• The ChangeNow expo in Paris will focus on the use of artificial intelligence to automate ESG reporting, detect environmental risks and manage biodiversity.
• From immersive virtual reality to AI-generated microlearning, companies are transforming employee training on climate and social inclusion.
• Innovative tools are emerging to improve digital accessibility and support employees dealing with chronic illness and workplace discrimination.
From March 30th to April 1st, Paris hosted the latest edition of ChangeNow, the leading trade fair dedicated to innovation and positive impact on the planet. Nearly 40,000 visitors had the opportunity to explore 300 exhibitors and 1,000 solutions designed to address social and environmental challenges. Some of the startups in attendance focused on specific applications of artificial intelligence. reporting, biodiversity management, environmental risk detection, new training formats and more. AI poses social and environmental problems of its own that require ethical and frugal approaches, and joins a suite of tools dedicated to creating positive impact.
ESG reporting and compliance automation
Training employees about environmental or occupational risks requires significant resources. For Akdo, a Berlin-based startup featured on ChangeNow, AI provides the right solution. “Our solution provides AI tools to create e-learning or microlearning modules using data from a company’s ESG reports,” explains Instructional Design Specialist Alice Fratoni. The company’s tools allow customers to create training videos and scenarios on topics such as workplace safety and health based on documents. Another Berlin-based company, Briink, automates the extraction and validation of ESG data to facilitate regulatory reporting. “The goal is to automate the creation of certain reports, such as EcoVadis reports and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reports,” said Royce Leko, account manager at Briink.
Turn environmental data into decisions
ChangeNow’s central theme of protecting the environment and biodiversity is also being transformed thanks to AI. Stéphanie Bonnet, head of development at Terasol, explains the Swiss company’s Exomap solution. The solution is a “mapping SaaS platform that analyzes open data, aerial imagery, and geological surveys to help local governments understand, for example, soil potential, composition, and permeability,” data essential to urban greening strategies. Marseille Natural Solutions aims to “harness the best technology for biodiversity”. The company uses data such as flora and fauna, DNA, and satellite imagery to build tools that allow conservation NGOs, parks, and museums to manage their data. “For example, we designed Ecoteka, a tool for managing urban tree heritage, which automatically generates reports using algorithms that can automatically identify species by analyzing tree size via LiDAR and satellite data,” explains agricultural engineer Lucie Gallegos.
“Artificial intelligence can also help detect forest fire outbreaks and facilitate firefighter response,” said Anne-Cecile Pelletier, FireTracking’s France Country Manager. The Nouméa-based startup has helped reduce the island’s burned area by 95% over the past three years. “We offer software that uses partner-provided cameras that can detect fire outbreaks within a 20-kilometre radius within a minute. In other words, with 20 cameras, we cover almost the entire Indre-et-Loire, or 6,000 square kilometers of client territory.”
Resource optimization is not limited to land areas. Cruise ships are required to report the waste they produce (food waste, plastic, glass, etc.) and pay based on the amount reported. Spanish startup Blue Room Innovation aims to encourage the use of machine learning tools to limit illegal dumping at sea. “Our algorithm is based on estimates of passenger numbers and waste information reported to authorities by cruise ships in each port,” explains Marc Melus, the company’s chief business officer.
Designed by Austrian company Swarovski Optik, these AI-powered binoculars allow users to identify birds and other animal species with the push of a button.
Train your employees differently
Recognizing that our professional decisions have a greater impact on the environment than our personal ones, various startups are aiming to shift the paradigm of employee engagement. This is especially true for Planet is the limit, a Belgian company that aims to raise public awareness of planetary boundaries. “For example, we use AI to generate educational mini-podcasts within the quiz answers in our training modules,” said project founder Loïc Bar. Across his channels, Hurd has developed a free app with TikTok-like features. On TikTok, influencers and users post five-minute videos to teach people how to spot climate-related fake news, for example.
Still, immersion may be the best way to increase employee awareness. At least, that’s the bet being made by Reality Academy, which has developed a virtual reality training module. “The idea is to enable users to step into the shoes of people with disabilities or those who face discrimination at work and start a dialogue within their companies,” explains Ahmed Ben Megdoul, head of diversity and CSR at the startup. Speech recognition technology can also help train employees at transportation companies and other companies to respond appropriately to customer rudeness and complaints. In Toulouse, Ju Landes, founder of Seed Crew, has developed a serious game to raise employee awareness of workplace discrimination. “We intentionally chose not to use AI because our game is based on five years of humanities and social science research.” Therefore, in the game, people play the roles of victims, witnesses, or aggressors in scenarios involving racism, sexism, ableism, ageism, LGBTphobia, and more.
Make your organization more inclusive and resilient
ChangeNow also provided an opportunity to discover companies that advocate for inclusion and offer customized solutions. Alexis Hagron, senior key account manager at Facil’iti, will demonstrate how websites can be accessed by people with all types of disabilities using tools developed by his company. “This project is the result of five years of research and development with partners such as Parkinson’s France and APF. We customize our clients’ websites, for example by defining click zones for people with Parkinson’s disease. We have also developed tools tailored for people with dyslexia that allow them to change the font, space out words and syllables, and highlight letters in color.” Once a user has selected a filter, a required cookie allows access to all sites using the solution. “We currently support 3,000 websites worldwide,” said Alexis Hagron.
More and more people are facing illnesses such as cancer or have loved ones in this situation. At Wecare@work, Anne-Sophie Tuszynski is on a mission to break down the taboos around cancer and illness in the workplace and help workers and managers understand these issues through an online platform. “We recently equipped our platform with an intelligent chatbot to ensure everyone has instant access to the right information.” Designed in collaboration with users, the platform also gives employees the option to schedule an appointment with a psychologist if needed. “To date, we cover 300,000 employees in France.”
It takes a genius to predict the future of AI and its physical and economic ecosystem based on the exploitation of natural resources. But at ChangeNow, we see AI less as an end in itself and more as a tangible means to better training, better prevention, better inclusion, and better decision-making.
This text was translated by artificial intelligence.
