Anthesis expands its Latin American operation and Anthesis Digital portfolio through ConTREEbute merger

Anthesis, the leading global pure-play sustainability advisory and solutions firm, today announced it has expanded its operations in Latin America by merging its established team in Bogotá with sustainability and digital consultancy, ConTREEbute. This deal represents the twentieth purpose-led organisation to join Anthesis in ten years, uniting behind an unrivalled breadth of capabilities and depth of expertise. Details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

ConTREEbute was established in 2009 to help companies and individuals offset greenhouse gas emissions by planting native trees in different parts of Colombia. Identifying sustainability as a purposeful source of value creation for organisations, ConTREEbute evolved its expertise into corporate sustainability consulting, navigating clients through complex issues from compliance regulation challenges to increasing brand equity.

In 2021, ConTREEbute developed and launched MERO, which enables organisations to integrate sustainability into their business strategy and close the technological gap in the management of ESG information. MERO was developed in response to market challenges around data consolidation and management and backed by ConTREEbute’s expertise in developing complex sustainability reports. MERO will join and complement Anthesis’ best-in-class SaaS solutions, including Anthesis RouteZero, for supply chain reporting and compliance, product footprinting impacts, sustainable cities with purpose-led KPIs, market-specific reporting, climate risk and investment planning, and intelligent and reliable market insights.

With offices in Medellín and Bogotá, ConTREEbute has grown to nearly 70 consultants and developers, supporting +150 clients across all sectors, including Energy, Finance, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage, and Retail. Some of its clients include Grupo Éxito, Ecopetrol, Grupo Aval, Grupo Argos, Nutresa, Corona, GreenLan, and Triple A.

This agreement further cements the confidence of Anthesis in Latin America where the company has had a presence through its merger with Lavola in 2019. Within its established operations in Colombia and Brazil, the company provides private companies, national agencies, governments and multi-laterals with solutions across Corporate Sustainability, Climate Change, Carbon Management, Circular Economy, Transactions and Corporate Services and Strategic Communications.

Stuart McLachlan, CEO of Anthesis, comments, “I’m very pleased to welcome the ConTREEbute and MERO teams to Anthesis. Their dedication to tackling some of the most complex regulatory issues and using digital solutions as an enabler strongly aligns with our approach. Anthesis is uniquely positioned to provide the joined-up thinking the market is demanding, and ConTREEbute builds on that through further expertise in Latin America and the addition of MERO to our suite of Anthesis Digital tools.”

Juan Luis Botero, CEO of ConTREEbute, said, “We are very excited about this merger; we see in Anthesis the best ally to grow with and a global platform to share our expertise and expand our MERO solution into. We can collectively drive transformation towards a better future as one team.”

This is the first transaction for Anthesis since global Investment firm Carlyle completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Anthesis. ConTREEbute is Anthesis’ fourth M&A deal in 2023, following announcements with Australian sustainability advisory firm, Ndevr Environmental, a leading global ESG advisory firm, Wallbrook, and impact-led creative change agency, Charlescannon. Anthesis has completed 20 acquisitions since 2013, growing to over 1,250 specialists across 44 offices in 23 countries.