Change Continues In Sustainability Software Market With Diligent And Persefoni Partnership

On October 22^nd, Diligent and Persefoni announced a strategic partnership that will enable Diligent to focus on its core offering – GRC software – and provide Persefoni with a boost in the carbon management software and sustainability reporting software markets. The two software categories reflect competitive and overlapping markets, which combined are a $3 billion market that is experiencing double-digit growth. As a result of the agreement, Diligent takes an equity stake in Persefoni, and Diligent’s carbon accounting software clients will move to the Persefoni platform. A similar dynamic occurred when Emitwise wound down its product line, migrated clients to Watershed, and was later acquired by Green Project (an ACT company).

To some extent, the partnership reflects the reality of a market with slowing growth. Sustainability reporting software and carbon management software growth rates are slightly down from just a year earlier, with regulatory delays mainly to blame. Another major factor at play is that some organizations are shifting investments more to risk management and operational resilience, due to pessimism about the economy. Yet, Diligent and Persefoni’s partnership isn’t simply about growth rates; continued competition among sustainability software vendors is also a driving force – especially for carbon management software – resulting in vendor consolidation.

For some vendors, the strategy is ‘go big or go home’ – in other words, expand their software portfolios to do more for sustainability teams. For others, like Diligent, the strategy is to partner and return to their roots. Both Diligent and Persefoni are visibly adapting: for Persefoni that has meant a headcount reduction of almost 50% over the last two years, a time period when other pureplay vendors have grown. Meanwhile, Diligent’s headcount has grown over 20%, most likely because of its primary focus on GRC; investment in GRC software is on the rise, as risk professionals seek out dynamic, continuous monitoring to build operational resilience. As the partnership comes into effect, we expect some Diligent customers will re-evaluate their options – including assessing alternative solutions – rather than just accepting the transition to Persefoni.

With regulatory uncertainty and economic caution reshaping buyers’ priorities, vendors are choosing between platform expansion and specialization. Not all can be winners, and consolidation will likely continue. What does this mean for buyers of carbon management and sustainability reporting software? First and foremost, it means due diligence is more critical than ever: evaluating vendor stability, integration capabilities and long-term strategic alignment should be at the top of the agenda. In a consolidating market, the right choice isn’t just about capability strength, but also resilience and futureproofing. Many buyers are still opting to work with multiple vendors to address a range of sustainability related use cases.

If you’re interested in learning more about our take on competition in the sustainability reporting software market, check out our 2025 Green Quadrant and Buyer’s Guide. Similarly for carbon management software, more detail can be found in the Buyer’s Guide, with an updated Green Quadrant on its way in March 2026.