Gurugram startup OnlyGood uses blockchain to track carbon footprint
Today, blockchain technology, climate change, carbon footprint, carbon emissions, etc. are the topic of conversation.
With blockchain poised to become the “next big thing” and climate change the most pressing issue of the moment, businesses and governments are actively brainstorming ways to leverage the technology to minimize the other.
According to a white paper published by the European Commission, blockchain can improve the transparency, accountability and traceability of greenhouse gas emissions.
Moreover, it can be used through smart contracts to better calculate, track and report on the reduction of the carbon footprint across the entire value chain.
Working with this is Gurugram based startup . In 2020, Rajeev Sinha and Vivek Mehra launched the blockchain-integrated cloud-based platform, which acts as a carbon accounting software, enabling companies to track their carbon emissions against established corporate targets.
The company formally started operations in April 2022 with a team of 20 members.
But why blockchain?
Rajeev narrates Your story“Blockchain helps authenticate the traceability of the purchases made. It is open source and helps us integrate various functions and attributes on one platform. It makes business transactions very easy, accessible, transparent and secure – without the need for any central clearing authority .”
The business-to-business (B2B) startup provides its customers with a dashboard of carbon accounting, monitoring, reporting, audits, carbon certifications and sustainability features.
It offers a subscription-based service, which includes a workshop to explain and set up a carbon accounting function in the company, a carbon monitoring dashboard, an auditor dashboard to verify the carbon data and quarterly ESG reports to be shared with partners and suppliers.
“This helps us showcase the imminent carbon emission hotspots for the company,” says Rajeev.
Its optional features include carbon footprint prediction, ERP integration and Scope 3 emissions guidance.
The startup collects data, including water, electricity, waste generated and vehicle use and emissions – provided by companies via online and ground sources – and organizes them systematically to create a baseline report.
According to the co-founder, blockchain technology verifies and validates these data points to ensure they are trustworthy. “So, if someone discloses their carbon footprint, who can be sure that the numbers are credible? This is where blockchain comes into play,” he adds.
For example, if a company wants to calculate its carbon footprint, it can share its electricity meter readings and water bills. The software ingests data through a variety of formats: directly from devices and sensors on the meters, MS Excel, or from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems through pre-programmed interfaces.
Once the platform has verified the data, it uses emission factors for the specific country or region to calculate the carbon footprint of the company. Most of the time, OnlyGood uses UNFCCC standard emission factors and calculates the carbon footprint, measured as TCO2e (tonne per carbon emission).
“This helps companies understand their baseline emissions, set targets and embark on a new vision for growth. It also helps them understand their carbon accounting and internal emission norms,” adds Rajeev.
In addition, OnlyGood offers a dashboard of role-based access and security controls, which companies can share with partners throughout the supply chain (with data masking where necessary).
Besides blockchain, the API-driven platform includes Python, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence technology to ensure correct results through streamlined performance. In addition, all captured data is encrypted and complies with the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
The startup takes anywhere from two to six weeks to analyze and deliver reports to its customers, depending on the complexity of the data. It says its results are 100% accurate as it uses international norms to convert the data.
Currently, OnlyGood caters to nearly 50 national and global companies in sectors including apparel, automotive, manufacturing and financial services. These companies are Brij Designs, Afflatus Group, Prits Group, Expressions India, Vanca Fashions, Real Fashion, Bharti Exports, Bharat Group and SKA Exports, to name a few.
“The world is buzzing with talk about sustainability and carbon emissions and footprints. OnlyGood has helped us all the way simplifying the whole process, generating a carbon baseline, sustainability dashboard and a premium ESG report. We are now looking ahead of our competitors, hoping to get more orders from this season,” says Kshitij Rohatgi, CEO of Brij Designs.
Although the platform does not offer carbon offset services, it allows companies to use their carbon capture initiatives, such as tree plantations. It also connects its clients to certified carbon offset agencies.
The market
Available in India, US and Europe, OnlyGood costs $499 per month (India) and $999 per month (Europe and US), which may vary depending on the features companies choose.
While the co-founder declined to comment on the company’s revenue, Rajeev says the company sees 90% of its business coming from India. Started with Rs 3.5 crore, now seeing 15% monthly growth.
According to MarketsandMarkets research, the global carbon emissions management market was valued at $9 billion in 2020, projected to reach $12.2 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% during the period.
The startup competes with Net0, Emitwise, Plan A and Watershed. Ask Rajeev what sets OnlyGood apart from the competition, and he says the startup can read data directly from external sensors and devices, including water and electricity meters, reducing a company’s burden of manual data collection, speeding up the compliance process and improving the veracity of the data.
Far ahead
Rajeev expects OnlyGood to generate $1 million in revenue by the end of 2022, and 4-5X growth in 2023.
By Q3 2023, the co-founder also expects 40-45% growth in international and 55-60% growth in Indian partnerships.
The startup plans to target EU partners of India-based exporters, particularly in countries with strong carbon disclosure legislation, including Denmark, the UK, Germany and France. It also aims to work with SMEs and manufacturing units in Bangladesh and China, which export to the EU.