• RealTechX, the innovation program arm of leading real asset technology investor Taronga Ventures, announces the 12 emerging technology businesses that will participate in its ESG Impact innovation program for 2023.
• ESG Impact in 2023, RealTechX’s fifth program cycle, will support the technology businesses to drive environmental, social and governance (ESG) innovation across the real asset sector.
• Globally leading real estate groups have partnered with the program, including APG, CapitaLand, CBRE, Dexus, International Towers, ISPT, Ivanhoé Cambridge, PGIM Real Estate and Vicinity Centres.

Australia: 13 July 2023. RealTechX today revealed the 12 emerging technology businesses selected to participate in its ESG Impact innovation program for 2023. This year ESG Impact received over 300 applications from over 40 countries, representing a 40% increase from 2022. The program supports emerging technology companies to achieve sustained growth and scale, through deep partner collaboration, mentoring, and investment opportunities, maximising their social and environment impacts on the built environment. The program is backed by nine global real estate corporates, including APG, CapitaLand, CBRE, Dexus, International Towers, ISPT, Ivanhoé Cambridge, PGIM Real Estate and Vicinity Centres.

The final companies were selected based on the corporate partners’ top ESG priorities for 2023, including ESG reporting, embodied carbon, energy management, nature, and cyber security.

“Our partners were highly engaged throughout the prioritisation process, which reflected an ever-increasing corporate focus on delivering ESG outcomes,” said Rebecca Jinks, Taronga Ventures’ ESG & Sustainability Director. “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.”

The technology companies will work closely with RealTechX and the ESG Impact program partners to implement their innovative solutions into their real estate and infrastructure assets to drive better ESG outcomes.

Julian Kezelman, Taronga Ventures’ Innovation Director, said “The depth and quality of ESG technology companies applying to the program continues to increase year-on-year, reflected in a 40% increase in submissions and an observable change in their maturity. 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.”

“The ESG Impact program has been great in helping to identify technology companies that can help CBRE and our clients achieve ESG targets. We are pleased to be partnered with the program for the second year and look forward to the new cohort and exploring projects with them,” said Su-Fern Tan, Head of ESG at CBRE Asia Pacific.

Case studies of past ESG Impact projects

Last year’s ESG Impact program saw close collaborations with 12 technology companies and program partners for projects and pilots. One project implemented through ESG Impact in 2022 was with AMPD Energy’s smart energy storage systems for construction sites within a PGIM Real Estate project in Singapore. The developer wanted a way to reduce the embodied carbon emissions associated with their new industrial development. By using AMPD Energy’s battery rather than diesel generators, the project was able to reduce their associated carbon emissions by almost 65%, whilst also generating financial savings and reducing noise on site.

Another project involved the implementation of BindiMaps, an accessible wayfinding solution for people with disabilities. Vicinity Centres sought a way to improve access and inclusion shoppers with vision impairments, physical disabilities, on the autism spectrum or those who find it challenging to visit retail centres. BindiMaps installed its solution at the Oakleigh Central shopping centre in Victoria, Australia, integrating with Vicinity Centres’ existing beacon systems, and providing data about how users, including people with disabilities, navigate and move around the centre.

Announcing the 12 companies in ESG Impact for 2023

In 2023, ESG Impact has selected an array of innovative companies that focus on smart ESG management, clean energy, climate risk assessment, natural resource management, governance and security.

Entela Benz, CEO and Co-founder of Intensel said “We are delighted to have been selected for ESG Impact in 2023. The program will increase commercial opportunities for us with new customers across Asia Pacific and beyond. We are looking forward to helping the program’s corporate partners to understand, manage and mitigate their climate risk and to deliver real world impact”.

The 12 selected companies in ESG Impact 2023 are:

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

Download the program booklet

About Taronga Ventures

Taronga Ventures is one of the world’s leading technology investors focused on driving innovation across real asset sectors such as real estate and infrastructure. The group consists of the RealTech Ventures funds, the RealTechX innovation programs, and Taronga Advisory, which provides institutional real asset owners and operators with strategic advice on critical areas of sustainability and technology. Taronga Ventures’ funds are backed by leading global institutional investors and major real asset owners and operators. Taronga Ventures covers markets across Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe and the Middle East.