Cerclos, Everty, and Sapien picked for the latest round of Taronga’s ESG Impact program

Three Australian startups have been picked to join the latest round of Taronga Ventures’s RealTechX program focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) innovation across the real estate sector.

Carbon management software company Cerclos, EV charging software firm Everty, and Sapien Cyber were on the list of 12 companies around the world chosen to join this year’s ESG Impact program.

They will have access to new customers and a network of similarly-focused emerging tech companies building out ESG-focused solutions.

“Our partners were highly engaged throughout the prioritisation process, which reflected an ever-increasing corporate focus on delivering ESG outcomes,” said Rebecca Jinks, director of sustainability with Taronga Ventures.

“This year we saw the doubling of governance issues being tackled by our corporate partners, and an increasing interest in emerging themes such as social and biodiversity. The traditional environmental themes are becoming more business-as-usual and making space for our sector to focus on other social and governance topics.”

Over 310 applicants from at least 40 countries put their hats in the ring for this year’s program. The program is backed by nine global real estate corporates: APG, CapitaLand, CBRE, Dexus, International Towers, ISPT, Ivanhoé Cambridge, PGIM Real Estate and Vicinity Centres.

Last year, the close relationships between 12 tech companies and the program’s partners led to project’s like the implementation of BindiMaps, an accessible app to help people living with disabilities navigate indoor spaces, in Melbourne’s Oakleigh Shopping Centre.

Another project saw a smart storage system put together for construction sites as part of a PGIM Real Estate project in Singapore. The developer wanted to cut the carbon emissions of its new development and used batteries from AMPD Energy instead of diesel generators during construction, cutting emissions by nearly 65 per cent.

Julian Kezelman, innovation director with Taronga Ventures, said there was a 40 per cent increase in the number of submissions for this year’s program.

“Technology companies are increasingly becoming more sophisticated in how they measure the sustainability outcomes they deliver, in order to meet the exacting reporting standards of their corporate customers,” he said.

The 12 companies chosen for ESG Impact 2023 are:

• Autocase: Software to develop business cases that include social and environmental factors in triple-bottom line assessments of projects
• Cerclos: Software to support sustainability teams with analysis of embodied carbon and lifecycle carbon management
• Enteligent: Electric vehicle chargers powered by solar energy for more efficient and sustainable charging
• EODev: Hydrogen powered generators for back-up power generation, as well as for off-grid, emergency and temporary use cases
• Everty: Software to monitor, manage and monetise electric vehicle chargers, regardless of charging hardware used
• Intensel: Climate risk assessment software to measure portfolio and asset-level financial risks with a focus on Asia
• Kabam Robotics: Robots to augment security and facilities management workforces to deliver security and safety more effectively
• Naava: Indoor green walls with smart filtration technology to deliver improved indoor air quality and tenant satisfaction
• Sapien Cyber: Software platform providing cybersecurity risk protection for operational technologies within assets
• Scaler: Data platform streamlining ESG strategy from data collection to reporting, to asset-level analytics and net zero carbon roadmaps 
• SkenarioLabs: Data platform to help with portfolio-level decarbonisation strategies, as well as assessing other market and ESG risks
• WINT: Software and hardware to prevent water damage through intelligent detection of leaks and automatic shut off.