AI rates the ESG credentials of consumer products

Could the AI-driven assessments help customers make more sustainable choices while shopping?

Spotted: Companies are increasingly focusing on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, while demonstrating how they meet sustainability goals, including the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But for consumers, it is not easy to know when a company is really taking ESG seriously, or when they are engaging in greenwashing. One startup helping with this is EcoRatings.

EcoRatings is a sustainability assessment startup. It has created a system that computes a numeric rating for the sustainability of products and services on a scale of 1-10, using the SDGs. These ratings are then integrated at the point of sale, allowing consumers to assess the sustainability of any products or services they purchase.

While there are other players in this space, EcoRating uses a number of innovative data collection techniques, such as web-scraping, satellite imaging, and other reliable third-party data sources. Because the ratings are delivered using technology only, rather than through on-site audits or self-assessment forms, they are fast and cheap to deliver – saving money for both companies and consumers.

The New York-based startup has recently raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round from EvolveX, a startup accelerator programme backed by We Founder Circle (WFC). EcoRatings Co-Founder and CGO Shruti Anand told Springwise that the next steps involve developing a generative artificial intelligence (AI) product that works in chat mode, so users can get to know the sustainability rating of any product or service.

Other recent innovations aimed at helping companies with their ESG reporting include a startup using LiDAR to measure forest management data and a company using 135 metrics to measure biodiversity risk.

Written By: Lisa Magloff