Six Software Startups Helping Address the Climate Crisis

Specific universal accounting standards for sustainability have yet to be established. While some investors and many consumers are prioritizing companies that commit to countering the life-limiting effects of climate change through their commitments to net-zero, two-degrees and other ESG goals, it’s hard to keep track of metrics and actual performance across companies, industries and countries.

Proposed universal ESG accounting standards from the World Economic Forum provide insight into metrics companies should look to extract from their operational data. These metrics include greenhouse gas emissions, reporting on material climate risks and opportunities, governance and risk management, land use and ecological sensitivity, freshwater consumption in water-stressed areas, and many more.

As ESG evolves and demands increase, internal company leadership must address corporate strategies through a systematic approach. To track metrics, concrete goal setting for everyday operations is essential. As such, the implementation of ESG sustainability software helps companies build a long-term ESG infrastructure through an accounting framework that helps assess financial risk related to environmental, social, and governance initiatives.

Once business leaders are able to set granular goals and see how their business is impacting the environment, they will be closer to achieving meaningful goals and objectives. This lasered view needs to include analysis around what they are doing to control their potentially negative environmental impacts and how investment in ESG initiatives impacts their bottom lines.

Venture capital investment is going into startups that seek to help organizations do a better job of tracking their ESG goals and impacts. Here are six sustainability-focused software companies you should watch:

1. Novisto is a next-gen sustainability management platform for corporate and private capital customers.
2. KPA provides Environment, Health & Safety (EHS), HR Management, and Finance & Insurance compliance software and services to mid-sized companies.
3. Locus ESG is designed to help businesses across various verticals including mining, transportation, chemical, pharmaceutical, and more handle compliance tracking, data collection, and sustainability management operations.
4. Greenly is a leading carbon accounting and management platform used by companies to decarbonize to comply with the new standards and grow sustainability.
5. Benchmark ESG provides software solutions for managing operational risk and compliance, sustainability, product stewardship, and responsible sourcing across complex global operations.
6. Kurtosys Data is a digital platform of SaaS built for the asset management industry that centralizes ESG analytics alongside issuer and portfolio data.

So while software may be eating the world, it may also be able to save the world.

When you’re ready to communicate your organization’s ESG goals and impacts, let’s talk about how we can help you activate your purpose, build reputation, and engage stakeholders.

‍