Professional Services Matrix
Making Pillar 3 climate impact measurable and actionable—shifting the focus from footprint alone to the solutions, decisions, and transformation your firm helps enable every day.
Built on the momentum of the Serviced Emissions Framework and strengthened by ERI's collaboration with Oxford Net Zero and Net Zero Climate, PSM turns bold climate ambition into practical action. Through its leadership of the Serviced Emissions Hub Consulting Working Group, ERI is helping define what climate accountability looks like for the future of professional services.
For professional services firms, Pillar 3 (Build & Scale Solutions) represents the biggest opportunity—your client work can enable climate solutions at massive scale.
Pillar 3 Is Your Biggest Lever
Professional services firms have small direct emissions (Pillar 1), but their Pillar 3 impact potential is massive. Through the clients you serve and projects you deliver, you can enable climate solutions at scale.
Engineering consultancy AFRY demonstrates up to ~127x Impact Ratio in their Global Solar project portfolio—for every tonne they emit, they enable up to ~127 tonnes avoided through the renewable energy projects they engineer.1,2
* Based on role-based attribution methodology aligned with GHG Protocol and WBCSD standards. The ~127x represents AFRY's peak project ratio (Global Solar Portfolio). Ratios across AFRY's projects range from 1.8x to 127x depending on project type and attribution methodology.
A consulting firm advising renewable energy deployment accelerates the transition to clean energy.
A law firm facilitating fossil fuel expansion indirectly contributes to increased emissions.
Align Your Business Strategy with Climate Ambition
Professional services firms have small direct emissions but massive indirect climate impact through the clients they serve and projects they deliver. The PSM provides a framework to assess, plan, transform and report on your portfolio.
A Two-Dimensional View of Climate Performance
The PSM assesses your portfolio across two axes: who you work for (Client Tiers) and what you help them do (Project Tiers).
Client Tiers (Y-Axis)
Who are you working for?
Core business delivers climate solutions (≥90% climate solutions revenue)
Diversified business with comprehensive climate governance
Diversified business with partial/early-stage climate action
Core business misaligned with climate transition
Project Tiers (X-Axis)
What are you helping them do?
Projects that directly enable climate transition
Projects supporting decarbonization pathways
Conventional projects without climate focus
Projects that support fossil fuel activities
PSM Workflow
Five Steps to Business & Climate Portfolio Excellence
The PSM guides your team from baseline assessment to measurable impact — combining commercial growth strategy with science-aligned climate performance.
Three ways to get started — all supported by the same five-step workflow.
Explore & Build
Add and assess clients and projects one by one at your own pace. Ideal for getting started without a data file, and for firms that need to keep client data within their own systems — no file upload or external connection required.
Client Assessment
Upload a client list or connect your CRM/ERP to run CT-tier assessments across your full portfolio in one go.
Full PSM Assessment
Import both client and project data together for a complete climate performance baseline across both dimensions.
Assess the Portfolio
Assess your client portfolio and, where relevant, their projects — manually, by file upload, or by connecting your CRM/ERP.
Build a clear, evidence-based climate performance baseline across your portfolio.
Define the Desired State
Set your portfolio's growth ambition: revenue targets, client and project mix, assessment tier progression, and time horizon.
Translate business growth goals into concrete, board-ready climate performance targets.
Identify Gaps & Opportunities
Run the gap analysis to surface the delta between today's portfolio and your desired state.
Pinpoint exactly where the greatest commercial and climate opportunities lie — and quantify them.
Build the Roadmap
Generate an AI-powered roadmap of prioritised initiatives, with Gantt timeline and progress overlays.
Turn gaps into a concrete, client-ready action plan with clear revenue and climate outcomes.
Implement & Track Progress
Track milestones, update completion status, and monitor progress across all initiatives.
Demonstrate measurable business impact and climate performance with real progress data.
Steps 1–3 are available now in the Beta. Steps 4–5 are in development and will enter Beta in Q2 2026.
Data Integrity & Security
Your Data, Your Control
PSM is designed for firms that handle sensitive client relationships. Whether you assess manually or connect your systems, you remain in full control of what enters the platform and what is retained.
Assess Without a Bulk Upload
The manual path lets you assess clients one by one without uploading a file or connecting an external system. The client name is used only for the assessment lookup and is not retained unless you choose to save the result to your portfolio. Ideal for firms that need to minimise external data exposure.
Controlled Data Import
When you choose to upload a file or connect a CRM/ERP, you control exactly which fields are mapped and imported. There is no background sync and no automatic data pull — data only enters the platform when you explicitly trigger an import.
Secure by Design
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Access is role-based and workspace-scoped — your data is never shared across organisations. Each workspace is fully isolated, and you control who has access.
One List or Many — Focus Areas Adapt to Your Firm.
Many firms begin with a single Top Client List — a company-wide strategic portfolio (e.g. Top 100 or Top 300) — and run the full PSM workflow without ever needing Focus Areas. Programme Focuses become useful when a second client population enters the picture — for example, when a business division defines its own strategic list, or when the scope is extended to a new segment. The central team typically orchestrates this in collaboration with business division management.
Introduce a Second List
When a second client population is needed — such as a business division's own strategic list — create a Focus Area for it.
Assign Clients
Add the clients belonging to this population. If an original Top Client List exists, it can become Focus Area 1.
Generate a Targeted Roadmap
Each Focus Area gets its own AI-generated roadmap, calibrated to that group’s CT tiers and engagement levels.
Six Example Focus Types
Key Accounts
Your highest-value or highest-potential clients — track their CT progression and deepen engagement.
Sector / Industry
Group clients by sector (e.g. Industrials, Finance) to run sector-specific transition programmes.
Geography
Region or country-based programmes — useful for regulatory alignment or local market campaigns.
Tier Progression
Target clients at a specific CT tier (e.g. CT2) and build a programme to move them to CT3.
Business Division
Organise by internal practice or division — e.g. Strategy, ESG Advisory, Infrastructure.
Opportunity Pipeline
Pre-sales or pipeline clients — assess them early and prepare climate-ready proposals.
Many firms run the full PSM workflow on a single client list and never need Focus Areas. They become valuable when a second strategic population — such as a business division's client list — needs its own assessment, roadmap, and tracking.
Join the PSM Beta
The PSM Beta is open to professional services firms ready to measure and act on their Pillar 3 climate impact. Beta participants get early access to Phases 1–3, direct input into product development, and support from the ERI team.
Requests are reviewed by the ERI team. We aim to respond within 2–3 business days.
Beta access by application
Built for Strategic Decision-Makers
The PSM is designed for professional services firms who want to align their business strategy with climate ambition.
Consulting Firms
Managing diverse client portfolios across industries
Marketing Agencies
Choosing which brands and campaigns to represent
Legal Firms
Selecting which deals and clients to pursue
Financial Advisory
Guiding investment and M&A decisions
Built on the Serviced Emissions Framework
The Serviced Emissions Framework, developed by Oxford Net Zero and Net Zero Climate, defines six action areas for professional services firms to measure and reduce the emissions they enable through client work. PSM is ERI's implementation of this framework for the consulting sector—making Action Areas 1 and 3 measurable and actionable today, with further areas in development.
Serviced Emissions Framework: Action Areas
PSMPSM is developed by the Exponential Roadmap Initiative as lead of the Serviced Emissions Hub Consulting Working Group.