Today we have launched our new logo and colour palette, which we have already applied to our website.
This new brand has been created to reflect our corporate approach with our environmental sustainability aims, along with our technical drive to make Net Zero data far more discoverable and shareable.
Net Zero Data Marketplace brand guidelines
It therefore helps to communicate two key principles essential for any data marketplace:
Trustworthy A place where authoritative data about Net Zero can be found, shared and even purchased
Easy to use Even though there’s lots of data to be found & used, searching for it and getting to view & access it shouldn’t be difficult
Our aim is to create a single platform for finding, sharing and (when required) monetising relevant Net Zero data sources across all sectors.
But it is important for us to provide a user-centred data marketplace that makes it easy to discover and share Net Zero sources of data. Therefore we need to be clear about who our users are and what they need from the platform.
Note: The Net Zero Data Marketplace is primarily a business-to-business data sharing platform. This means that we expect individuals acting on behalf of their company or organisation to be our main users. However, we will not exclude users acting on behalf of themselves (e.g. interested citizens or those who have not yet formed a legal entity for their work).
There are typically two main sorts of business users:
Data Publishers
These are users who are responsible for publishing data sources into the Marketplace. They can be anyone from an individual who processes & transforms Net Zero Open Data sources (and hopes to make a few $$$ in the process) through to a large company (that has to or wants to monetise their Net Zero data assets)… and even a public sector body that has one or more Open Data sources to share for free and then wants to make available to a wider audience of potential consumers.
Data Publishers
Data Consumers
These are anyone who wants to use the data shared on the Net Zero Data Marketplace. Again they can range on size and purpose they want to put the data to, from simple analysis through to integration into enterprise systems or applications.
Data Consumers
Note: Some publishers may limit their data by how it can be shared (restricted purpose – e.g. no further monetization) or by who can use it (e.g. restricted to non-competitive organisations or academia). These limitations are an important function of the Net Zero Data Marketplace in its role in acting as a trusted intermediary of data.
Data Marketplaces are online platforms that enable the easier discovery, sharing and (when required) selling of data between data publishers and data consumers. They therefore act as brokers and intermediaries, ensuring the latest versions of data sources are available and consumable.
So it is important that these marketplaces do not themselves become bottlenecks (e.g. preventing easy and regular access) or just another repository of out-of-date files.
In short, a Net Zero Data Marketplace should facilitate the sharing not storing of data, ideally connecting to a live source from each data publisher.
A Net Zero Data Marketplace for discovering and sharing GHG data from any source
The usual way of providing real-time access to a data source is to use an Application Programming Interface (API), a technology that exposes a specific amount of data from back-end systems defined using a specification – typically using an open standard. APIs are now the default way of providing integration and data sharing services between systems (based on many different technologies) in a consistent way.
The use of APIs as sources in a Net Zero Data Marketplace therefore enables emissions-related data to reside in the publisher’s original host system and to be shared by any number of consumers… without them knowing who each other are.
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, has clearly stated the need for
“Greater investment in data infrastructure is needed to efficiently target investments now, anticipate future demands, avoid crises from descending into full-blown conflict and plan the urgent steps needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda.”
Data Marketplaces are Business-to-Business (B2B) online platforms where data is found, shared and traded between businesses and organizations. They are a relatively recent development of the digital economy, where the value of data is realised and released.
Net Zero Data Marketplace
But there is a very small window of opportunity to use Data Marketplaces for the discovery and sharing of Net Zero data that will make a difference to our planet.
“Data is often hailed as one of the most valuable resources on earth. The role data plays to help combat climate change and cut carbon emissions cannot be underestimated.”
“Data is not just a set of numbers on a spreadsheet. It is the lifeblood of a decision. It is how fundamental long term changes can come about and help all of us hit the targets we have for making this a better, cleaner planet.”
In short, the time is now for the launch of a Data Marketplace as a piece of urgently needed data infrastructure for the discovery, sharing and monetization of Net Zero data.
Climate Tech is a term used to collectively describe those technologies that are explicitly focused on reducing GHG emissions or addressing the impacts of global warming. It is a rapidly growing industry where data-driven products are developed to enable individuals, organisations and governments to understand their risks & exposure to the effects of climate change and ultimately to take action to reduce or reverse them.
Our vision is that eventually all Net Zero data will be F.A.I.R. (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and able to be shared via common standards and easy-to-use processes. This will help to decarbonise industry and the world by:
Reducing the complexity and friction around the discovery & access of data sources
Supporting organisations in the publishing of standardised Net Zero data
Enabling the creation of new Net Zero focused business models & services
The aim is that this will be done via a Net Zero Data Marketplace that will enable the discovery, sharing and monetisation of these Net Zero Data sets. Meaning it becomes a business-to-business (B2B) data platform that can be used by any organisation (either mandated by legislation, or voluntarily for innovation) to share their Net Zero data – regardless of sector (e.g. Transport & Mobility, Energy, Defence, Healthcare, Retail, Technology, Manufacturing or Construction).
A central Net Zero Data Marketplace for finding, using & buying data
And if this platform is adopted as expected… it could become the main centralised way for the entire Climate Tech sector to find, use and buy data for various purposes such as:
Targeting investments in decarbonisation more effectively
Modelling emissions and different future scenarios
Ultimately we plan to create a key piece of digital infrastructure needed to help solve the Net Zero challenge and address the need recently outlined by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
“Greater investment in data infrastructure is needed to efficiently target investments now, anticipate future demands, avoid crises from descending into full-blown conflict and plan the urgent steps needed to achieve the 2030 Agenda.”
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) are responsible for global warming. Their presence stops heat from escaping the atmosphere and therefore affecting the Earth’s ability to cool itself.
These GHGs can be detected from space using a technique called photo spectroscopy. This analysis creates a rich potential source of Net Zero data, typically about Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Methane (CH4) composition for a particular geographic area (e.g. a town or city region).
However this newer source of data is not standardised for consumers in the Net Zero market and therefore not easily or consistently shared with those who can use it for reporting purposes or for changing personal, organisational or global behaviours. In short, this valuable data cannot yet be used effectively to help with decarbonisation efforts.
But what about if you could actually make space data findable, sharable & monetizable?
And what if you could take this incredibly useful (and potentially highly monetizable) source of GHG data from satellites, transform it into one or more suitable means of consumption by others and then publishing it, ideally alongside other relevant data sources, via a Net Zero Data Marketplace?
As shown in the diagram below:
The raw data captured from satellites is transmitted back to base / HQ
The space Net Zero data is transformed (converted, enriched or otherwise processed) into a usable data standard that can be easily shared
The space Net Zero data is published via the Net Zero Data Marketplace and consumed by different parties (most likely for an agreed fee)
The cyclical sharing and further enrichment of space GHG data via a Net Zero Data Marketplace
The Net Zero Data Marketplace also makes the following additional steps possible too:
4. A Data Innovator takes the space Net Zero data and further enriches it (e.g. using an Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning process)
5. The Data Innovator then publishes this new and enriched data source via the Net Zero Data Marketplace (potentially for a slightly higher cost than the original space Net Zero data).
Data can have a lot of value, depending upon what it is and how it can be shared. There are many ways to explain this and in this article we have used the definitions from the Data Spectrum from the Open Data Institute (ODI): https://theodi.org/about-the-odi/the-data-spectrum/
The Open Data Institute “Data Spectrum”
Open Net Zero Data
Open Data (data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by anyone), is typically published by organisations, public-sector bodies & governments. This can generate value for others, who use the data in the development of new customer facing products and services, as well increasing transparency & innovation and also challenging existing ways of working… which can subsequently improve the efficiency or quality of the services being provided. For further benefits : https://data.europa.eu/en/trening/what-open-data
Making Net Zero Open Data more easily findable and sharable to a wider set of consumers potentially amplifies it value. From public data sets about the general levels of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere through to details on the emissions policies for each country, we believe we can help by signposting the location of these Open Data sources or preferably making them directly available via our platform.
There is also the opportunity for any organisation to use our Net Zero Data Marketplace rather than create their own data portal. For example, those mandated to do so or those with particular Environmental Social & Governance requirements.
Shared Net Zero Data
Shared data (data that is limited in its usage, either by license or to specific groups or users) can be highly valuable, especially in the Commercial world. This can be data ranging from Twitter feeds, that can provide real-time insight into the feelings and functioning of whole sectors, through to sensitive research data, that is limited to a specific audience or Driving License information that is restricted to just specific individuals.
Understandably Shared Data it is usually stored & shared securely to ensure it is not made public or exposed unintentionally to others who could gain advantage from it.
Note: Sometimes the value of shared data can be unlocked. The monetisation of specific data sources by those publishing them allows revenue to be earned from those who would pay for it.
Net Zero shared data is where we believe there is the most need for a marketplace to data publishers to offer and sell their data to consumers who want to use it for reporting & benchmarking, analysis & insight.
Diagram showing where on the ODI Data Spectrum is most suitable for publishing data via the Net Zero Data Marketplace
Closed Net Zero Data
Closed data, that data which needs to be kept private and not shared unless it is under the tightest of controlled ways, can be incredibly valuable… especially if it got into the wrong hands. Contracts, employment details, personal medical records or sales reports must all therefore be stored in specific ways that ensure that only those who need to get access to them can do so.
It is not our intention that any Closed Data be published and shared via the Net Zero Data Marketplace.
And as stated in The Paris Agreement, “Climate change is a global emergency that goes beyond national borders. It is an issue that requires coordinated solutions at all levels and international cooperation to help countries move toward a low-carbon economy.”
So finding new or interesting sources of Net Zero data is one way to address the climate crisis.
One example of a sector that can provide a rich source of multiple data sets to monitor the effects of GHG emissions and other effects of climate change is Space. Satellites in orbit above the Earth can observe and relay huge amounts of information back to base. Which in-turn can be transformed or processed as needed and then published via the Net Zero Data Marketplace.
A Net Zero Data Marketplace as the source of Space GHG data
As an example, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be launching a satellite in 2023 that will allow the identification and measurement of specific sources of methane and carbon dioxide from space. Kitted-out with a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer, it will measure atmospheric gases. The images taken will then be broken down into hundreds of colours, to reveal the spectral signatures of molecules such as methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. https://carbonmapper.org/
It is our aim to create a platform with the required tools and frameworks to simplify the discovery and sharing of Net Zero data sets.
However this leads to the inevitable question… “what data sets are Net Zero ones?”
This is something we have thought about, as we plan to create our centralised platform to make Net Zero data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable.
Unfortunately nobody has so far mapped out the entire Net Zero data ecosystem. So it is not yet possible to point to a single comprehensive catalogue of agreed data sources.
But some public sector organisations and private sector companies have started this task.
And the most comprehensive list of Net Zero data sources we have been able to find is this catalogue of 251 (at the time of publishing) Open Data sources from around the world compiled by CDP: https://data.cdp.net/browse?limitTo=datasets
Ultimately we believe that a marketplace for the discovery and exchange of all data and digital services related to Net Zero can include any open or shared data set, that includes (but is not limited to): the carbon usage of individuals, organisations & businesses, as well as details about local & global Greenhouse Gas [GHG] emissions, and data to enable offsetting/trading.
In short: Net Zero data can be any data source that is related to the emission or impact of Greenhouse Gases by individuals, organisations or countries – regardless of their sector.
A Data Marketplace creates a data layer that enables an entire data ecosystem.
Without such a centralised data platform, different organisations and individuals spend their time and resources publishing data in bespoke ways and making separate point-to-point integrations with each other.
Point-to-point integrations
This approach is not only inefficient, but could lead to monopolistic practices and create higher barriers to entry for others.
Creating a multi-sector data marketplace creates benefits for the entire ecosystem, as different data sets are published just once (ideally in a standardised format) and consumers can find & use the most recent and trusted data sources.
Centralised integrations via a Net Zero Data Marketplace
Ultimately a Net Zero Data Marketplace supports better cooperation and easier data exchange between the many parties working with Net Zero data.
