greater comfort in understanding and managing their risks and realizing returns on capital, while improving their sustainability aspirations.

The technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) is a $10 trillion sector globally, whose influence shapes much of society today.

While the TMT sector includes many familiar names, it also includes companies involved in areas such as media and entertainment content production, data centers, semiconductors, electronic design, and manufacturing. Given this scope, the sector faces numerous sustainability challenges - from product life cycle and supply chain management considerations, to energy management and infrastructure, to data privacy and cyber security. The TMT sector is built around rapid change, driven by technology and talent, and our clients are constantly tasked in responding to these changes.

ERM helps our clients with both strategic and tactical issues whether it be managing for growth, optimizing operational performance, providing assurance, or maintaining compliance. This includes:

• Improving operational performance toward operational excellence;
• Infrastructure and operational site selection and permitting, with consideration of cultural and land resource issues;
• Transaction support for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures of assets;
• Developing management systems and compliance infrastructures;
• Data management and cyber security guidance;
• Safety compliance, safety training, and on-site facility support;
• Environmental, Health, Safety, and Social support for facilities; and
• Asset retirement and re-development strategies.

We have developed a strong reputation of adding significant value to our TMT clients by applying our knowledge and talent to their most challenging sustainability issues.

The Chemical Industry is a 3 trillion dollar sector that touches almost everything in our world - from the food we eat and the clothes we wear, to the way we travel.

As a result of this broad scope, the sector includes a diverse range of companies. ERM works with clients ranging from the petrochemical to specialty manufacturing companies and has identified three major trends impacting their business:

• Increased demand for sustainability in their operations;
• Digital transformation; and
• Accelerated Globalization.

These trends manifest themselves in a range of issues that directly impact the strategy and operations of all chemical companies. We work with the most prominent chemical companies to manage the resulting challenges, including:

• Responding to increased social and investor pressures to act responsibly and increase sustainable practices while maintaining profitable operations;
• Demonstrating improved environmental and social stewardship to meet greater customer and end user expectations;
• Maintaining compliance with the continued growth in regulations globally;
• Applying better technology and data to maintain a competitive edge; and
• Navigating mergers & acquisitions, divestment, and asset retirement.

We bring value by understanding their immediate and long term needs and providing support that ranges from broad corporate sustainability to services that help with product stewardship, safety, due diligence, and remediation.

Manufacturing and pharmaceutical companies are facing increasingly complex issues that are impacting how they operate now and plan for the future.

Challenges range from consolidation and pressures on operations to research and development effectiveness and continuous talent management. Our clients are navigating a constant demand for growth, managing risk, keeping current with evolving technologies and processes, continuous talent management all while remaining competitive. In addition, investor and societal demands are increasing pressure to demonstrate more responsible behavior and improved sustainability performance.

ERM works with clients in the sector to address:

• Mergers, acquisitions, divestments, and post-acquisition integration;
• Compliance assurance with new and existing regulations;
• Managing risks and developing opportunities with product stewardship programs;
• Helping embed improved sustainability practices into the fabric of an organization;
• Providing significant and sustainable improvements in safety performance, processes, and culture;
• Increasing resource efficiency (energy, water, waste);
• Identifying and managing climate change risk;
• Improving data management and cyber security; and
• Increasing transparency and investor/stakeholder confidence through reporting.

Because we understand the challenges and implications our clients are facing, we are able to provide progressive solutions to address them from both strategic and technical perspectives. We add significant value in helping our clients grow, manage risk, and increase investor returns in a sustainable and responsible manner.

Oil and gas companies - whether upstream, mid-stream, or downstream - are facing a range of major challenges.

The complexity of global oil markets, changing geopolitical factors, the impact of unconventional resources, and the desire to be seen as a solution in the energy transition are just a few of the broad concerns impacting the sector.

More focused challenges center around how capital project development and delivery, the operational performance of assets, and the incessant rise of new technology are changing the way companies work at all levels.

Other issues include entering new markets, capital project support, and how to operate in a safe, compliant and sustainable way. ERM partners with the top oil and gas companies in the world to address their challenges across the entire value chain. This includes:

• Responding to increasing regulatory pressure and shareholder expectations on transparency in compliance and governance, including reporting;
• Mitigating social challenges that impact a license to operate;
• Addressing major accident risks;
• Recognizing and responding to the need for “above ground” non-technical risk management to avoid delays or cost overruns to major capital projects; and
• Delivering performance in the face of human challenges including recruiting, retirements and a large contractor base.

Our deep knowledge in the areas of sustainability, capital project management, operational performance improvement, safety programs, and asset retirement, add value in helping our oil and gas clients grow, manage risk effectively, and provide a return to their investors.

While we are primarily focused on industries with the greatest sustainability challenges, we do a considerable amount of work in other industries and sectors. These include:

• Aerospace
• Automotive
• Consumer Products and Retailers
• Food and Drink
• Government
• Legal
• Real Estate and Land Development
• Textiles and Apparel
• Transportation

The drivers for decarbonization continue to intensify. Climate-related market and technology disruptors and policy changes present material financial risk and opportunity to organizations. Investors and lenders demanding net zero alignment as well as climate risk and opportunity disclosures.

Consumer trends highlight a widespread willingness to forgo a preferred brand in favor of a more eco-friendly alternative, as well as to pay more for sustainable goods. And financial regulator compliance obligations that were initially focused towards financial institutions are now expanding to listed corporates and large privately owned businesses.

Accelerating decarbonization begins in the boardroom, developing a strategy which is practical and deliverable by the organization, without compromising commercial objectives. ERM helps companies create long-term value by reimagining business models and portfolios, and evaluating the impact of regulated and voluntary carbon markets on business strategy.

Related capabilities

• Due diligence
• Sustainability reporting & strategy
• Air quality
• Energy & climate change
• Systems implementation
• Certification & verification
• Human rights

Our clients work in fast paced and increasingly competitive transactional environments, seeking greater efficiencies and data-driven insights to inform decision making and negotiations.

ERM helps clients mitigate environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability risks to maximize and protect value throughout their investment lifecycle by delivering insight driven, commercially focused due diligence. We also look beyond risk mitigation to identify value creation opportunities through ESG and sustainability-focused strategic initiatives and operational efficiencies.

We help our clients maximize and protect value by leveraging the collective insights of our global advisory team and our sector and regional ESG/sustainability subject matter experts.

ERM’s approach to Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) provides our clients with an informed negotiating position at all stages of their investment lifecycle, from acquisition, integration, and operational transformation, through divestiture planning and the final realization of this value upon exit.

By working with ERM, clients can mitigate ESG and sustainability risks as well as increase their competitive advantage, potentially accelerate return on investment and further the attainment of strategic goals.

Related capabilities

• Due diligence
• Management systems & compliance
• Data analytics & visualization
• Remediation management
• Sustainability reporting & strategy
• Energy & climate change

Investing in new or expanding existing assets is done to add significant value to a business, but ineffective management of environmental, safety and social risks can severely limit the realization of this value.

ERM partners with clients to meet their strategic goals and growth objectives at every stage of a capital project. Through our global presence and local networks, we deliver on time and on budget, securing local approvals and ensuring alignment with international standards.

Our approach to risk management is not about ensuring a single tactical task (e.g., that a permit is issued); rather, it is about identifying risks, prioritizing them based on potential impact and likelihood, and then managing all related aspects that could derail the schedule or jeopardize the capital project. This proactive management also helps to protect and enhance corporate reputation.

As the largest global pure play sustainability consultancy, ERM supports clients along their journeys to transition to a lower carbon future. Our ability to do so across the full project lifecycle has been strengthened through our ever-growing networks of local partners, and our recent acquisitions.

Related capabilities

• Impact assessment
• Management systems & compliance
• Social performance
• Biodiversity & ecological
• Marine systems
• Water resources
• Air quality
• Human rights

The risks associated with a changing climate are recognized as systemic to the global economy.

Pressure is increasing from investors, regulators, customers and society for business and governments to transition to a lower carbon economy. ERM is distinctly positioned to help our clients in the corporate and finance sector to navigate this transition, from strategic advice through to practical on-the-ground implementation.

• Advising at corporate and asset levels to identify and reduce carbon emissions and climate-related financial risk within the value chain
• Providing climate policy analyses and intelligence to assess evolving regulatory requirements
• Facilitating strategic, multi-stakeholder coalitions to assist clients in ensuring economically and environmentally sustainable climate policies
• Building new or repurposing existing infrastructure for the new lower-carbon economy (e.g. renewables, electricity networks, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS))
• Helping to close, clean-up and regenerate old fossil fuel related assets as the low carbon transition gathers momentum
• Assessing how nature based solutions can support carbon reduction goals and build resilience of assets impacted by climate change

ERM’s experience helping clients navigate the changes across multiple sectors enables us to bring extensive technical and strategic capability to help organizations act at the scale and speed necessary to remain successful.

Related capabilities

• Air quality
• Energy & climate change
• Certification & verification
• Data analytics & visualization
• Due diligence
• Decommissioning, decontamination & demolition
• Impact assessment

As companies respond to unprecedented change, new operating realities and stakeholder demands, leaders are under pressure to deliver more value in an increasingly complex business environment.

Investments in environment, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability programs are no exception - every dollar spent needs to protect or create value for the business. ERM helps executives shape these programs to fit this new context by better connecting the EHS and sustainability functions with operations.

We help organizations mitigate risk, grow revenues, and manage costs through a business outcome-driven approach to EHS and sustainability that includes:

Optimizing and transforming EHS

ERM engages functional and operations teams to assess the need for change - whether driven by M&A activity, industry transformation, regulatory transgression, or other business factors – as well as co-design a new way forward that works to unite the organization, and deliver results through more streamlined, effective and efficient EHS and sustainability programs.

Integrating digital approaches

Smarter, better integrated use of data is perhaps the theme of today’s EHS and sustainability world. ERM helps clients make better use of what they have already invested in and equip operations with the insight they need to deliver improved performance, from the front line to the C-suite.

Delivering enterprise transformation

Increasingly clients are turning to ERM to implement and support components of their EHS and sustainability programs on their behalf. This allows companies to focus on their core business while leveraging our multi-disciplinary EHS and sustainability expertise and in depth experience to deliver value.

Our approach unites EHS and sustainability and operations teams by creating and testing new ideas to solve the issues that are most important to our clients’ organizations through management consulting, digital advisory, organizational change management and technical EHS and sustainability expertise.

Related capabilities

• Client learning & change management
• Systems implementation
• Management systems & compliance
• Audit
• Energy & climate change
• Strategic communications & stakeholder engagement

As regulatory requirements and social expectations continually evolve, many organizations struggle to thoroughly and cost-effectively meet their ongoing obligations.

Compliance with environmental, health and safety (EHS) and social issues is an ongoing commitment that needs to be embedded into the strategic management of business risk and visible leadership commitment and behaviors, as well as in day-to-day management systems of the operation.

Managing regulatory obligations, such as permitting and ongoing compliance, is integral to enhancing operational risk management and protecting corporate reputation. Many leading companies also view compliance as an indicator of broader operational performance factors, such as resource efficiency and business resilience.

We work with every level in the organization to define, design, and deploy programs that achieve and sustain compliance, effectively manage EHS issues, and also control operational costs and reduce risks. We improve the effectiveness of management systems and minimize disruption by working closely with clients to reduce unnecessary complexity and ease the transition on the front lines. Our approach helps clients:

• Integrate EHS social, legal and other requirements into the core business processes
• Develop and streamline compliance management systems and their implementation
• Ensure compliance with complex air, water and waste regulations and permits
• Use robust audit programs that focus on areas where risks remain
• Simplify data management and making data-driven decisions
• Safeguard business continuity and future operations
• Where clients choose to implement a management system to support the evolution of their business they often seek to obtain a certification against one of the many standards available.

Our Certification and Verification Services (CVS) can provide independent accredited 3rd party certification to standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 50001.

Related capabilities

• Management systems & compliance
• Air quality
• Audit
• Water resources
• Certification & verification
• Client learning & change management

Environmental liabilities are a part of almost every company’s asset portfolio and balance sheet. The regulatory, technical and social complexities of these liabilities heighten risk and potentially reduce asset value.

Throughout a company’s asset life cycle, ERM helps our clients manage these risks through strategic approaches, digital applications and best-fit technical methods that identify, assess and manage environmental liabilities.

We actively engage with client teams to understand and respond to their specific and evolving needs and obligations through an end-to-end integration of site investigation, remediation, decommissioning and retirement processes. We help our clients with:

• Options analysis and exit strategy
• Digital portfolio dashboarding
• Liability assessments
• Asset recycling
• Regulatory adaptation strategies
• Portfolio risk heat mapping for emerging risks such as contaminants, regulatory, stakeholders, and Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)

Through cross-functional strategic engagement, we work to transform environmental liabilities and legacy assets into a risk-adjusted portfolio, which supports favorable M&A outcomes, alignment to sustainability goals, and social acceptance.

Related capabilities

• Decommissioning, decontamination & demolition
• Data analytics & visualization
• Human health & ecological risk
• Remediation management
• Site investigation & risk assessment
• Social performance

Keeping people and assets safe is a fundamental requirement in any business, but often the substantial resources that companies invest in safety still fail to achieve the desired goal. 

Increasingly, we are seeing that a number of approaches to safety may actually impede progress in improving safety performance, as they are often difficult to embrace, replicate, and sustain.

ERM encourages clients to move beyond traditional compliance and corrective programs so that they can maximize the return on their investments in safety - to safeguard lives, protect assets and strengthen reputation. 

ERM helps organizations to:

• Strengthen their existing safety culture and demonstrably improve their safety performance
• Reduce risks by developing skills to better observe unsafe behaviors, identify hazards and empowering people to take action
• Enhance the effectiveness of leaders, employees and contractors to promote safer outcomes 
• Reinvigorate existing processes and programs - maximizing the value of safety investments 
• ERM has a broad and diverse global consulting team that includes health, safety and risk management consultants, stakeholder management consultants, data analysts, human factors specialists, engineers, and coaches. 

With this range of technical competencies and experience across most sectors, ERM co-designs solutions for leadership and culture programs, contractor and construction safety, process safety, fatality prevention, and many other specific client objectives to keep people and assets safe.

Related capabilities

• Audit
• Client learning & change management
• Human health & ecological risk
• Management systems & compliance
• Marine systems
• Media Production Safety
• Systems implementation

Worldwide, business leaders face market and investor pressure to optimize operational performance at an accelerating pace and larger scale.

To achieve this, companies are pursuing innovation and new value-creation opportunities through digital transformation of the enterprise. A core part of the transformation is the digitization of environment, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability systems, making processes more automated, better connected and insightful.

ERM’s Digital Services help organizations achieve these improvements in EHS and sustainability performance through tech-enabled innovation. We deliver these business outcomes through our global network, EHS and sustainability subject matter expertise and extensive digital capabilities.

Our digital services approach integrates:

Digital Advisory

We help clients understand the value of digital transformation and identify a roadmap and program to realize this value while mitigating risks. In an increasingly complex world, our clients can find it difficult to decide where to start or how to progress. Our ‘Discover, Design, Deliver’ process develops an EHS and sustainability digital roadmap aligned to the corporate business objectives while delivering improved performance; meeting rising stakeholder expectations; and enabling faster, better, safer operations.

Digital Systems

We support business leaders in the successful selection, configuration, implementation and sustainment of EHS and sustainability management information systems. We bring a deep understanding of global EHS and sustainability business capabilities, regulatory requirements and best practices. We also provide objective, independent advice on off-the-shelf or custom-built, third-party technologies and knowledge of the market presence of these technologies within our clients.

Data Management and Analytics

We help clients understand what is most important to measure, what to look for, where to look and how to convert data to actionable insights through visualizations, predictive/preventative models, data curation, smart automations, underpinned by an integrated data governance strategy.

Related capabilities

• Systems implementation & support
• Data analytics & visualization
• Strategic change & cultural transformation
• Site investigation & risk assessment
• Remediation management
• Management systems & compliance

From stressed supply chains to sustainable sourcing, from Scope 3 transparency to circular economy thinking, the complexities around sustainable products are myriad and expansive.

Impacts from climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated and exposed critical vulnerabilities in global supply chains, as well as extreme inequalities in the global economy. Along with increasing regulatory scrutiny of processes and materials, companies must also meet stakeholder demand for sustainability across the product lifecycle - sourcing, manufacturing, distribution and disposal.

Simply complying with regulations is not enough - organizations must demonstrate robust effective product stewardship programs that safeguard reputation and build competitive advantage. Our global product stewardship team helps clients bring products to market safely, sustainably, and in compliance with global regulations, in a way that also meets their business goals and satisfies key stakeholders. Our approach focuses on three key aspects:

• Ensuring Global Product Stewardship - Partnering with clients to support product compliance, access to raw materials and end markets
• Creating Sustainable Supply Chains - Embedding effective ESG management practices in our clients' supply chain and suppliers to keep their products in the market at the right time and at the right cost.
• Driving Product Sustainability & Circular Economy - Partnering with clients to support sustainable product design and circular economy efforts

Our global network of regulatory experts, scientists and consultants support clients in the product stewardship, design, marketing, regulatory affairs, chemical compliance, and sustainability functions. This helps organizations minimize environmental impacts throughout the product lifecycle; take new, innovative, and safer products to market; support the responsible use of resources and a safe environment in manufacturing, distribution and end of life management; and protect market share through the successful defense of active substances and products.

Related capabilities

• Human health & ecological risk
• Strategic communications & stakeholder engagement
• Sustainability reporting & strategy
• Biodiversity & ecological
• Due diligence
• Energy & climate change
• Human rights

ERM offers a wide range of capabilities to meet your company's needs:

• Acoustics
• Air quality
• Audit
• Biodiversity & ecological
• Certification & verification
• Climate risk & scenario analysis
• Cultural heritage & archaeology
• Data analytics & visualization
• Decommissioning, decontamination & demolition
• Due diligence
• Energy & climate change
• Human health & ecological risk
• Human rights
• Impact assessment
• Land & right of way
• Management systems & compliance
• Marine systems
• Media Production Safety
• Remediation management
• Site investigation & risk assessment
• Social performance
• Strategic change & cultural transformation
• Strategic communications & stakeholder engagement
• Sustainability reporting & strategy

Creating impact through our people and partnerships:

The ERM Foundation was established in 1995 to enable ERM and its employees to provide funding and professional support for non-profit organizations and social enterprises that share our commitment to creating a more sustainable and equitable world.

Our focus areas

The ERM Foundation invests in organizations and programs that create impact at the intersection of biodiversity, climate action, and investing in women and young people as agents of change.

• Protecting and restoring biodiversity (including environmental education)
• Improving access to low carbon products and services
• Investing in women’s livelihoods in the ‘green’ economy
• Improving access to clean water and sanitation

How we work

The ERM Foundation provides small grants and pro bono professional support for smaller NGOs and social enterprises for whom our level of funding is most impactful. ERM employees contribute their time and expertise, and arrange fundraising events to support ERM Foundation partner organizations.

The ERM Foundation Annual Review 2022

ERM has now published our FY22 ERM Foundation Annual Review, showcasing some of the work done in partnership with NGOs during the past year. Download the ERM Foundation Annual Review 2022

Standing Together with our NGO partners during the COVID-19 pandemic

In 2020, the ERM Foundation launched Standing Together, an award-winning fund to provide unrestricted funding and professional support to help some of our longer-term NGO partners navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and build resilience.