The term ESG reflects organization’s Environmental, Social and Governance commitment to sustainability and positive societal impact. In Austria, ESG is already an important topic, and more and more startups have started appearing in the field recently. Each startup addresses ESG topics in their own way, and the same applies to the use cases they find to support sustainability, climate action, diversity, etc. Therefore, we list five examples of how Austrian startups approach ESG below.
goodbag
In 2021, Forbes mentioned goodbag as one of the ten startups leading the way with CX. Their product is a smart reusable shopping bag that makes it fun and rewarding for people to reuse the bag and allows them to track their own positive impact on the environment in real-time through a mobile app, available both for iOS and Android phones. Every time customers bring their goodbag to a store, they can choose to plant a tree against climate change, clean plastic waste out of the ocean or receive a discount as a reward. The bag itself is smart and has a small NFC (near-field-communication) chip integrated in the goodbag logo.
Our vision is a future where we live and consume in balance with nature. To achieve this, we are on a mission to enable consumers and companies to become changemakers and show them that every tiny action counts towards a sustainable future. After we successfully launched our smart shopping bag goodbag we are now in the transformation from an application that rewards customers for re-using their bag towards a platform that rewards users whenever they act or buy sustainably. There are a lot of great solutions for consumers out there and if we can connect them, everyone will benefit
says co-founder of goodbag, Christoph Hantschk
HELIOZ
HELIOZ has been selected as a global Best Practice Showcase for innovations that have provided real solutions to the world’s biggest challenges as part of the World EXPO 2021 in Dubai. The startup is based in Austria and was founded in 2010. HELIOZ works on projects around water disinfection with environmentally friendly and solar-based technology, reduction of CO2 emissions, networks and trainings for plastic recycling and waste management, and protection of local forests. Their product, WADI, is a solar powered UV measurement device that visualizes the process of solar water disinfection (SODIS) in PET or glass bottles, with no additional chemicals or devices needed for the process. WADI is placed alongside bottles that are filled with contaminated water and exposed to the sun. Once the process is completed, a smiley face on the WADI confirms that the water is safe to drink. WADI is endorsed by the WHO, meeting its microbiological performance criteria and is classified for providing targeted protection.
Beeanco
Beeanco is an online shopping platform offering a marketplace of sustainable products and services. Covering anything from food to office supplies, Beeanco’s goal is to give their customers all necessary information on “green” businesses to support. In order for a product or a service to be offered through their marketplace, it has to fulfill two or more categories such as energy efficiency, fair trade, resource conservation, use of recycled and recyclable materials, etc. (depending on the product or service). In addition, CO2-neutral shipping of the product must be guaranteed.
beeanco is a sustainable online marketplace to help people to consume more consciously. We do the research and show transparent information on all products and services we are offering. Our vision is to offer a broad range of products and services, so it is possible to always find the most sustainable alternative
says Marcus Rosenberger, co-founder of Beeanco
Glacier
Glacier’s vision is to build the most effective community around the topic of climate protection. In order to achieve that, the startup offers two products: Climate Impact Day (CID) is an annual event for employee engagement, organized by Glacier, that combines inspiration and concrete actions. Their second product is a digital carbon management platform that allows companies to calculate their C02 footprint.
This year, Climate Impact Day, will happen on 21st of September 2021. The event targets companies and their employees – it aims to give them the opportunity to listen to different lectures, identify and discuss solutions, and raise awareness for climate action.
Glacier’s software Carma, a carbon management solution, allows companies to calculate their CO2 footprint, set goals, track progress, and offers an extensive database of tailored reduction measures and curated third party solutions. Through a data query in Carma, users can determine the greenhouse gas emissions of their company including their origin, after which they receive tailor-made suggestions for the reduction of greenhouse gases. Users can also track their company’s progress using the same software.
ESGplus
The startup offers an online platform, CLEANVEST, which provides a large range of sustainability information on European investment funds. The platform is customizable and gives private investors a tool to make informed investment decisions concerning topics like fossil fuels, oil, coal, child labor, etc. On the occasion of the International Women’s Day on 8th of March 2021, CLEANVEST together with HeForShe Vienna, a solidarity campaign by UN Women, launched its tenth sustainability criterion for evaluating investment products: women equality.
