Q Insights #031

Q Insights is brought to you by

This week’s read time: 5 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 Update: A few takeaways from PNW Climate Week

• Q Signals:
 - ESG Playbook launched Essential Worksheets and Premium Modules
 - EthiFinance and ESG Book have agreed to merge
 - Deloitte launches tool to measure the value of sustainability investments
- Crédit Agricole CIB launched SPASE

• KanataQ Corner: Newly Listed Providers on KanataQ ✅

• and other insights 💡

Q UPDATE

KanataQ is attending the PNW Climate Week! Read our key takeaways below. 🔽 

On Monday, our Co-founders Nawar Alsaadi, FSA, SIPC and Gigi Alsaadi were at the opening event for Vancouver’s PNW Climate Week, where leaders explored how cities, businesses, and communities can move from climate ambition to action. A few ideas that stayed with us:

🚆 Make sustainable choices easier.
Ralf Nielsen shared that TransLink became the first transit authority in Canada to issue a green bond, but funding infrastructure is only part of the challenge. Our cities also need accessible, convenient transit that better connects people and communities.

♻️ Treat waste as a resource.
Aaron Joe shared how Salish Soils transforms organic waste into compost, soil, mulch, and other useful materials, diverting thousands of tonnes from landfill each year, while supporting rural communities.

🌱 Bring more joy to climate action.
Elizabeth (Liz) Dunn and Jiaying Zhao (JZ) (co-authors of Leave the Lights On) reminded us that guilt and doom are rarely lasting motivators. People are more likely to make climate-friendly actions more "contagious" when those choices also bring joy, agency, and tangible benefits.

🤝 Build connection and imagination.
Seth Klein ( author of A Good War, preparing Canada for the Climate Emergency) highlighted barriers including fossil-fuel influence, loneliness, limited climate literacy, and a failure to imagine what a better future could look like. Lasting change needs leadership, community, and love for the places we call home.

These conversations reinforced why KanataQ exists: to help organizations move beyond climate ambition by making credible sustainability solutions easier to discover, compare, and connect with.

The solutions are already out there. The next step is helping the right buyers find and implement them.

Q SIGNALS

Latest developments, insights, and trends

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

ESG Playbook (KanataQ listed) launched Essential Worksheets and Premium Modules, two new sustainability reporting solutions designed to help small and mid-sized businesses begin and scale their sustainability reporting. The new products share the same data architecture as the company’s Enterprise Platform, allowing organizations to start with individual reporting tools and expand as reporting requirements evolve. (link)

EthiFinance and ESG Book have agreed to merge, aiming to provide a European alternative to US incumbents and address the growing demand for integrated financial and sustainability data. Operating under the EthiFinance brand, the combined company will have more than 300 employees, serve over 500 clients, and provide coverage of more than 10,000 issuers globally. By combining EthiFinance’s credit and sustainability ratings expertise with ESG Book’s sustainability data, analytics and technology platform, the new entity will offer ESG and credit ratings, portfolio analytics, regulatory reporting, benchmarking and supply chain risk management to financial institutions and corporate issuers. (link)

Deloitte launched Sustainability Fusion, a new framework and service offering designed to help organizations measure and communicate the financial value of sustainability investments. The solution enables companies to evaluate sustainability initiatives using standard financial principles, translate environmental impacts into cash flow and business value, and prioritize investments, helping sustainability and finance teams better quantify cost savings, risk reduction, and long-term value. (link)

Crédit Agricole CIB launched SPASE, an ESG-linked trade finance platform that enables companies to assess ESG performance across suppliers, products, and trade flows. The platform automatically converts trade transaction data into ESG dashboards, helping companies improve supply chain transparency, identify higher-performing suppliers, reduce operational costs, and make more informed financing decisions. Following a successful pilot in Hong Kong, the bank plans to roll out SPASE across the Asia Pacific region. (link)

KANATAQ CORNER

What’s new on KanataQ?

📈 KanataQ Growing Family

Providers that joined KanataQ since our last edition: ESG Report Builder (Reporting & Disclosure).

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.

PRESENTED BY GREEN DIGEST

Join +7,000 sustainability professionals who read Green Digest every week

Green Digest is a weekly newsletter for ESG and sustainability professionals, delivering key updates, insights, and analyses. Every Tuesday, we break down the biggest developments across sustainability, climate, regulation, sustainable finance, and more—curated from trusted sources. Fridays alternate between our Interview Series with CSOs and leaders shaping the field, and our Impact Briefs—data-driven analyses of companies’ environmental and social performance.

Subscribe for free and join +7,000 readers from companies like Moody’s, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and more.