ERM, the world’s largest specialist sustainability consultancy, has partnered with Auquan, a leader in agentic AI for institutional finance, to integrate AI agents into sustainability advisory services for financial institutions. The collaboration aims to accelerate and scale ERM’s service delivery, enabling faster, more comprehensive insights for institutional investors navigating complex regulatory landscapes and investment mandates. At the core of the partnership is Auquan’s Sustainability Agent, an autonomous AI system designed to streamline due diligence by identifying and assessing reputational and ESG risks at scale. The platform continuously scans global news, regulatory filings, and stakeholder reports to detect controversies, litigation, and adverse media related to companies and counterparties. This allows ERM to deliver deeper, data-driven risk assessments more efficiently than traditional manual methods. As regulatory scrutiny intensifies—particularly under frameworks like SFDR Article 8—financial institutions face growing pressure to verify sustainability claims and manage reputational risks. ERM’s integration of Auquan’s AI agents enables it to process vast amounts of data rapidly, enhancing the speed and accuracy of its advisory services across private equity, infrastructure, and growth equity transactions. Andrew Radcliff, global service leader for mergers and acquisitions at ERM, emphasized the strategic value of the collaboration. “As demand for sustainability advisory accelerates and regulatory requirements become more complex, we are enhancing our capabilities by embedding scalable AI solutions to meet our clients’ growing needs,” he said. “Our collaboration with Auquan enables us to provide faster, data-driven insights that help to mitigate risk and enhance investment decisions.” Chandini Jain, CEO of Auquan, highlighted the transformative potential of agentic AI in sustainability work. “The work required to properly assess ESG risks and impacts is among the most data-intensive and time-consuming in finance,” she said. “ERM is the gold standard in sustainability consulting, and together we’re using agentic AI to empower firms to deliver on their investment mandates while moving faster and reclaiming their time to focus on strategic work.” ERM brings decades of experience advising private markets investors across thousands of global transactions, combining technical expertise with commercial insight. With over 8,000 experts in 40 countries and territories, the firm supports clients in operationalizing sustainability at scale. Auquan’s platform has already proven its impact, saving clients over 100,000 hours of manual work since 2024. The company, recognized as a 2025 Gartner Cool Vendor in Agentic AI for Banking and Investment Services, serves major institutions including MetLife, T. Rowe Price, and BC Partners. Headquartered in London with offices in New York and Bangalore, Auquan is backed by Peak XV, Neotribe Ventures, Episode 1, and Stage 2 Capital.