Evidencing Outcomes and Impacts with Space-Enabled Geospatial Technologies: The Next Stage of Sustainable Finance Deployment, Evidence and Transparency

Andrew Iwanoczko, Founder & CEO, Callala

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Evidencing Outcomes and Impacts with Space-Enabled Geospatial Technologies: The Next Stage of Sustainable Finance Deployment, Evidence and Transparency

Andrew Iwanoczko, Founder & CEO, Callala

Sustainable finance has evolved significantly in recent years, yet a gap persists between perception and reality. While the general discourse portrays this capital as patient investment with 9 or 15-year investment horizons deployed through philanthropic means, the reality differs substantially. Much of this funding comes through standard pension fund allocations labelled as “green,” with expected return periods of just 3-5 years.

Why does this gap exist?

Research shows that sustainable finance predominantly supports energy efficiency initiatives within established companies as sub-components of those companies’ broader transition plans. This approach ensures both financial returns and readily quantifiable impact hypotheses with outcomes that can be easily measured. However, the Financial Conduct Authority’s 2024 “PS23/16: Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels” has raised standards for green finance product labelling, making it less likely that capital will flow toward projects with only minimal or marginal environmental gains.

As the regulation anticipates clear sustainability labels for investment products, only funds meeting specific ESG criteria can claim to be sustainable. Fund managers must in turn disclose both how their investments align with ESG goals and provide evidence these are delivering real-world sustainability impact.

Many financial requirements that would once have fallen well inside green financing products will face challenges in providing adequate evidence that meets the FCA’s stringent new guidelines. While fully supporting these regulations designed to minimise greenwashing and the exploitation of cheaper capital, there remains a critical need to tackle some of the more challenging environmental projects that provide substantive environmental benefit but are difficult to evidence.

How do we overcome this gap?

In order to actualise a theory of change and ensure proper capital allocation toward genuine green initiatives, we must first establish what potential impact opportunities look like. Then, we have to understand the actual environmental outcomes post-implementation. This is where space and geospatial technologies become invaluable partners. Many types of sustainable projects require a level of monitoring and independence that is difficult to achieve through conventional means, even more so when trying to minimise bias. Without this independence, impact assessment lacks credibility – akin to students grading their own work.

Satellite-derived insights, when paired with appropriate algorithms that directly address the specific environmental challenges, create robust cases for demonstrating with permanence that an impact has – or hasn’t – been created. This technological approach provides the transparency and objectivity that sustainable finance increasingly demands.

The space and geospatial domains offer powerful tools for delivering trusted and rigorous products to market. But, historically, space companies have often taken a “create first, ask questions later” approach, creating data products and then seeking market fit after development, rather than establishing market requirements beforehand. This approach has led to an industry bias toward overselling satellite-derived insights. The good news is that a balanced middle ground exists—utilising various satellite imaging and sensing technologies to generate outputs where the market signal and analytics directly address the specific environmental challenge at hand.

The importance of utilising Space-Enabled Geospatial Technologies

As other nations retreat from ESG reporting requirements, the UK has a significant opportunity to not only maintain its position as a cornerstone of sustainable finance, but to grow into a template to be followed internationally. By working as an exemplar of how sustainable finance funds with high utilisation standards can be uniquely evidenced with space-enabled technologies, the UK can lead global environmental finance innovation.

The integration of geospatial technology with sustainable finance represents more than just improved monitoring – it creates a new paradigm of accountability, tangibility, and evidence-based investment. With earth observation data and high-quality data analytics, investors can track deforestation, measure carbon sequestration, monitor biodiversity changes, and assess climate resilience with unprecedented accuracy. This technological integration transforms abstract environmental commitments into concrete, measurable outcomes that can be verified by independent third parties.

Moreover, these technologies enable financial institutions to comply with increasingly stringent disclosure requirements while providing stakeholders with unbiased evidence of environmental impact. The combination of AI-driven algorithms and models with satellite imagery creates powerful tools for predicting environmental risks and opportunities, allowing for more informed investment decisions aligned with sustainability goals.

As sustainable finance continues to mature, market credibility is critical. The marriage of space technology and environmental investment will become increasingly central in helping to establish different actors as legitimate environmental changemakers. Companies that embrace these evidence-based approaches will not only meet regulatory requirements but potentially achieve competitive advantages in a market increasingly focused on genuine environmental outcomes rather than superficial green credentials.