Transparency is a word thrown around a lot, but it has some serious impact when it comes to sustainability and climate technologies.
Capgemini reports that more than half of consumers in 2024 believe organisations are greenwashing their sustainability initiatives, an increase of nearly 20% from 2023.
Transparency helps to build trust and credibility, enhance investor confidence and even drive performance improvement.
We’ve ranked 10 of the top transparency technologies.
10. Blockchain for supply chain transparency – Walmart
CEO: Doug McMillon
Revenue: US$648bn (2023)
Founded: 1962
Headquarters: Arkansas, USA
Blockchain can track every step of a products’ journey from raw materials or farm to the shop shelf. These records are permanent and verifiable, allowing for full transparency along the supply chain.
Walmart uses the IBM Food Trust network that relies on blockchain technology to track food items from source to store in seconds.
Frank Yiannas, Vice President of Food Safety at Walmart, says: “Customers expect the products that they buy in our stores to be safe.
“When there’s a food event or a food scare, what you want to do is you want to be fast, but you want to be right. That food product is guilty until proven innocent.”
9. AI-powered satellite imagery – bp
CEO: Murray Auchincloss
Revenue: US$210.1bn (2023)
Founded: 1909
Headquarters: London, UK
Satellite imagery can provide data with global coverage, including remote and inaccessible areas. AI can then be used to detect changes or abnormalities in satellite images, providing near real-time monitoring of huge areas. In industries like oil and gas, this can help to detect spills and prevent pollution.
bp invested in Satelytics, a company that uses satellite imagery to monitor for different industries.
Morag Watson, Senior Vice President of Digital Science and Engineering at bp says: “Satelytics is modernising the energy sector by making data about physical assets more accessible and digestible, leading to better decision making.”
8. IoT sensors for water quality – Veolia
CEO: Estelle Brachlianoff
Revenue: US$50.2bn (2023)
Founded: 1853
Headquarters: Aubervilliers, France
Internet of Things (IoT) devices can provide real-time monitoring for thousands of different data types. Constant monitoring allows for early detection of problems and data that can help in improving efficiency.
Veolia has implemented 6,000 sensors in Lyon, France across a water distribution network. The company says this helps to save 33,000m³ of water per day which is equivalent to the daily water use of more than 200,000 people.
7. Digital IDs – H&M
CEO: Daniel Ervér
Revenue: US$23bn (2023)
Founded: 1947
Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden
Digital IDs use unique identifiers to record a product’s journey from raw material to end of life. Customers can scan a code to access information about products and gain transparency on its lifecycle.
H&M launched its Men’s Essentials collection in 2022 with digital IDs on items. The codes take customers to a microsite to learn more about them in efforts to deepen their relationships with the clothes they wear and provide a greater reason to take care of, repair and recycle garments.
6. Carbon footprint tracking apps – NatWest
CEO: Paul Thwaite
Revenue: $32bn (2023)
Founded: 1970
Headquarters: London, UK
Carbon footprint calculating and tracking apps can help consumers to conceptualise and reduce their carbon footprint by increasing visibility. Understanding where carbon-intense activities occur can support people to make more sustainable informed decisions.
NatWest has added a carbon footprint tracker to its banking app that estimates the carbon footprint of purchases and shares ideas on how it could be reduced. The tracker can, for instance, recommend mending clothing or charity shopping instead of purchasing new items.
5. Smart energy meters – EDF
CEO: Luc Rémont
Revenue: US$154bn (2023)
Founded: 1946
Headquarters: Paris, France
Smart meters for energy can help companies to get more accurate readings of energy use and support customers to see, and therefore reduce, their use of energy.
EDF provides its customers with smart meters and schemes to help customers save money by reducing peak energy loads on the grid.
Philippe Commaret, Managing Director for Customers at EDF, says: “By installing a smart meter, customers can access a range of benefits, such as better understanding their energy consumption so they can make small changes to reduce their bills and carbon footprint, as well as accessing smart tariffs and demand flexibility schemes to earn them some extra cash.”
4. Augmented reality – Nestlé
CEO: Laurent Freixe
Revenue: US$109.9bn (2023)
Founded: 1966
Headquarters: Vevey, Switzerland
Augmented reality is a technology that adds digital information to things in the real world with computer-generated content.
Nestlé uses augmented reality (AR) to connect with suppliers and support its production and R&D sites whilst reducing travel.
David Findlay, Global head of Manufacturing at Nestlé, says AR can improve “speed and efficiency in facilities and reduce travel to Nestlé sites", helping it reduce CO₂ emissions across its operations.
“I am extremely proud that our teams have been able to expand our use of remote assistance technology,” he adds.
3. Open-source AI models – Microsoft
CEO: Satya Nadella
Revenue: US$211.9bn (2023)
Founded: 1975
Headquarters: Washington, USA
There are hundreds of arguments both for and against AI. When models aren’t transparent it can lead to bias, unfairness and unequal access to new technology and information. Open-source models can help to mitigate this through providing better transparency.
Microsoft works with the open-source community to promote open-source software development. The company provides information, tools and resources such as documentation, code repositories and development tools.
Jeff Wilcox, Principal Manager for Microsoft’s Open-Source team, says: “My team ensures that Microsoft businesses have the guidance, access to expertise and tools necessary to work in open communities and bring that amazing value to our customers, while giving back to projects through contributions and our Free and Open Source Software Fund.
“We've overhauled and simplified processes, added guardrails and bots and built a company-wide inventory of the open source we use and release to help protect our supply chain.”
2. RFID – McDonald’s
CEO: Chris Kempczinski
Revenue: US$25.49bn (2023)
Founded: 1940
Headquarters: Illinois, USA
Radio frequency identification (RFID) uses radio waves to communicate wirelessly. RFID tags contain a microchip and an antenna which can then be read by an RFID reader that receives signals. When a reader is within range of a tag, its waves are picked up and the two components communicate.
Checkpoint Systems says McDonald’s uses its RFID technology to drive the use of reusable containers in France. It says this technology can deliver up to 99% accuracy when tracking stock inventory, with data including container type and quantities. Checkpoint has supplied more than 1,200 McDonald's France restaurants with RFID solutions.
Frederic Boukara, Business Unit Director France at Checkpoint Systems, says: "As the onus is placed on brands and retailers to pave the way for a greener future, it is important for organisations to adjust their business practices accordingly without any adverse effects on their bottom line.
“As such, we have provided an RFID solution to meet the demands of McDonald’s France, not only enabling it to improve its supply chain operations and visibility, but future-proofing the brand’s business with the environment in mind.”
1. Digital twins for urban planning – Siemens
CEO: Roland Busch
Revenue: US$85.2bn (2023)
Founded: 1847
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
Digital twins are a visual representation of a physical object or process that can be integrated with real-time data from sensors and IoT devices. They can support modelling and simulation for predictive analysis and scenario planning.
These models can be used for urban planning to make developments more sustainable and resilient to the effects of climate change.
Roland Busch, CEO at Siemens, says: “The future lies in our cities, which produce 85% of developed countries' GDP and are responsible for 70% of global CO₂ emissions.
“Winning the fight against climate change hinges on our ability to transform cities into sustainability models.”
Siemens is using digital twin technologies to share sustainable developments around the world and revitalise historic urban areas. Berlin Siemensstadt is a 188-acre mixed use urban district that is being transformed through the use of digital twins.
Berlin Siemensstadt has a digital twin ecosystem with three layers:
- Building twin, providing 3D visualisations of buildings
- Energy twin, optimising and simulating energy flows within the district
- Campus twin, combining data from both for urban management
Roland explains: “Siemensstadt Square will be the blueprint for the city of the future.
“The project will combine artificial intelligence, digital twins and other technologies from the Siemens Xcelerator platform to transform an industrial brownfield area into an engine for solid, healthy growth.”
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