Meet SUSAN: The AI Co-Worker Revolutionising ESG Compliance for Australian Businesses
In the evolving landscape of Australian business, mid-sized organisations in energy, utilities, and financial services face an increasingly complex challenge: meeting stringent Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting requirements without the extensive resources of their larger competitors.
Meet SUSAN, your Digital SUStainability ANalyst - an innovative AI co-worker developed by Brisbane-based tech startup ESGAgent to transform how businesses approach ESG compliance.
The Mounting ESG Challenge
For mid-sized energy providers and regional utilities, ESG reporting is no longer optional. These companies face intense regulatory pressure around emissions reporting, carbon pricing, and climate risk disclosure.
Similarly, mid-tier financial institutions and customer-owned banks must navigate a web of frameworks, including ISSB, TCFD, and GRI standards, with disclosure requirements expanding to more businesses by 2026-2027.
"Sustainability teams are drowning in compliance rather than driving actual ESG initiatives," explains Shan Vahora, founder of ESGAgent. "They're spending countless hours chasing data from internal departments and external suppliers, completing repetitive questionnaires, and trying to stay current with regulatory changes."
SUSAN: Your Digital Sustainability Teammate
Unlike traditional software that merely stores and presents data, SUSAN works as an autonomous AI agent - essentially functioning as a digital team member dedicated to sustainability.
"We designed SUSAN to handle the tasks no sustainability professional enjoys," Vahora explains. "She proactively chases data, completes questionnaires, monitors compliance gaps, and even drafts reports - all while learning your organisation's specific ESG context."
SUSAN's capabilities address key pain points for mid-sized organisations:
Real-time compliance monitoring: For regional electricity distributors, SUSAN can continuously monitor evolving regulations and identifies compliance gaps against any standard (ISSB, TCFD, GRI), alerting stakeholders when action is needed.
Automated data collection: Mid-sized investment firms must gather ESG data from hundreds of suppliers. SUSAN automatically emails requests, follows up when necessary, and validates incoming data against requirements.
Report generation: SUSAN can draft quarterly or annual reports against any compliance standard in the required template - a game-changer for water utilities that must regularly report to regulators.
Questionnaire assistance: When mid-tier insurance providers receive external ESG questionnaires, SUSAN can complete them in minutes with accurate data, saving dozens of hours.
Real-World Impact
A mid-sized agriculture firm is currently implementing SUSAN, and their CEO reported that what previously took three team members weeks to complete now happens automatically for them, and they have been able to increase their productivity by 10x.
For another small construction supplier, the impact was similarly transformative. "Our ESG data was scattered across departments and suppliers," explains their ESG Lead "SUSAN not only centralises everything but actively maintains it, saving us from hiring additional analysts just to keep up with compliance requirements."
Beyond Software: A Digital Co-Worker
What distinguishes SUSAN from traditional ESG software is her ability to learn continuously and perform tasks autonomously.
"She's not just a dashboard - she's actively working while you focus on strategic initiatives," Vahora emphasises. "She'll email your procurement team for updated supplier data, review incoming documents for compliance gaps, and alert you only when human judgment is required."
This approach is particularly valuable for mid-sized organisations where sustainability teams are small or non-existent. "You're essentially adding a tireless team member who works 24/7 on compliance tasks," notes Vahora.
The Future of ESG Compliance
As Australia accelerates toward mandatory climate-related financial disclosures, the burden on mid-sized businesses will only increase. Solutions like SUSAN represent a new approach that leverages AI not just for analysis but for autonomous action.
For energy companies, utilities, and financial institutions navigating this complex landscape, the choice is increasingly clear: either expand sustainability teams substantially or adopt AI agents to handle the growing compliance workload.
"ESG reporting isn't going away - it's expanding," concludes Vahora. "The companies that thrive will be those that automate compliance to focus on what matters: improving their environmental and social impact."
With regulatory deadlines approaching for thousands more Australian businesses in 2026-2027, SUSAN and similar AI agents may soon become as common in sustainability departments as human team members - working alongside them to transform how ESG compliance is managed in the digital age.
