Sustainable Finance Is Becoming Unrecognizable
These firms are setting new standards.
Forget ESG scores and corporate pledges—sustainable finance is changing faster than anyone expected. The companies leading the future of sustainability look nothing like the ones we trusted before.
The traditional approach to sustainable finance—ESG scores, passive ESG funds, and vague corporate pledges—is outdated.
For the past 20 years, ESG has been built on disclosure, not on impact. Companies scored well for producing neat reports. They didn’t get adequate credit, though, for actually being sustainable.
The times are now changing: Greenwashing scandals have destroyed trust in old-school ESG ratings and funds.
Regulators and investors are demanding real change: Reporting needs to be solid, sure. Now, however, regulators and investors are finally demanding measurable impact.
Who’s Leading the New Sustainable Finance?
Instead of building a fairly nonsensical ESG score and calling it a day, new players are backing up their work with robust methodologies. Below are just a few.
AI-driven ESG analytics
Clarity AI offers AI-powered sustainability solutions for carbon tracking, ESG reporting, and impact analysis. This has the power to enhance corporate sustainability strategies in much more actionable ways than previously possible.
Signal AI provides tools to analyze thousands of organizations against AI-trained ESG topics, which helps in evaluating ESG risks and reputational impacts.
Nasdaq Sustainable Lens is an AI-powered ESG intelligence platform delivering data-driven insights from over 9,000 companies globally. They aim to facilitate enhanced decision-making and productivity.
Decentralized ESG verification
ULedger uses blockchain technology to ensure data accuracy, traceability, and accountability in ESG initiatives. This supports sustainability efforts and building stakeholder trust.
Deloitte and The Hashgraph Association collaborated to develop an ESG verification platform aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. This enables companies to effectively measure and capitalize on their sustainability impacts.
Diginex helps companies with ESG reporting requirements by using blockchain technology. They make it easy to integrate climate-related data into existing ESG reports to meet the standards of various disclosure frameworks. ​
Alternative sustainability metrics
RepRisk screens over 100,000 public sources daily to identify companies linked to ESG-related risks. This provides a dynamic measure of reputational exposure through its proprietary RepRisk Index, which is different from a classic ESG score in the sense that it only screens for reputational damages.
Briink offers AI-powered document analysis to help companies, consultants, and investors extract ESG insights from unstructured documents and reports, thus enhancing the accuracy of sustainability assessments.
Wangari Global (us!) use a granular and quant-driven methodology to bypass ESG scores completely, instead focusing on delivering actionable insights and clear plans for companies interested in optimizing both their sustainability- and financial performance.
Winners And Losers
Some firms will thrive in this new era. Others will struggle to adapt.
Among the winners we count fintechs, data-driven ESG firms, and AI-powered analytics platforms.
Companies integrating artificial intelligence into ESG data management are enhancing reporting accuracy and efficiency. For instance, firms utilizing AI have achieved up to a 40% reduction in data processing time and a 30% increase in report accuracy.
Losers are old-school ESG rating agencies and passive ESG funds relying on outdated data.
Passive ESG funds often fail to deliver desired outcomes. Their rigid structures limit the ability to distinguish between leaders and laggards in ESG performance. The resulting portfolios often don’t align with investors' sustainability goals—or with their financial goals, for that matter.
The Future of Sustainable Finance
Sustainable finance is evolving fast. As a result, investors need to rethink how they approach sustainability.
The old ways aren’t working anymore. Many industry titans are waking up to the fact that new players are redefining the space.
On Thursday, I’ll break down exactly what these disruptors are doing—and what investors can learn from them.
Wangari’s Curated Reads
Art meets conservation in the depths of the ocean. In Sustainable Storytelling- Underwater Art,
explores how artists and engineers are transforming underwater spaces into thriving marine habitats—using everything from decommissioned subway cars to marble sculptures. These artistic artificial reefs not only support biodiversity but also serve as powerful storytelling tools for climate action.- argues that A Sustainable Resistance against Trump-era destruction requires both foresight and a firm commitment to rebuilding. In a political landscape where chaos is weaponized, he calls on Democrats to anticipate disasters, respond swiftly, and prepare for bold, systemic restoration. This piece is a rallying cry for those who refuse to surrender to despair.
Change doesn’t happen overnight—it’s built through persistence, strategy, and collective power.
reflects on lessons from organizing retreats, emphasizing that Building Sustainable Change in education requires both idealism and pragmatic action. This piece highlights why long-term vision, small victories, and disciplined organizing are essential for shaping the future of public education.