Benjamin Soh, founder of ESGpedia, says his platform was born from a pressing challenge faced by businesses across the market: the growing complexity of ESG reporting. He saw companies struggling with manual spreadsheets, which were slow, error-prone, and unable to meet the demands of a fast-changing corporate landscape.
“I wanted to transform ESG from a compliance burden into a strategic driver of value,” Soh said. ESGpedia was designed to automate data collection, harmonise global standards, and make credible sustainability reporting accessible to both large corporations and SMEs.
Soh credits Singapore for shaping this vision. With the country’s early adoption of mandatory TCFD-aligned climate reporting for all issuers since FY2022, ESGpedia had a front-row seat to world-class standards. This environment allowed his team to build a platform that is both robust for global financial hubs and tailored for Asia’s complex supply chain networks.
Looking at the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, Soh highlighted its impact on energy demand. “AI has triggered one of the largest electricity surges in decades,” he said. Massive data centres require uninterrupted power, something intermittent renewables cannot provide alone. This demand is driving interest in alternatives like nuclear, geothermal, and advanced storage, with major tech firms paying premiums for round-the-clock, carbon-free electricity.
However, Soh stressed that sourcing energy is only half the challenge. Tech companies must also credibly report how that energy is used. Verification, managing complex energy portfolios, and meeting investor demands for granular data are now central to ESG strategies. “The real test of sustainability lies in proving your operations are truly green,” he added.
He also shared his “Unicorn Formula” for Green Tech firms. According to Soh, the most attractive companies to investors are those that combine clean energy with credible, auditable data. “Power and proof go hand in hand. The unicorns will not just be energy producers but enablers of sustainable AI through integrated solutions and scalable technology.”
For Asia, Soh sees major opportunities in three areas: building ESG data platforms that can navigate diverse regulations, leading supply chain decarbonisation for AI hardware, and developing smarter grid and energy management technologies. “Asia’s edge is not just in building more data centres,” he said. “It lies in creating the digital and infrastructure backbone that makes AI sustainable.”
