Selected Work

OpenESG

Grade partnered with OpenESG to create a next-generation decentralised product and company ESG rating system that is global and relevant to consumers.

  • UXUIDesignProductBack-End BuildFront-End Build

OpenESG sought to create a new kind of ESG scoring system that would be transparent yet simple to interpret.


By simplifying Environmental, Social and Governance reporting metrics, a broader, more diverse range of companies – such as startups and SMEs – would be able to access and implement ESG ratings, improve their sustainability, and support customers looking to assess the practices of their business or product.

The heart of the OpenESG system is the score.

Grade’s challenge was to simplify a diverse group of metrics and complex algorithms to a point where it could be easily interpreted and engaged with in a meaningful way, and deliver this via an intuitive interface to be utilised by a diverse, global audience.

Solution

Working in partnership, Grade created OpenESG’s flagship product, the Sustainability ID scoring tool, offering consumers a straightforward ESG score for evaluating companies and products, enabling informed choices.

Companies can use it to assess and enhance their own ESG scores and those of their suppliers, whilst also assisting customers in assessing sustainability. 

  • Simple yet elegant UI design allows users to intuitively create an account, complete a company and/or product ESG score, submit it for review and showcase it to consumers on their website.

  • Account registration and survey for companies and products

  • User dashboard featuring current Company and Product scores and account management

  • Comprehensive survey results page featuring score breakdown, Metrics highlights, areas for improvement, and instructions to publish your score

  • Consumer facing page featuring verification status, score breakdown, Metrics highlights 

  • Creation of an embeddable widget for display on site

  • Concept and design of badge system showcasing Platinum, Gold or Silver scores

Backend build including:

  • SSO or email based sign up 

  • Complex calculations to accurately produce a credible Company/Product ESG score  

  • API to surface relevant data points in the front-end

  • Embeddable ESG score widgets

Planning and Client Service including:

  • End to end project management across multiple stakeholders

  • Ongoing plan for support, maintenance and new feature rollouts

Consumer facing results view of OpenESG app, showing the various metrics and overall ESG score of that company

Results

Since launch, the OpenESG Sustainability ID scoring tool has seen widespread adoption by companies like Rotique, allowing food retailers to assess the sustainability of their suppliers, and Lifesum, a health and wellness app whose 60 million users are passionate not only about what food they are consuming but also about where their products are sourced. 

Grade continues to work closely with the global OpenESG team on their shared vision of a sustainability focused world with the ongoing enhancement of ChatESG, OpenESG's new AI assistant for everything ESG and sustainability, along with other exciting and distinct products being brought to market in the future.

When the OpenESG team looked at all the work Grade had done, that's where we thought there's a real affinity here - because we can hire designers and developers anywhere in the world, but people who understand the ESG space also understand working with different kinds of stakeholders.

And so that just struck us, that here is a technical team, that's capable, but who also understands the bigger mission and can put the development in context and I think that's really rare, and one of the things that really convinced us of the collaboration.

– David Aikman, Founder and Chair of OpenESG
Graphic depicting a Company OpenESG score against a Solarpunk-style background

A revolutionary new scoring system that promises to transform the way Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scores are determined.”

– Yahoo

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