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Analysis of Top 25 Software and Services Industry ESG Disclosure

I conducted an analysis of 194 companies that are classified under GICS software and services. The majority of these companies fall under the sub-industries of Application Software, Systems Software and IT Consulting and Internet Services.

From a regional perspective the companies came from the following countries: 

  • United States: 158
  • United Kingdom: 19
  • Germany: 11
  • Norway and Denmark: 2 each
  • Austria and Netherlands: 1 each

First, to determine the strongest performers from the cohort, I collected ratings data from MSCI, ISS, Sustainalytics and CDP. This is what I found: 

MSCI: 16 of the 194 companies received the highest rating of an AAA. Interestingly 138 of the 194 companies had an A score or before and the lowest score overall was a B with only 7 companies receiving that score. This points out that this industry scores relatively well on MSCI versus other industries. 

ISS: On ISS scores ranged from B highest to D lowest. 3 companies scored a B, Microsoft, IBM and Adobe and 3 scored a D. PRIME Status was awarded to companies who received at least a C. 94 of the 194 companies received a PRIME status according to ISS. 

Sustainalytics: On Sustainalytics scores ranged from 10.4 (Best) to 31.2 (Worst). The average score for this group was 20.4. Highest rated Sustainalytics company from this group was Dolby Laboratories. 

CDP: 77 of the 194 companies responded to CDP Climate Change. 18 responded to Water and only 1 responded to Forests. We only found x6 companies with a CDP CC score of A or A- in the group: Equinix and Atea ASA are the only A and Salesforce, DXC, Cadence Design Systems and Redcentric all score A-. 

Considering the above we created a shortlist of the top 25 performing companies from the Software and Services sector so we could conduct a more thorough analysis of their disclosure overall. Below I provide comments on all of the Top 25’s website and disclosure at a high-level. Some key learnings: 

Stand-alone Sustainability Reports are still published: The majority of the cohort are publishing stand-along Sustainability documents that are between 50-100 pages in link. The naming convention varies a lot and we saw “Impact report” “CSR Report” “Responsible Business Report” and more used. A handful of companies have not yet published a FY 2024 report as of August 8th 2025. 

Trust Centres are Common Practice for this Industry: A number of companies had detailed Trust Centres for users to find a combination of cybersecurity policies and certifications. This is not something we traditionally see in other industries but I think they could learn from these examples as data safety is important for all. 

Responsible AI is an Emerging Topic: We noticed various companies began communicating around Responsible AI and Responsible AI practices. We expect more and more of these companies to increase disclosure on this topic. 

CSRD Reports: Only x2 of the top 25 had published a CSRD report meaning that may not be a significant disclosure factor driving ratings. 

GRI / SASB / TCFD are alive and well in the US: As I notice less companies in the UK and Europe using the voluntary market standards, it was interesting the quantity of companies from this group who continue to use these. This will be interesting to follow in the coming years. 

Want to use Nossa Data to streamline your ESG Disclosure? Get in touch at solutions@nossadata.com to learn how our software helps the world's largest companies manage their disclosure.

Top 25

Below are comments on the top 25 list as well as links to their respective documentation. 

Adobe Inc: Adobe offers extensive links to their policies here. In FY 2023 they published a CSRD report but there is not one published as of August 2025 for FY 2024. In 2023 disclosure was GRI and SASB aligned. They also publish more customer aligned content around Sustainability and CSR. 

Akamai Technologies: They have a 76 page Impact report for FY2024 published. They have an additional table where they communicate their voluntary and mandatory ESG disclosure requirements.  An additional website page is focused on ethics. 

Ansys Inc (Now part of Synopsys): As Ansys is now owned by Synopsys we analysed their disclosure instead. They also as of August 5th only had a 2023 Sustainability Report. However on their corporate website FY 2024 disclosure is published. 

Autodesk: Published a 115 page Impact Report for FY2025. They also have easy access to their corporate policies around ethics, conflict minerals and more. 

Cadence Design Systems: Published a 108 page Corporate Impact Report. SASB Index, TCFD Index and GRI Index all part of their disclosure. 

DataDog: Last published report was October 2024 as a ESG report about FY 2023, 34 pages long in total. Fairly light on overall disclosure versus others in this group. 

Digimarc Corporation: 33 page Responsibility Report for FY 2024. Fairly extensive Corporate Governance documentation. 

Digital Realty Trust Inc: Published a 58 page Impact Report for 2024. Includes a GRI table and TCFD Alignment. 

Dolby Laboratories: Published a 2023 Sustainability Report but nothing yet for 2024. E, S and G section of their website where they communicate key recognitions

DXC Technology Company: Maintain a brief “ESG at a Glance” Sheet - quick links to reporting frameworks such as SASB, TCFD, CDP and GRI on their website

Dynatrace: 51 page Sustainability Report for FY2024. Have a resource page with fast links to key policies and how they are being ranked within ESG. 

Equinix: 28 page Sustainability Report for FY2024 as well as an independent Data Sheet with key figures. GRI Table within their Sustainability Report. 

Guideware Software: 71 page Sustainability Report as well linked access to Stakeholder Engagement, CDP responses. Modern Slavery Statement and more. Sustainability Data not on their IR page which is focused heavily on Governance topics. 

Hubspot: 57 page Responsible Business Report for 2025. Fast access to policies on their Sustainability page. 

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM): Detailed Governance documents on their IR page. Explicit website section on Political Involvement. Detailed section around Security, Privacy and Trust. 

Intuit: 91 page Stakeholder Impact Report published for FY2024. Uses published CDP responses as basis for their Environmental Disclosure. Explicit website sections around Jobs / employees. 

Nemetschek SE: Published a CSRD aligned Sustainability Statement that was 57 pages long. They also have a Trust Center page focused on cybersecurity. 

Netcompany Group: Also has a CSRD aligned Annual Report where they reported on 8 of 10 topic standards. Webpage focused on their certifications and commitments in regards to ESG. 

Okta: Published an 8 page ESG Factsheet with key figures around FY2024. Communicating around Responsible AI as a key focus on their website and cybersecurity in the workforce. 

Palo Alto Networks: 54 page FY2024 Corporate Responsibility Report is published. Introduced a statement around Responsible AI.  Focus on business ethics and training

Procore Technologies Inc: FY2023 Impact Report published but nothing for FY2024 yet. Links to an Environmental Plan and simple selection of Governance documents. 

ServiceNow: 87 page Global Impact Report is published. Extensive Code of Ethics published. They also have a Trust and Compliance page. 

Teradata Corporation: 81 page FY2024 ESG Report. Early communication around “Trusted AI.” Focus areas are “Product Sustainability,” “Business value” and “Data privacy and Security.”

UI Path: FY2024 (Year end January 2024) Impact Report published. SASB index included and GHG emissions data. Detailed Trust Centre

Xperi Inc: 2023 ESG report published (nothing yet for 2024). Detailed batch of Governance documents covering Anticorruption, Supplier Code of Conduct, Whistleblower Policy and more. 

Example Disclosure: 

TRUST CENTRES

UI Path
IBM

Responsible AI Commitments

Okta
Palo Alto Networks

SASB, TCFD, GRI Disclosure

DTX Networks
Cadence GRI Index

Governance Pages / Policies

Adobe
Hubspot

What Companies were Considered in this Industry Research: Below is the list of the 194 companies we researched for this article. We do not share the raw ratings data within the article but you are welcome to contact solutions@nossadata.com to find out how any specific company staked up versus the cohort. 

8X8, INC.,

A10 NETWORKS, INC.,

accesso Technology Group PLC,

ACI WORLDWIDE, INC.,

ADEIA INC., adesso SE, ADOBE INC.,

AGILYSYS, INC.,

AKAMAI TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,

ALARM.COM HOLDINGS, INC.,

Alfa Financial Software Holdings PLC,

ALKAMI TECHNOLOGY, INC.,

Amplitude Inc, ANSYS, INC.,

APPFOLIO, INC.,

APPIAN CORPORATION,

APPLIED DIGITAL CORPORATION,

APPLOVIN CORPORATION,

Aptitude Software Group PLC,

Asana Inc,

ASGN INCORPORATED,

ATEA ASA,

ATOSS Software SE,

AURORA INNOVATION, INC.,

AUTODESK, INC.,

AvePoint Inc, Bechtle AG,

BENTLEY SYSTEMS, INCORPORATED,

BIGCOMMERCE HOLDINGS, INC.,

BILL HOLDINGS, INC.,

BLACKBAUD, INC.,

BLACKLINE, INC,

BLEND LABS, INC.,

BOX, INC., Braze Inc,

Bytes Technology Group PLC,

C3.AI, INC.,

CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS, INC.,

CANCOM SE, Cbrain A/S,

CCC INTELLIGENT SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS INC.,

CERENCE INC.,

Cerillion PLC,

CIPHER MINING INC.,

CLEANSPARK, INC.,

CLEAR SECURE, INC.,

CLEARWATER ANALYTICS HOLDINGS, INC.,

CLOUDFLARE, INC.,

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION,

COMMVAULT SYSTEMS, INC.,

COMPUTACENTER PLC,

CONFLUENT, INC.,

CONSENSUS CLOUD SOLUTIONS, INC.,

CORE SCIENTIFIC, INC.,

Couchbase Inc,

CRAYON GROUP HOLDING ASA,

CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS, INC.,

CS Disco Inc,

DAILY JOURNAL CORPORATION,

DATADOG, INC.,

DIGIMARC CORPORATION,

DIGITAL REALTY TRUST, INC.,

DIGITAL TURBINE, INC.,

DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc.,

DOCUSIGN, INC.,

DOLBY LABORATORIES, INC.,

Domo Inc,

dotDigital Group PLC,

DoubleVerify Holdings Inc,

DROPBOX, INC.,

DXC TECHNOLOGY COMPANY,

DYNATRACE, INC.,

E2OPEN PARENT HOLDINGS, INC.,

EPAM SYSTEMS, INC.,

EQUINIX, INC., F5, INC.,

FAIR ISAAC CORPORATION,

FASTLY, INC.,

FD TECHNOLOGIES PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY,

FDM GROUP (HOLDINGS) PLC,

FIVE9, INC.,

FORTINET, INC.,

Freshworks Inc,

GB GROUP PLC,

GFT Technologies SE,

GitLab Inc,

GODADDY INC.,

GRID DYNAMICS HOLDINGS, INC.,

GUIDEWIRE SOFTWARE, INC.,

HashiCorp Inc,

HUBSPOT, INC.,

HUT 8 CORP.,

I3 VERTICALS, INC.,

IDOX PLC, Informatica Inc, INTAPP, INC.,

InterDigital, Inc.,

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION,

INTUIT INC.,

IONOS Group SE,

JAMF HOLDING CORP.,

JFROG LTD,

Kainos Group PLC,

Klaviyo Inc, Kontron AG,

KYNDRYL HOLDINGS, INC.,

LEIDOS HOLDINGS, INC.,

LIFE360, INC.,

LIVEPERSON, INC.,

LIVERAMP HOLDINGS, INC.,

MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES, INC.,

MARA HOLDINGS, INC.,

MERIDIANLINK, INC.,

MICROSOFT CORPORATION,

MICROSTRATEGY INCORPORATED,

MITEK SYSTEMS, INC.,

MONGODB, INC.,

N-ABLE, INC., Nagarro SE,

NCC GROUP PLC,

NCINO, INC.,

NCR VOYIX CORPORATION,

Nemetschek SE,

Netcompany Group A/S,

NETSCOUT SYSTEMS, INC.,

NEXTNAV INC.,

Northern Data AG,

NUTANIX, INC.,

OKTA, INC., Olo Inc, ON24 Inc,

ONESPAN INC.,

OneStream Inc,

ORACLE CORPORATION,

PAGERDUTY, INC.,

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC.,

PALO ALTO NETWORKS, INC.,

PAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION,

PDF SOLUTIONS, INC.,

PEGASYSTEMS INC.,

PINEWOOD TECHNOLOGIES GROUP PLC,

Procore Technologies Inc,

PROGRESS SOFTWARE CORPORATION,

PROS HOLDINGS, INC.,

PTC INC.,

Q2 HOLDINGS, INC.,

Qualys Inc, QXO, INC.,

Rackspace Technology, Inc.,

RAPID7, INC.,

REDCENTRIC PLC,

RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.,

RIMINI STREET, INC.,

RINGCENTRAL, INC.,

ROPER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,

RUBRIK, INC.,

SABRE CORPORATION,

SALESFORCE, INC.,

Samsara Inc, SAP SE,

secunet Security Networks Aktiengesellschaft,

SEMRUSH HOLDINGS, INC.,

SentinelOne Inc,

SERVICENOW, INC.,

SNOWFLAKE INC.,

Softcat PLC,

SoundHound AI Inc,

Sprinklr Inc,

Sprout Social Inc,

SPS COMMERCE, INC.,

SYNOPSYS, INC.,

TENABLE HOLDINGS, INC.,

TERADATA CORPORATION,

THE HACKETT GROUP, INC.,

THE SAGE GROUP PLC.,

TomTom N.V., TRACSIS PLC, TWILIO INC.,

TYLER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,

UIPATH, INC.,

UNISYS CORPORATION,

Unity Software Inc,

VARONIS SYSTEMS, INC.,

VERINT SYSTEMS INC.,

VERISIGN, INC.,

VERTEX, INC., VIMEO, INC., VMWARE LLC, VTEX,

Weave Communications Inc,

Xperi Inc, Yext Inc,

ZOOM COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,

ZSCALER, INC.,

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