Houston-based blockchain technology firms Data Gumbo and Topl are partnering on private/public blockchain to help corporations track and report environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics. The integrated platform is expected to yield public-facing, accurate, and immutable reports for companies to showcase evidence-based progress on ESG metrics to outside audiences and broader key stakeholders, including public analysts, investors, and governments.
“Companies can now comprehensively collect ESG data and report to private entities and public audiences,” said Kim Raath, founder and CEO of Topl. “This partnership combines the power of our two complementary solutions to support a new level of transparency for companies that desire to showcase their fully verifiable progress on crucial ESG metrics.”
Tracking ESG metrics and maintaining ethical, sustainable business practices have become top priorities for investors, analysts, governments, executives, and economic development agencies. The collaboration from Data Gumbo and Topl gathers data from business operations and transactions, uses that data to inform calculations based on defined standards, and then enables the complete review and certification of ESG metrics by auditors.
“Companies today need the right tools to collect, standardize, and automate reporting while preserving security for sensitive data,” said Andrew Bruce, CEO and founder of Data Gumbo. “For the first time, this partnership offers companies total control of their accurate ESG data, allowing them to publish and report metrics in whatever manner best suits them in satisfying investors’, regulator agencies’, and other stakeholders’ desires.”
The offering is based on GumboNet ESG, Data Gumbo’s proprietary private and permissioned blockchain-backed network, and Topl’s blockchain-as-a-service platform. GumboNet ESG uses a company’s operational data to validate contracts with vendors and customers and captures metrics for ESG standards reporting, including emissions from Scope 1, 2, and 3. Once environmental impact is determined, a company can share data recorded on Topl’s public-facing blockchain to offer proof of progress on its ESG metrics and verification that compliance measures and upcoming mandates from the US Securities and Exchange Commission have been met.