[1] https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-01/Geospatia...
[2] https://www.cgfi.ac.uk/spatial-finance-initiative/
[3] https://www.oxfordeo.com/post/near-real-time-water-stress
Well, almost everyone are looking from a branding angle but if good things comes out of it, so be it.
We kinda invented a variation of super resolution for satellite imagery. We are still at that early stage of ML but I’m amazed by what my co-founder does in AI/ML.
Still early, lots of interesting things and finding it really hard to pick just the tiny few to focus on.
Asking because our research team (social sciences, but interdisciplinary) is developing middleware and tooling for working with publicly accessible remote sensing data in Julia.
For instances;
1. Govt-Private billion dollar construction mega-projects needs regular tracking of discrepencies on area of construction, excess or the lack of areas covered, etc.
2. Planning of train tracks, especially in developing countries, and the eventual tracking of it with proof of work done, etc. Drones cannot fly all the time (weather), costly area of coverage.
Commercially available data, not just from optical but SAR[a] is the other thing. SAR may in-fact be more appropriate to track, count trees etc (if the cost becomes more economical). East Asian regions uses mostly SAR to look at Palm Trees and the likes.
Why is this a thing? Sounds like something that limits the investor in his investment choices.
Thinking about it the other way: By not investing is such non-sustainable companies, only the people who don't care will do. And they will actually get the companies are a discount.
But the companies who actually do good stuff need money and I'd rather give it to them than the others. I also think that investing in these companies will rather change you than you will change them.
Or you just get entangled in the political battles already happening in that company, which will take more effort and time to untangle to enable you to actually steer the ship into some kind of sustainable business.
So not only you'll be fighting the lack of a sustainability mindset/processes but all the entrenched political powers that made this mindset be realised. Throwing good money at bad stuff is not really a good prospect for investing, better to invest in places that aren't dirty from the get-go.
Carbon markets are booming, for one, and there aren't enough effective projects to accept the money.