The three letters – E, S and G – are reshaping the corporate playing field. Environment, Social and Governance are broad topics that are changing the discussions within boardrooms, between investors, bankers and company executives, and among all stakeholders. Moreover, ESG is being enshrined in regulation and law, meaning failures potentially will carry substantial financial ramifications for a company.

The landscape of ESG is rapidly emerging, but also changing, as metrics are slowly being established and companies are issuing early assessments of where they stand. Global bodies are embracing metrics for judging levels of corporate ESG achievement in order to award ratings. Increasingly, a company’s ability to address ESG may determine its ultimate success or failure. It is not inconceivable that a failure to achieve, or show significant progress toward meeting, minimum ESG standards could cost CEOs their jobs. Therefore, measuring progress in achieving ESG standards is becoming critical.

But how do you know which metrics to use and whether the results you are measuring are accurate? There are multiple agencies and bodies battling to become THE standard for ESG metrics. However, understanding the most important ESG metrics, and even which ones can actually be measured accurately, is not clear. Each industry will have a different set of priorities and levels of achievement within each of E, S & G. Knowing which metrics are the most important and seeing that outside audiences understand their significance for judging corporate success and where a company stands will be a challenge until the ESG world becomes more settled.

Failing in any ESG category – and even failing on particular metrics within a category – can carry substantial penalties. Whether those penalties come from reputational damage, financial implications, or lack of access to capital, ESG compliance comes with a heavy burden. Capturing the correct data is going to become key. Having confidence that it is accurate will be very important. Being able to use the data to improve operations, not only because of ESG, but also to enhance profitability will be critical for managers going forward.

For this Company Spotlight, we interviewed ClearTrace’s CEO, Lincoln Payton, about how the company is enabling companies to accurately and transparently measure and track their claims of carbon reductions, sustainability, and renewable energy. ClearTrace is an energy, data and technology company that streams secure energy data to the world of energy management, ESG reporting, and corporate sustainability. For more information on ClearTrace, please visit www.cleartrace.io.

Background / Value Proposition: ClearTrace leverages technology to quantify and manage data on renewable energy purchases and carbon avoidance, mitigating environmental risk for its clients. Numerous types of customers.…..READ MORE

Cumulus’ Internet of Tools platform collects data from digitally enabled tools in the field to provide real-time quality assurance and progress tracking of mission-critical work activities in order to help owners and contractors prevent accidents and eliminate downtime. The $8 million capital round was led by GEC, Brick & Mortar and Shell Ventures.

Micatu’s GridView product line provides a measurement platform that enables utilities to collect more accurate data and offers actionable insights to improve power quality and grid reliability. GridView’s optical sensors are capable of monitoring multiple voltage classes, which reduces cost and installation complexity. The sensors are non-conductive, taking measurements using light passed through an optical crystal rather than passing electrons, which enables the measurement platform to replace traditional transformers.

Founded in Toronto in 2012, Polar Sapphire is a manufacturer of high-purity aluminum oxide ("alumina" or "HPA"), which is a key input for lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, plasma displays, lasers, and many other green technologies. Polar Sapphire has a low-emission process compared to the incumbent process, which is highly toxic to local environments.

Related Press Release: Ara Partners Invests in Polar Sapphire

After achieving a company record for customer orders in 2020, Motiv has secured $20 million in financing from Crescent Cove Advisors. This funding will help Motiv to scale its operational and manufacturing capabilities in order to meet growing customer demand for its Electric Power Intelligent Chassis® (EPIC) product line. EPIC is Motiv’s family of battery-electric chassis and was built on proven OEM platforms, such as Ford’s E-450 and F-59. The EV technology on the EPIC chassis was the first all-electric system to receive Ford eQVM approval in 2017.

Headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, SolMicroGrid is a differentiated developer and operator of solar-enabled microgrid systems that offer energy resiliency and efficiency to commercial and industrial customers. A portion of the proceeds from MSEP’s investment will go toward supporting the initial deployment of microgrid systems to certain commercial and industrial locations in California.

Chevron announced a Series C investment in San Jose-based Blue Planet Systems. Blue Planet creates carbonate-based building aggregate made from flue gas-captured CO2. Distinct from some other industrial carbon capture and utilization technologies, Blue Planet’s process does not require CO2 purification and enrichment prior to use which can reduce cost and unit energy consumed during capture.

Related Press Release: Chevron Invests in Carbon Capture and Utilization Startup

Energy Technology Musings

How Will the Industry Measure ESG?