Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend VERGE 23, held in San Jose and organized by
Trellis Group
. Touted as the premier climate technology event in the US, I came with expectations, curiosity, and the hope to uncover the latest trends. Here's a quick download of my experiences and observations:
Overall Impression
- Event Scale: As a newcomer to the event, I was taken aback by its more intimate size (5,155 attendees according to Whova app). With climate change being a hot topic, I anticipated a more expansive showcase and audience turnout. This might hint at the current state and momentum of the market in the US.
- Diverse Exhibitors: What lacked in size was compensated for in diversity. The Grand Ballroom showcased a blend of corporations, consultancies, technology vendors, financial institutions, governmental bodies, and foundations.
Sustainability Management Software: The Stars and the Shadows
There's an evident surge in software solutions addressing sustainability (see my previous articles about carbon management software market landscape and industry trends and leading sustainability management software vendors in North America). Here's who made their presence felt:
- Tech giants:
微软
that showcased its 'Sustainability Manager' solution (strong capabilities on data collection, testing new ESG topics such as water and biodiversity beyond carbon emissions, big announcements to come), while
IBM
highlighted its 'IBM Envizi ESG Suite' and
Salesforce
brought in its 'Net Zero Cloud'.
- Industrials & utility leaders: I was already familiar with Ellispe platform by
ENGIE Impact
and EcoStruxure Resource Advisor solution by
施耐德电气
, but I learnt about
Dynamhex
powering
Constellation
carbon accounting and reporting solution.
- Accounting leaders:
BDO
offering ESG assurance services and partnering with a technology vendor whose name I don't recall.
- Audit, compliance & risk management: I attended a demo by
AuditBoard
that presented its ESG Data Management & Reporting platform. Its major value proposition is to allow seamless data flows across applications part of their suite of enterprise solutions. In regard of carbon accounting, it doesn't have an in-house carbon engine and partners with third parties.
- Specialized carbon accounting and management start-ups: it was good to (re)connect with
Watershed
,
Carbon Direct
,
Sustain.Life (now part of Workiva)
, and
Greenly | Certified B Corp
. Notable absentees included
Persefoni
and
SINAI Technologies
. My top discovery has been
Climatiq
, a unique middleware for carbon footprinting.
Overall, I got the impression that sustainability software vendors were striving to get their solution as modular as possible to remain competitive, so they could attract both companies starting their climate journey and their clients' vendors as part of their overall supply chain decarbonization efforts.
Carbon Voluntary Market
Attendees
The whole carbon voluntary market value chain was represented:
- Carbon Storage, Capture and Removal solution providers: Among the frontrunners were
Carbonfuture
,
Climate Impact Partners
,
Pachama
,
Patch
,
Puro.earth
,
Grassroots Carbon
,
Svante
, and
South Pole
.
- Carbon Credits Standards & Certification:
Gold Standard
.
- Carbon Credits Rating Agencies:
BeZero Carbon
,
Calyx Global
, and
Sylvera
.
Industry Challenges and Trends
Based on my discussions, here are the industry challenges and trends I captured (pun intended):
- Enthusiasm vs. Skepticism: while there's evident enthusiasm for both technological and nature-based solutions, a degree of skepticism still lingers.
- Nature-Based Solutions Approach: providers are keen to involve companies at the initial stages of project development, emphasizing the importance of long-term commitments.
- Supply Concerns: a notable challenge is the prevailing lack of quality supply in the market.
- Location Preferences: clients consistently show a preference for projects situated within their supply chain regions.
Conclusion
To sum it up, VERGE 23 was an enlightening experience. While there were some surprises in terms of scale and representation, the diversity and depth of solutions presented are testaments to the evolving nature of the climate tech sector in the US.
Thank you for reading. Follow me for more updates on sustainability, climate, and carbon management software market. You might also be interested in reading my previous articles:
