Q Insights #013

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This week’s read time: 6 minutes

Welcome to this edition of Q Insights — our bi-weekly newsletter for sustainability and ESG professionals looking to make smarter solution decisions.

Each edition brings you concise, relevant updates on the tools, trends, and technologies driving the sustainable transition. We filter the noise, highlight what matters, and help you navigate the sustainability solution landscape with clarity and confidence.

In this edition, we’ll cover: 

• Q Intelligence: How Many Clients Do Sustainability Platforms Actually Have? 📊

• Q Interview: How Dazzle connects companies with on-demand sustainability talent (An interview with Robert Smith, Founder & CEO of Dazzle) 💬

• Q Signals: Greenly launched a new carbon accounting AI platform, EcoVadis launched a tool for worker grievance reporting, and other news 🟢

• KanataQ Corner: New Ecosystem Map released, 400+ Solutions now listed on our platform + New Listed Providers, and Ecosystem Partner announced ✅

• and other insights 💡

KANATAQ CORNER

New KanataQ Ecosystem Map

We just released the October 2025 KanataQ Ecosystem Map — now featuring nearly 70 new solutions across 13 sustainability categories. The biggest growth came in Climate Action, Digital Solutions & Analytics, and Sustainable Operations, while Circular Economy and Impact categories saw upward shifts in average SaaS pricing. Despite mixed market signals, the sustainability tech landscape continues to mature and diversify. Providers can join the next edition by listing with KanataQ before January 15, 2026 → kanataq.com

Q INTELLIGENCE

How Many Clients Do Sustainability Platforms Actually Have?

📊 After analyzing 400+ verified sustainability and ESG solution providers on KanataQ, we found that the market is still young — and far from saturated.

Key Findings:

• 23% serve 1–10 clients

• 36% of solutions serve 11–50 clients

• 29% have 51–200 clients

• Only 11% have 200+ clients

What This Signals:

Most sustainability solutions are still in their growth and validation phase: proving their value, expanding coverage, and scaling through integrations.
Only a few have reached large-scale adoption, highlighting how much white space remains in the market.

At KanataQ, we continue mapping this evolution across 400+ sustainability providers and tracking data like client base, team size, pricing, and founding year.

This insight is part of our upcoming Market Intelligence Platform, which helps both buyers and providers understand how the sustainability tech landscape is taking shape.

👉 Explore the ecosystem: kanataq.com

*The percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding

Q INTERVIEW

This week’s guest:

Robert Smith

Founder & CEO of Dazzle

1. For those unfamiliar, what is Dazzle, and how do you help companies and professionals?

Dazzle helps sustainability teams by connecting them with a curated network of independent sustainability consultants. For these companies, we solve the challenge of finding trusted talent without the overhead of full-time hires or big consultancy fees. We call this ‘staff-on-demand’ for our clients. For professionals, we create opportunities to do impactful work with global brands while staying independent.

2. Dazzle promises speed, flexibility, and affordability. What does that process look like from the client’s perspective? Can you walk us through how an organization uses the platform?

Absolutely. We designed the process for our clients to be simple and hands-on. They can easily reach out to us via our website with a clear brief of the project need or skill gap that they have. From there, within 48 hours, our team curates and sends over a shortlist of curated experts from our network. Clients meet the consultants directly before making a choice. Projects can start within days, and clients can scale support up or down as needed. It’s a tailored service, not self-service. That mix of speed, flexibility, and affordability is why nearly all of our clients who try Dazzle come back for more.

3. How do you ensure consistent quality of experts while scaling such a diverse network?

Quality is number one for us. First, only around 10% of applicants are accepted into the Dazzle network as we screen for expertise, professional delivery, and soft skills. Many of our consultants come with backgrounds at leading sustainability consultancies or in-house roles at global companies. Beyond vetting, we also support freelancers with templates, peer learning, and regular community events to raise the bar collectively. And because we curate matches for each client rather than leaving it to chance, companies know they will be introduced only to the most relevant, trusted experts. Finally, we team up with companies like the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for our experts to be trained by them and become certified. All these elements make sure we scale while keeping quality at the center.

4. What kind of projects are companies most frequently using Dazzle for today - and what trends are you noticing?

We see the strongest demand today in three areas: reporting requirements, EcoVadis assessments, and SBTi. Beyond ‘compliance’, companies also use Dazzle for projects like decarbonization strategies, supply chain engagement, or sustainability communications.

The bigger trend I am noticing is that sustainability teams are, in general, overloaded, underfunded, but still very motivated. That means they increasingly want the “staff-on-demand” model we offer: flexible, trusted experts they can plug into projects as needed.

Dazzle is becoming an extension of our clients and partners’ team, giving them on-demand access to skills and capacity they otherwise wouldn’t have in-house.

Q SIGNALS

Latest developments, insights, and trends

📊 New tools, features, acquisitions, and funding rounds from solution providers

Greenly (KanataQ listed) announced the launch of EcoPilot, a new AI-and-language-model-based platform aimed at simplifying and accelerating carbon accounting for companies. The platform automates the collection, structuring and processing of emissions-related data—enabling users to feed in physical inventory, accounting and logistics information, apply emissions factors with high accuracy, and model Scope 3 reductions via supplier commitments. (link)

EcoVadis announced the launch of Worker Voice Connect, a new digital grievance mechanism enabling workers to anonymously report workplace concerns across global supply chains. The solution is designed to fill a gap in traditional systems that focus on corruption or compliance and often exclude on-the-ground workers who may be unaware of or reluctant to use them. Key features include two-way anonymous communication via channels such as WhatsApp, QR codes and web (without requiring corporate apps or smartphones), support for 20 languages, and dashboards for buyers and suppliers to track case progress and remediation.

Worldly acquired GoBlu to unify sustainability and compliance tracking across consumer goods supply chains. GoBlu’s flagship tool, The BHive, helps apparel factories digitize chemical management for better traceability and compliance. By integrating The BHive with its Higg Index data infrastructure, Worldly aims to connect chemical usage with environmental performance, streamline reporting, and enhance transparency through AI-driven insights.

Class 3 Technologies raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round to scale its climate-risk and resilience software platform for buildings. The startup, spun out from consultancy Arup, has developed the “Iris” platform — an engineering-based modelling tool that assesses how individual buildings might be impacted by climate-driven events and simulates resilience interventions.

KANATAQ CORNER

What’s new on KanataQ?

🎉 400+ Solutions now listed on KanataQ

KanataQ now hosts 400+ trusted sustainability and ESG software and consulting solutions, making it easier than ever for companies, large and small, to find the right partner for their sustainability needs.

To every provider who trusts our transparent, data-driven marketplace, thank you for being part of our growing ecosystem. 💙

Non-listed providers can claim a free, zero-commission listing here.

📈 KanataQ Growing Family

Here is the list of providers that joined KanataQ since our last edition: ASCEND Tech (Reporting & Disclosure), ESGConnect (Strategic Advisory Services), Experienz Limited (Digital Solutions & Analytics), Greenex Environmental (Strategic Advisory Services), kolum (Sustainable Operations).

🔵 New Ecosystem Partner

We’re pleased to welcome Michael Viehs, who joins KanataQ as Partner. As a reminder, KanataQ Ecosystem Partners are a select group of sustainability experts carefully chosen by KanataQ to contribute to the platform's growth and success.

Come join us

Are you a sustainability solution provider? Join KanataQ, the platform where sustainability solution providers connect with high-intent buyers. Generate quality leads, gain market insights, and maximize ROI with our commission-free model. List with us today or contact us at [email protected] for inquiries.

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