Hire an ESG Reporting Specialist
Experienced ESG reporting specialists matched to your business in around 7 days. Houston & Ko sources freelance and remote sustainability reporting talent globally, all under one Swiss contract, with hourly rates or project mandates built around your reporting cycle.
Find an ESG reporting specialist who turns your sustainability data into a report you can stand behind
From a first answer to a customer questionnaire to a full sustainability report, we match Swiss and EU businesses with experienced ESG reporting specialists, on hourly rates or project mandates, sourced from around the globe. Every ESG reporting specialist works remotely, knows the Swiss and EU frameworks and is covered by a single Swiss contract from day one.
Sustainability & ESG reports
Your annual sustainability report planned, drafted and designed around the topics that matter to your business and your stakeholders.
Carbon accounting
Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions calculated under the GHG Protocol, with a clear baseline and the data trail behind every number.
Double materiality assessment
A structured review of how sustainability issues affect your business and how your business affects people and the environment.
Swiss regulatory reporting
Non-financial and climate reporting under the Swiss Code of Obligations, including the due diligence reporting on conflict minerals and child labour.
CSRD & ESRS readiness
Gap analysis and preparation for EU reporting where your group, your EU subsidiaries or your customers fall within its scope.
GRI, ISSB & VSME frameworks
Reports built on the framework that fits your size and audience, from the full GRI Standards to the voluntary VSME standard for SMEs.
Customer & investor questionnaires
EcoVadis, CDP and customer supplier questionnaires answered accurately and consistently, so you keep the contracts that ask for them.
ESG data & KPIs
Data collection processes, KPI definitions and dashboards that pull energy, HR and supplier data together from across the business.
Assurance preparation
Evidence files, methodologies and data trails prepared in advance, so your auditor's limited or reasonable assurance runs smoothly.
What is an ESG reporting specialist?
An ESG reporting specialist collects, checks and reports a company’s environmental, social and governance data. ESG covers everything from energy use and carbon emissions to staff turnover, health and safety, supplier standards and how the company is run. The job is to turn scattered data from across the business into reporting that is accurate, comparable year on year and aligned with the framework your stakeholders expect.
The role sits next to the finance function. A financial controller owns the financial numbers and the controls around them. An ESG reporting specialist does the same for the non-financial numbers, often working closely with the controller so both reports tell the same story. A fractional CFO then decides what the business does with that information. For dashboards across both financial and ESG data, our business intelligence analysts can help.
Our ESG reporting specialists prepare the data, the analysis and the report. They do not audit or sign off the report and they do not give legal advice. Assurance stays with your auditor, and legal questions stay with your lawyers.
At a glance
Experienced ESG reporting specialists for Swiss and EU reporting
Sustainability reports, carbon accounting and questionnaires
Hourly rates or project mandates, scales with your reporting cycle
Fully remote, working with your finance team and your auditor
Why hire an ESG reporting specialist?
ESG reporting is no longer just for listed companies. Large Swiss public-interest companies already report under the Swiss Code of Obligations, and the Federal Council has proposed bringing Swiss rules closer to EU standards. In the EU, the CSRD now focuses on the largest groups, but those groups still need ESG data from their suppliers.
That is where most Swiss SMEs feel it. A key customer sends an EcoVadis or CDP request, a bank asks for emissions data before renewing a loan, or an investor wants a sustainability report before the next round. The data exists somewhere in the business, but nobody has the time or the expertise to pull it together.
An experienced ESG reporting specialist closes that gap. They know which framework fits your size, which data matters and which does not, and how to build a process you can repeat next year without starting again. For most SMEs this is project work around the reporting cycle, not a full-time job, which makes it a natural fit for freelance support.
The benefits of outsourcing ESG reporting
Outsourcing your ESG reporting gives you experienced sustainability reporting skills at a fraction of the cost of an in-house hire or a consulting firm, and on exactly the scale your reporting cycle needs.
Access to experienced ESG reporting specialists from a global talent pool
Reporting aligned with Swiss and EU frameworks
Scale up for the reporting season, scale back afterwards
Data and processes you can repeat every year
One simple Swiss contract covers all your support
Hourly rates or project mandates, no permanent contract needed
Industries we help find ESG reporting specialists
From a supplier answering its first customer questionnaire to a group preparing a full sustainability report, we match ESG reporting specialists to the topics that matter in your sector. Every ESG reporting specialist we place already understands the data, risks and stakeholder expectations of your industry.
Manufacturing & industrial
Energy, emissions and waste data from production sites, plus the supplier questionnaires large customers send every year.
Transportation & logistics
Fleet emissions, fuel data and Scope 3 figures for the shippers and customers who report on their own supply chains.
Real estate & property
Energy performance, building emissions and portfolio reporting for owners, investors and property funds.
Insurance & finance
Climate risk disclosures, financed emissions and the ESG data investors, regulators and clients now expect to see.
Commodities & trading
Supply chain due diligence, traceability and emissions reporting for traders and commodity businesses based in Switzerland.
Food & agriculture
Sourcing, packaging, water and land use data, and the sustainability claims retailers ask suppliers to back up.
Retail & e-commerce
Product footprints, packaging, returns and supplier standards reported in a way customers and partners trust.
Technology & SaaS
Cloud and data centre emissions, data protection and governance reporting for enterprise customers and investors.
Construction
Embodied carbon, materials, site safety and subcontractor standards across projects and tenders.
Pharma & life sciences
Product safety, access, emissions and supplier standards reported to investors and global partners.
Energy & utilities
Generation mix, emissions intensity and transition plans for a sector where ESG data is part of the core business.
Hospitality & tourism
Energy, water, food waste and certification data for hotels, restaurants and travel businesses.
Professional services & consulting
People, governance and travel emissions data for firms that clients now assess as suppliers.
Charities & non-profits
Impact reporting, governance and transparency that donors, foundations and partners rely on.
Holding & group companies
Consistent ESG data and group reporting across Swiss and international entities.
Tell us what you need and we’ll match you with an experienced ESG reporting specialist, ready to start in around 7 days.
How hiring works
From the first conversation with us to your ESG reporting specialist starting, in about a week.
1. Tell us what you need
Share the role, the tasks, and the hours. A quick call is all it takes to get started.
2. We match you with the right talent
We shortlist ESG reporting specialists, the top 14% who pass our screening, and present the best fits for you to choose from.
3. Start in around 7 days
Choose your ESG reporting specialist and start working, under one simple Swiss contract with us.
Businesses we supported with expert remote talent
Looking to add top-quality, flexible freelancers to your team?
*A 30-min, no-obligation consultation call.
Ready to find your ESG reporting specialist?
Tell us what you need and we’ll match you with an experienced ESG reporting specialist, ready to start in around 7 days.
*A 30-min, no-obligation consultation call.
ESG reporting specialist FAQs
The clearest sign is a request you cannot answer. A key customer sends a sustainability questionnaire, a bank asks for your emissions, an investor wants a sustainability report, or your group falls within Swiss or EU reporting rules. Other signs: ESG data sits in different spreadsheets across the business, last year’s report was written in a rush, or nobody can explain how your carbon figures were calculated. If ESG requests keep landing on your finance team without a clear owner, an ESG reporting specialist can take them on.
Our ESG reporting specialists work on an hourly basis, from CHF 60 to CHF 100 per hour, or on a fixed mandate for a defined project, depending on experience and scope. Specialist work such as double materiality assessments, Scope 3 calculations or CSRD readiness usually sits at the upper end.
What you spend depends on the project. Answering a customer questionnaire is a very different scope to building your first full sustainability report. No recruitment fees, no upfront costs, one rate, one Swiss invoice. See the full pricing guide on our Pricing page.
Our ESG reporting specialists cover the full sustainability reporting cycle, including:
- Sustainability and ESG reports
- Carbon accounting for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions
- Double materiality assessments
- Non-financial and climate reporting under Swiss law
- CSRD and ESRS gap analysis and readiness
- Reporting under GRI, ISSB and the VSME standard
- EcoVadis, CDP and customer questionnaires
- ESG data collection processes and KPIs
- Assurance preparation and auditor liaison
Need something specific to your sector or framework? Tell us at briefing and we’ll source for it.
Our ESG reporting specialists are self-employed professionals, not employees, but your commercial contract is with Houston & Ko, an established Swiss GmbH, so all of your reporting support sits under a single, robust Swiss agreement. You deal with us; we handle the legal setup, compliance and invoicing
As much or as little as you need. Common setups include:
- A one-off project such as a questionnaire, a carbon footprint or a materiality assessment
- Intensive support during the annual reporting season
- A few days a month to keep ESG data and processes up to date
- Full-time cover while you build or rebuild your reporting
Hourly rates or project mandates scale up or down at any time, with none of the constraints of a permanent contract or a consulting retainer.
Our founders work with you directly to define the role, then match you with candidates from our pre-vetted pool, only the 14% who pass full screening. To get the best fit, be clear on:
- What triggered the need: a regulation, a customer, a bank or an investor
- The framework you report under or expect to use
- Whether you need carbon accounting, a full report or both
- The languages your report needs to be in
- Who they will work with internally, such as finance, HR or operations
See how our process works → Process page.
Knowing the frameworks matters less than knowing how to get reliable data out of a real business. Good questions include:
- “Walk me through a sustainability report you prepared from first data request to publication.”
- “How did you calculate Scope 3 emissions when the supplier data was incomplete?”
- “Which frameworks have you reported under, and which would you suggest for us?”
- “How have you prepared a report for external assurance?”
- “What would you look at first in our business?”
The second question tells you the most. An ESG reporting specialist who can explain how they handled missing data will give you numbers you can defend.
1. Start with the trigger. “Our biggest customer wants an EcoVadis rating by March” leads to the right person faster than “we need to do ESG”.
2. Pick the framework first. A specialist in the full ESRS is not always the right fit for an SME answering its first questionnaire. Match the experience to the framework you actually need.
3. Involve finance early. ESG data should be as reliable as financial data. Make sure your specialist and your finance team work together from the start.
4. Build for next year. Ask for a process and a data trail, not just a finished report, so the next cycle takes half the time.
5. Work with a specialist recruitment partner. If you want to skip the sourcing and screening, working with Houston & Ko gives you access to pre-vetted ESG reporting specialists, placed within 7 days, under a single Swiss contract with no minimum commitment. Contact us today.