Q Insights #017

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This week’s read time: 4 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: A recap of The State of Sustainability Solutions report 📑

• Q Signals: The wave of acquisition continues, with Diginex acquiring Plan A, and osapiens acquiring Lucent AI + other news 🗞️

• KanataQ Corner: Growing Buyer Demand and Newly Listed Providers on KanataQ ✅

• and other insights 💡

Q INTELLIGENCE

A recap of The State of Sustainability Solutions report

Last week, we released our State of Sustainability Solutions report, analyzing 400+ ESG and sustainability solution providers alongside real buyer search data and executive insights. The findings show a market moving out of rapid expansion and into its first maturity cycle, consolidating around trust, integration, and ROI as sustainability solutions evolve from compliance tools into decision-grade business infrastructure. Below are two of the key takeaways from the report.

1) The shift: from compliance to performance

The sustainability tech market is moving through a clear evolution:

Compliance → Integration → Performance

What this looks like in practice:

• Buyers are moving beyond tools that simply “get the report out”

• ESG data is increasingly expected to connect with finance, ERP, risk, and procurement

• Decision-makers want sustainability data to inform cost reduction, risk management, and capital allocation

2) A young market entering its first maturity cycle

The sustainability solutions ecosystem remains young, but clear structural patterns are now emerging.

What the data shows

• 81% of providers were founded between 2018 and 2024

• Fewer than 10% existed before 2015, underlining how new the market still is

• Growth was largely driven by regulatory pressure and investor scrutiny

Provider scale

• 70% of providers employ fewer than 50 people

• Only 10% operate at a scale above 200 employees

• Teams remain small, agile, and product-focused, with limited capacity for complex enterprise rollouts

Client adoption

• 36% of providers serve 11–50 clients

• 29% serve 51–200 clients

• Only 11% have 200+ clients

For more insights like this, you can explore the full report here. Looking ahead, KanataQ’s upcoming Market Intelligence Platform will continue tracking these dynamics in real time through marketplace activity and buyer search behavior, giving buyers and solution providers clearer visibility into how the sustainability landscape is evolving. You can sign up for the waitlist here.

Q SIGNALS

Latest developments, insights, and trends

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

Workiva (KanataQ listed) released its 2026 predictions for finance, risk, and sustainability, highlighting a growing focus on data integrity, AI governance, and the quieter evolution of sustainability programs as organizations adapt to shifting regulation and market conditions. Key takeaways include mounting pressure on finance leaders to fix fragmented data as AI adoption accelerates, the emergence of a new “AI auditor” role to manage governance and risk, and expectations of potential SEC reporting changes that could reshape quarterly disclosures without reducing the need for trusted, controlled data. (link)

Diginex (KanataQ listed) signed an MOU to acquire Plan A. The all-share deal would combine Plan A’s carbon accounting and decarbonization engine with Diginex’s ESG, supply-chain and analytics tools. Plan A brings 1,500 clients and advanced AI capabilities, while the combined platform will offer end-to-end emissions measurement, reporting and decarbonization solutions across global markets. (link)

Upright (KanataQ listed) is joining forces with EDHEC Centre for Net Positive Business for a first-of-its-kind research project on net positive business. The aim is to advance both research and real-world practice around how companies can move from "doing less harm" to creating measurable net positive value. The company said it’s a significant step in bringing outside-in sustainability thinking into academia, moving beyond self-reported sustainability. (link)

Greenly (KanataQ listed) launched a new referral program designed to incentivize its community to bring more companies into their decarbonization journey by offering a €1,000 reward for every successful referral. Under the program, participants can refer new companies to Greenly, and once the referred organization signs a commercial agreement and becomes a paying client, the referrer receives the cash reward. (link)

Measurabl (KanataQ listed) named Maureen Waters as its new CEO as the company moves into its next phase of growth, focused on sustainability data for real estate. Waters, previously President, led recent product launches and operational improvements, while co-founder Matt Ellis transitions to Executive Chairman to focus on strategy and M&A as Measurabl continues to expand its sustainability data platform. (link)

Sustainability software provider osapiens acquired Berlin-based agentic AI startup Lucent AI to strengthen its capabilities in financial risk management, compliance automation, and AI-driven decision support. The deal will integrate Lucent AI’s risk quantification and early-warning tools into the osapiens HUB, with the first combined modules expected in Q2 2026. (link)

Google released an AI Playbook for Sustainability Reporting, outlining how organizations can use AI to streamline reporting workflows, improve data quality, and scale disclosure efforts more efficiently. The report shares a practical five-step framework for integrating AI into sustainability reporting, maps where AI adds the most value across data analytics, content generation, and stakeholder interaction, and provides a toolkit of ready-to-use prompts and real-world examples from Google’s 2025 reporting cycle. (link)

KANATAQ CORNER

What’s new on KanataQ?

📈 KanataQ Growing Family

Here is the list of providers that joined KanataQ since our last edition: Your Carbon Steps (Climate Action) and Zero Hero (Social & Human Capital).

📈 KanataQ Sees Growing Buyer Demand

We also saw strong momentum on the demand side last week, with 100+ new buyers signing up to the platform. For solution providers, this growing pool of active buyers increases visibility, inbound lead potential, and opportunities to engage with organizations actively searching for sustainability and ESG solutions, reinforcing KanataQ’s role as a lead-generation and market intelligence channel.

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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