Onlygood.ai Cracks the ESG Code: How AI is Making Sustainability Profitable
Sustainability is no longer a theoretical academic exercise. With erratic weather patterns and global temperatures rising, the "why" of environmental action is clear. However, for most corporations, the "how" remains a tangled mess of spreadsheets, unverified claims, and the looming threat of regulatory penalties. The challenge isn't just to be "green"—it's to be quantifiably green.
Enter Vivek Mehra, the Co-founder and CTO of Onlygood.ai. Along with his partner Rajeev Sinha, Mehra is building a cloud-based technology platform that treats carbon as a financial asset—something that must be measured, audited, and optimized with the same rigor as a balance sheet. By utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI), IoT, and Computer Vision, Onlygood.ai is helping companies move past "greenwashing" and toward genuine decarbonization that actually improves the bottom line.
The Crisis of Qualitative Sustainability
For decades, corporate sustainability was handled through qualitative reports from consultants. A company would plant some trees, write a glossy brochure, and receive a "clean chit." Mehra identifies this as a massive white space filled with "greenwashing"—the practice of making misleading claims about environmental merits without data to back them up.
The game changed when governments globally stopped asking for annual qualitative summaries and started demanding month-on-month, data-backed audited reports. In India, the SEBI introduced the BRSR (Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report), requiring listed companies to disclose their carbon footprints. In Europe, the CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) penalties kick in on January 1st, 2026, effectively taxing carbon-intensive imports.
The Regulatory Landscape
- BRSR (India): Mandatory disclosure for listed companies to report carbon footprints and sustainability metrics.
- CBAM (EU): Penalties starting Jan 1, 2026, for carbon-intensive products entering the EU.
- Global Scope: Regulation now forces companies to report on their entire supply chain, meaning an Indian supplier to a German manufacturer is now subject to EU law.
The Solution: A "Plumbing System" for Carbon Data
How do you measure a carbon footprint across a global supply chain? It’s not just about CO2; it’s a moniker for energy consumption, water usage, waste production, and transportation logistics. Mehra explains that Onlygood.ai acts like a sophisticated plumbing system, ensuring data veracity and timeliness.
1. IoT and Real-Time Capture
To eliminate human error (and potential manipulation), Onlygood.ai uses IoT sensors connected directly to machines and assembly lines. "If you can reduce or eliminate human intervention and get data directly from a machine, then you know how much carbon that assembly line is emanating," Mehra explains. This creates an unshakeable system of record.
2. Computer Vision for Verification
When machines aren't connected, invoices and utility bills are the source of truth. Mehra’s team utilizes Computer Vision to read, analyze, and verify electricity invoices and fuel bills, creating a digital paper trail for auditors. This ensures that every ton of carbon reported has a corresponding piece of evidence.
3. ERP Integration
By integrating with existing ERP systems, the platform pulls historical and operational data to harmonize it across different departments. This behavioral shift forces a culture where sustainability data is treated with the same importance as sales figures.
How It Works: The Path to Net Zero
- Data Collection: Automated capture via IoT, Computer Vision, and ERP.
- Normalization: Applying region-specific emission factors (e.g., carbon per liter of water) based on UN and GHG protocols.
- Harmonization: Consolidating data from thousands of global suppliers.
- Reporting & Forecasting: Generating compliance reports and AI-driven decarbonization pathways.
- Monetization: Listing accumulated carbon credits on exchanges for companies that become carbon positive.
Making Sustainability Profitable: The ROI of Carbon
One of the biggest misconceptions in business is that sustainability is an expense. Mehra argues that carbon is actually a lens for energy optimization. By measuring carbon, companies inadvertently find massive inefficiencies in their energy usage.
The ROI Proof
15% Operational Cost Reduction: Clients using Onlygood.ai have reported cutting operational costs by up to 15% simply by identifying energy "hot spots" through the carbon measurement dashboard.
"The moment you start measuring something, you can improve it," says Mehra. If a company has 20 plants and one has significantly higher emissions despite the same output, the dashboard reveals why—perhaps they aren't using solar, or their supplier base is using non-recyclable materials. This visibility allows for precision optimization that pays for itself in 2 to 3 years.
The Future: Global Expansion and Native AI
Onlygood.ai is already expanding beyond India, with a new office in Dubai and eyes on the EU and Southeast Asian markets. As Mehra notes, "Emission factors are not regional; they are global." The platform is designed to take on different languages and country-specific compliance engines effortlessly.
On the technology front, the team is building native AI models to bridge the gap in sustainability data. While financial services have decades of data to train models, the ESG space is just beginning. Onlygood.ai is pioneering the use of AI for carbon capture forecasting and predictive mitigation guidance.
Advice for Entrepreneurs
Stay True to the Mission: Mehra advises founders to have a clear definition of purpose beyond making a "quick buck" or becoming a "unicorn." Sustainability and growth might seem like oxymorons, but staying true to solving the problem will eventually pay off as the market warms up.
Key Takeaways: The Onlygood.ai Blueprint
- Measurement is Table Stakes: Just as you can't run a company without a CFO, you can no longer run one without a carbon auditor.
- Transparency over Greenwashing: Qualitative "clean chits" are being replaced by data-backed, month-on-month audits.
- Energy Conservation = Carbon Reduction: Carbon is a euphemism for energy optimization. Improving one naturally improves the other.
- Supply Chain Responsibility: Regulation is now global; your carbon footprint includes the emissions of every supplier you work with.
As Vivek Mehra puts it, the goal isn't just to comply with the law—it's to align personal purpose with corporate impact. By practicing what they preach (their CEO even cycles to the office), Onlygood.ai is proving that a greener world is not just a moral necessity, but a smarter way to do business.
About the Guest
Vivek Mehra is the Co-founder, CSO & CTO of Onlygood.ai. A veteran of Wall Street and global consulting, Mehra spent over two decades in the US working with the New York Stock Exchange, large banks, and pharmaceutical giants. He holds degrees in Computer Science and Physics, and is an alumnus of Harvard and MIT Sloan School of Management. Since returning to India in 2010, he has been a leader in digital architecture and is now dedicated to using technology to drive global sustainability.
Onlygood.ai is a pioneering cloud-based platform that helps enterprises monitor, reduce, and monetize their carbon footprint. By integrating IoT, AI, and ERP data, the platform provides real-time visibility into sustainability metrics, enabling companies to achieve Net Zero goals while optimizing operational efficiency.