Top Tech Innovations In The ESG And Sustainability Market In 2024

Top Tech Innovations In The ESG And Sustainability Market In 2024

The pace of innovation and investment in the ESG and sustainability software market has accelerated in 2024. A significant catalyst for innovation has been the growing adoption of generative AI (GenAI), blockchain, robotics and IoT technologies. Software providers have leveraged these technologies to bolster their capabilities in critical areas such as supply chain decarbonization; biodiversity and climate risk; product sustainability and traceability; and waste management.

In the November 2024 Verdantix market insight report, we examined key developments in the sustainability software market and identified five overarching innovations:

• AI applications for process automation and enhanced data analysis in the broader sustainability domain.
  Since 2022, applications of AI for sustainability have proliferated. Software providers are integrating AI capabilities to help users streamline data collection, improve data quality, automate emissions factor mapping and conduct scenario analysis (see Verdantix Strategic Focus: Implications Of AI For The CSO).
  
  
• Geospatial technologies for site-specific environmental risk intelligence.
  Geospatial technology can be used to deliver near real-time monitoring of deforestation, land use changes, water pollution and GHG emissions, with the rise of AI making analysis even more efficient and dynamic. Geospatial tools are set to become critical as firms look to assess and manage their interactions with nature, in accordance with the TNFD recommendations.
  
  
• Blockchain, QR codes and forensic science for product and materials traceability.
  Regulations such as the EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) and the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) have shone a spotlight on the importance of sustainable product and materials traceability. Software providers are integrating technology such as QR codes, radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging, blockchain, digital product passports (DPPs), and forensic and DNA tracers and markets to enable traceability throughout the supply chain.
  
  
• Evolving LCA software approaches to streamline analysis and scale production.
  Surging demand for product environmental impact data is leading to increased market activity and renewed interest in product life cycle assessments (LCA). Although the LCA software market is well-established, innovative vendors are revitalizing the category with new approaches to combat challenges such as data quality and availability, scalability, automation and data transparency.
  
  
• New data methodologies to quantify societal impact.
  Sustainability reporting has long struggled with the challenge of measuring and quantifying societal impact, hindered by significant data gaps, inconsistencies and the absence of a clear methodology. However, new methodologies and data solutions are emerging to address this gap and unite data sets on a firm’s positive and negative impact indicators.
  
  

To learn more about developments in the sustainability software market, as well as the capabilities of 10 innovative vendors featured in the report – Copperleaf Technologies (an IFS company), Downforce Technologies, Earth Blox, Ecochain, Insig AI, Oritain, P6 Technologies, Recycleye, Route2 and RS Metrics – read Verdantix Market Insight: 10 Innovative Vendors Advancing ESG And Sustainability Performance In 2024.