Global Purpose Specialists Revolt Merges with Anthesis

Anthesis, the largest group of dedicated sustainability professionals globally, announces a merger with Revolt, the global purpose strategy specialist group. The companies are joining forces to support their client partners with the technical expertise, the deep sustainability capability and the strategic ambition needed to drive sustainable performance.

The coming together of Revolt and Anthesis is a response to the growing need of organisations to define a purpose-driven strategic position that drives corporate and brand strategy and steers investments into sustainability, strengthening business and brand performance and delivering transformative impact.

Revolt provides the specialist strategic and creative support that delivers this transformation, working as a trusted brand strategy and communications partner with its clients. The business has built a reputation for turning ESG rigour into practical, actionable solutions – driving the agenda at the Board and brand level through highly innovative and impact-driven work.

Established in 2017 by co-founders Alex Lewis and Pete Bardell and with headquarters in London and operations in New York, Revolt has grown into a team of over 70+ market-leading experts supporting C-Suite decision makers with innovative large-scale projects across sustainability and DEI strategy, communications, and creative execution.

Revolt partners with industry leaders across multiple categories including Mars Inc., PepsiCo, ABInBev, KraftHeinz, Diageo, L’Oréal and Syngenta. The business has received significant recognition and awards, including becoming the first UK business to win at Cannes Lions for Business Transformation.

Aligned as B-Corps and empowering many of the world’s leading organisations to drive and deliver a measurable positive impact, the collective force of Revolt and Anthesis will activate and guide clients from the broken and unsustainable models of the old era, beyond a purely compliance agenda and mindset, and towards new purposeful sustainable performance business models and new value creation opportunities.

The newly combined strength of more than 150 strategists, innovators and creatives will become one of the leading purpose, brand activation, communications, reporting and strategy teams globally. This will be part of the wider unique Anthesis client offering, including holistic solutions the market demands through science and evidence-based sustainability expert advisory services, enhancing digital capabilities, implementing carbon reduction plans, and creating purpose-led strategy, engagement and innovation to more than 4,000 clients in response to regulatory and stakeholder pressures and emerging market opportunities.

On this announcement, Stuart McLachlan, CEO of Anthesis, said “Anthesis exists to guide our clients as they transition to decarbonised and more sustainable futures. The development and activation of purpose-led strategies for C-suites and brands will be critical. With Revolt, we now have world-class expertise and experience in purpose consulting, strategy and communication. This, combined with our scientific rigour, our market-leading digital solutions, and the development of high-quality carbon removal projects, gives us the ingredients needed to manage risk and find value for our clients in their transformation journeys. I’m delighted that we have assembled all these interdependent and vital components into one team focused on delivering positive impact.”

Revolt Co-founder, Alex Lewis, commented “The promise of sustainable impact is within reach, but getting there is difficult for brands and businesses to navigate. Many of those struggling with this complexity find that traditional consultancy and agency models aren’t built to help them adapt. To urgently scale purposeful impact, it is becoming increasingly important for the science, the art, the technical and the strategic to come together. This is why we are delighted that our second chapter will be as part of the Anthesis family. Together, we have a unique opportunity to accelerate this sustainable transformation for clients new and old.”

Revolt is Anthesis’ first M&A deal to be announced in 2024, following five announcements in 2023: Colombian sustainability and digital consultancy, ConTREEbute, Australian sustainability advisory firm, Ndevr Environmental, a leading global ESG advisory firm, Wallbrook impact-led creative change agency, Charlescannon, and a prominent growth and innovation consultancy, Progressive. Furthermore, the deal provides Revolt’s clients with access to Anthesis’ full suite of science and evidence-based advisory solutions, digital products and data solutions, carbon project development and offsetting solutions from across its global network. Anthesis has completed 22 acquisitions since 2013, growing to over 1,300 specialists across 46 offices in 23 countries.

Financial terms of the deal were not announced.