John Durie: Aussie businesses can now monitor and benchmark ESG practices through new SaaS tool

The ESG Software-as-a-Service (Saas) platform created by Australian entrepreneur Frank Meehan was officially launched in Australia this month by new owner FiscalNote.

The newly listed NYSE-company is marketing the product as the perfect tool for companies to monitor and benchmark their decarbonisation efforts.

With only one-third of companies reporting their detailed ESG strategies, Meehan figures there needs to be solutions in place to help companies move in the right direction.

“Our AI driven platform at FiscalNote is the first that gives companies a complete 360-degree overview of their ESG and climate performance based on internal and external data,” Meehan told SmartCompany.

“We can benchmark a company’s ESG performance in real time, identifying risks and opportunities with their competitors and suppliers with our machine learning engine — plus calculate their carbon footprint, water and biodiversity impact — and then help companies improve themselves based on the data.”

The now Singapore-based Meehan grew up in Sydney and, after an early career with Ericsson in Sweden and Singapore, he launched several software ventures including Cultiv8 which is an early stage venture fund in the food and agriculture sector.

The aim of the Orange, NSW, venture is to provide a global platform for new technology start ups in conjunction with the NSW Department of Agriculture.

Equilibrium was founded in December 2019 and was acquired by US based FiscalNote last year, with its offshore clients including the Singapore arm of US-based agribusiness giant Dole.

“ESG data and strategy meant companies started moving away from consultants and excel to next generation AI driven software and climate specialists like what we had built at Equilibrium,” Meehan said.

Australian companies he said while lauded for their efforts have fallen behind international peers especially in reporting on so-called Scope 3 emissions which are those by their customers.

“Decarbonisation is a massive priority in the Australian private sector, especially with the progressive side of politics holding a majority in federal parliament and aggressively pushing the climate agenda towards net zero,” Meehan said.

“While local corporates have long championed the pathway to net-zero and decarbonisation, we know it can be expensive to achieve these goals.

“Over the last decade, companies have bought carbon credits at a rising cost to hit carbon neutral targets, but that kind of greenwashing approach isn’t going to fly in the next couple of years.

“To keep moving in the right direction as scrutiny on greenwashing claims amplifies, companies need the right tools on hand to manage an incredibly complicated process that moves beyond Scope 1 carbon emissions.”

Meehan also noted that ASIC had recently outlined its expectations to investment managers and funds offering sustainability-related products.

The sector raised $33.4 billion last year.