Most ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) debates focus on targets, metrics, and disclosure formats. Timing, though, gets much less attention. And when sustainability starts being measured only after operations are in place, the baseline is already distorted. Thus, reporting looks consistent but misses much of what shaped today’s risks and impacts.
This gap only becomes visible with satellite, namely, Landsat images data for long-term analysis. Long records show how land, water, and ecosystems looked before certain operations and their actual changes over time. So everyone sees whether today’s ESG story reflects real progress or is just a convenient starting point for greenwashing.
Landsat Data As A Historical Record For ESG Compliance
A company highlights a newly established “conservation area” in its sustainability report. Landsat imagery shows that the same land was a primary forest ten years earlier, cleared by a supplier the company now describes as responsible. What we see is not restoration but an attempt to offset past destruction by reframing it as progress.
Such cases illustrate a common form of greenwashing: presenting recent actions while ignoring earlier land-use changes. One-time images support this narrative. Long records do not.
Landsat’s continuous archive, dating back to the 1970s, allows ESG assessments to see historical changes, not just current status. So you can verify deforestation baselines, recovery timelines, or watershed impacts across decades. By grounding ESG claims in observable land-use trajectories, Landsat satellite imagery reduces reliance on self-reported data and exposes inconsistencies that short-term monitoring cannot detect.
What Are The ESG Standards For Business?
ESG standards, unlike general frameworks, provide detailed instructions for sustainability reporting: which indicators to report, how often, and in what format. This means less space for individual interpretations and clearer expectations from businesses.
The most widely used ESG standards include:
- GRESB, focused on ESG data for real estate and infrastructure investors;
- EFRAG, which integrates ESG factors into European financial reporting rules;
- DJSI, assessing corporate performance across governance, resources, and ethics;
- ISSB, creating global standards under the IFRS Foundation;
- SECR, enforcing energy and carbon disclosure for large UK companies;
- WDI, requiring detailed transparency on workforce conditions and diversity.
These standards put an end to broad ESG claims and establish a common point of reference for audits, controls, and external verification.
The ESG Data Satellites Actually Provide
Satellite data used for ESG is rarely delivered as raw images. In practice, companies receive ready indicators and risk layers tied to exact locations. These include land-use maps that show forests, cropland, wetlands, and built-up areas, with updates that reveal deforestation, new farms, or urban expansion over time. This means businesses can use them without deep remote‑sensing expertise.
Many commercial and institutional platforms now package satellite data into pre‑computed indicators aligned with ESG frameworks, such as:
- hectares of deforestation or high‑risk land‑use change in sourcing areas;
- percentage of an asset’s buffer zone exposed to high flood, wildfire, or heat‑stress risk;
- area and trend of impermeable surfaces around facilities, as a proxy for ecosystem degradation and urban heat;
- vegetation‑health scores, indicating potential yield risk, land degradation, or non‑compliance with conservation set‑asides.
How Satellites Help Companies Turn ESG Into Business Value
Companies can lose track of ESG when their operations are spread far and wide. Fortunately, satellites can put everything together. Once everyone sees the same picture, decisions actually start to add up to real results:
- Run operations with fewer blind spots. Utilities, energy, and transport operators use satellite images to track corridors, pipelines, and routes across thousands of kilometers, even in remote areas.
- Reduce the cost of environmental checks. Satellite surveys with free Sentinel and Landsat images can replace pricey helicopter flights and on-foot inspections. Areas that once took days to inspect can now be assessed in days, at a fraction of the cost, and repeated more often.
- Prevent damage instead of reacting to it. Predictive models based on satellite history help forecast vegetation growth, erosion, or seabed disturbance, reducing outages, spills, and costly delays.
- Back ESG claims with proof. Satellite data supports verified reporting on methane, carbon, wetlands, and protected areas using neutral data that regulators and investors can independently confirm.
How Investors, Media, And NGOs Verify ESG With Satellites
When companies use satellites to manage ESG internally, they also accept that the same data is visible externally. Shared view is raising the bar for accountability. Investors, journalists, and NGOs are using satellite data as independent evidence to verify, challenge, and enrich ESG claims:
- investors compare disclosures with observed change near assets, suppliers, and project sites to assess risk and credibility;
- journalists trace visible change to verify whether corporate activity matches public commitments;
- NGOs track land use, forests, wetlands, and protected areas linked to corporate supply chains, often turning findings into legal or regulatory cases.
Public satellite missions like Sentinel and Landsat ensure scrutiny is consistent, repeatable, and based on the same facts companies use to defend their performance.
From Promises To Satellite Proof
Today, companies can’t just say they care about nature and expect people to believe them. Sentinel and Landsat satellite images let us all check what really happened on the land over the decades. Everyone can see what was there before a company made its promises and what changed after. This turns ESG from good intentions into verifiable evidence, positioning businesses more strongly with regulators, investors, and partners.
