Climate Tech Marketplace
CLIENT
ESGentle
CLIENT
ESGentle
CLIENT
ESGentle
Role
UX/UI Designer
Role
UX/UI Designer
Role
UX/UI Designer
TIMELINE
8 Weeks
TIMELINE
8 Weeks
TIMELINE
8 Weeks
PLATFORM
Responsive Web
PLATFORM
Responsive Web
PLATFORM
Responsive Web
TEAM
2 UX/UI Designers,
1 Full-Stack Developer,
1 Sustainability Advisor,
1 CEO
Outcome
Improved sustainable solution discovery efficiency by 40%
Achieved an 80% task success rate in usability testing
Adjusted a design system with over 30 components for ongoing feature development
Outcome
Outcome
Outcome
Improved sustainable solution discovery efficiency by 40%
Reduced sustainability decision-making time by 30%
Achieved an 80% task success rate in usability testing
Adjusted a design system with over 30 components for ongoing feature development
Improved sustainable solution discovery efficiency by 40%
Achieved an 80% task success rate in usability testing
Adjusted a design system with over 30 components for ongoing feature development
Improved sustainable solution discovery efficiency by 40%
Achieved an 80% task success rate in usability testing
Adjusted a design system with over 30 components for ongoing feature development
Context
Context
ESGentle is a San Francisco-based cleanteach startup on a mission to accelerate ESG adoption by creating a centralized platform for systainability solutions& The startup supports companies in making enviromentally responsible desigions to gain a competitive edge and reduce risk.
Problem
Problem
Sustainability managers struggled to find affordable, trustworthy ESG solutions due to the lack of a centralized and accessible platform.
How might we help sustainability managers quickly discover and compare ESG solutions to reduce their company’s environmental footprint?
Our challenge was to design a climate tech marketplace MVP under limited time, budget, and research resources – while ensuring it was usable, scalable, and genuinely helpful for decision-makers.
Sustainability managers struggled to find affordable, trustworthy ESG solutions due to the lack of a centralized and accessible platform.
How might we help sustainability managers quickly discover and compare ESG solutions to reduce their company’s environmental footprint?
Our challenge was to design a climate tech marketplace MVP under limited time, budget, and research resources – while ensuring it was usable, scalable, and genuinely helpful for decision-makers.
UX Research
UX Research
Stakeholder & Expert Interviews
Conducted 5 in-depth interviews with sustainability managers across mid-size and enterprise companies in finance, manufacturing, and retail.
Spoke with 2 ESG consultants to understand industry pain points and decision-making workflows.
Key insight
Decision-makers spent 10–15 hours per week manually searching for ESG vendors, relying on fragmented information from industry reports, networking, and cold outreach.
Competitive Benchmarking
Reviewed 8 existing ESG-related platforms and climate tech directories.
Evaluated navigation, search functionality, data transparency, and pricing clarity.
Key insight
None offered apples-to-apples comparison tools, and many lacked transparency around vendor credentials or certifications.
User Surveys
Distributed a 10-question survey to a network of sustainability professionals via LinkedIn
Received 42 responses
Key insight
Top decision factor: verified impact metrics (78%)
Top frustration: lack of centralized database (65%)
Most desired feature: side-by-side solution comparison (72%)
Strategy
Strategy
Simply listing ESG vendors wouldn't be enough. To deliver value, we needed to focus on decision-making efficiency and make it easy to compare, trust, and act on solutions.
Through research, we found that users:
Wanted clear ROI and budget estimates
Struggled to compare solutions side-by-side
So we positioned the product to help managers make faster, smarter, and lower-risk sustainability investments — not just browse vendors.
Solution
Solution
We designed the MVP with features focused on streamlining discovery, comparison, and decision-making:
Filterable Marketplace
Users could browse sustainability solutions by category, budget range, impact, and more — enabling focused discovery.
Energy efficiency solutions flow
Offsetting solutions flow
Impact
Impact
Task Success Rate
80% (user testing)
Task Success Rate
80% (user testing)
Solution discoverability
↑ 40%
Solution discoverability
↑ 40%
Design system
Used in all post-MVP iterations
Design system
Used in all post-MVP iterations
My Role
My Role
I led design across all stages of the UX process:
Conducted 8 user interviews and 10 surveys with sustainability professionals
Created customer journey maps, user flows, and site architecture
Designed responsive lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes in Figma
Adjusted a design system with over 30 components
Conducted usability testing, synthesized findings, and iterated quickly
Partnered with the developer for smooth handoff and implementation
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
Designing for clarity and trust is critical in complex B2B marketplaces
Even under tight constraints, focused features can deliver real business and user value
Deep understanding of the user’s decision-making process can differentiate you from listing-based competitors
Designing for clarity and trust is critical in complex B2B marketplaces
Even under tight constraints, focused features can deliver real business and user value
Deep understanding of the user’s decision-making process can differentiate you from listing-based competitors
Context
ESGentle is a San Francisco-based cleanteach startup on a mission to accelerate ESG adoption by creating a centralized platform for systainability solutions& The startup supports companies in making enviromentally responsible desigions to gain a competitive edge and reduce risk.
Problem
Sustainability managers struggled to find affordable, trustworthy ESG solutions due to the lack of a centralized and accessible platform.
How might we help sustainability managers quickly discover and compare ESG solutions to reduce their company’s environmental footprint?
Our challenge was to design a climate tech marketplace MVP under limited time, budget, and research resources – while ensuring it was usable, scalable, and genuinely helpful for decision-makers.
UX Reserch
Stakeholder & Expert Interviews
Conducted 5 in-depth interviews with sustainability managers across mid-size and enterprise companies in finance, manufacturing, and retail.
Spoke with 2 ESG consultants to understand industry pain points and decision-making workflows.
Key insight
Decision-makers spent 10–15 hours per week manually searching for ESG vendors, relying on fragmented information from industry reports, networking, and cold outreach.
Competitive Benchmarking
Reviewed 8 existing ESG-related platforms and climate tech directories.
Evaluated navigation, search functionality, data transparency, and pricing clarity.
Key insight
None offered apples-to-apples comparison tools, and many lacked transparency around vendor credentials or certifications.
User Surveys
Distributed a 10-question survey to a network of sustainability professionals via LinkedIn
Received 42 responses
Key insight
Top decision factor: verified impact metrics (78%)
Top frustration: lack of centralized database (65%)
Most desired feature: side-by-side solution comparison (72%)
Strategy
Simply listing ESG vendors wouldn't be enough. To deliver value, we needed to focus on decision-making efficiency and make it easy to compare, trust, and act on solutions.
Through research, we found that users:
Wanted clear ROI and budget estimates
Struggled to compare solutions side-by-side
So we positioned the product to help managers make faster, smarter, and lower-risk sustainability investments — not just browse vendors.
Solution
We designed the MVP with features focused on streamlining discovery, comparison, and decision-making:
Filterable Marketplace
Users could browse sustainability solutions by category, budget range, impact, and more — enabling focused discovery.
Energy efficiency solutions flow
Offsetting solutions flow
Impact
Task Success Rate
80% (user testing)
Design system
Used in all post-MVP iterations
Solution discoverability
↑ 40%
My Role
I led design across all stages of the UX process:
Conducted 8 user interviews and 10 surveys with sustainability professionals
Created customer journey maps, user flows, and site architecture
Designed responsive lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes in Figma
Adjusted a design system with over 30 components
Conducted usability testing, synthesized findings, and iterated quickly
Partnered with the developer for smooth handoff and implementation
Key Takeaways
Designing for clarity and trust is critical in complex B2B marketplaces
Even under tight constraints, focused features can deliver real business and user value
Deep understanding of the user’s decision-making process can differentiate you from listing-based competitors
Next Projects
Context
Context
ESGentle is a San Francisco-based cleanteach startup on a mission to accelerate ESG adoption by creating a centralized platform for systainability solutions& The startup supports companies in making enviromentally responsible desigions to gain a competitive edge and reduce risk.
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
Designing for clarity and trust is critical in complex B2B marketplaces
Even under tight constraints, focused features can deliver real business and user value
Deep understanding of the user’s decision-making process can differentiate you from listing-based competitors
Designing for clarity and trust is critical in complex B2B marketplaces
Even under tight constraints, focused features can deliver real business and user value
Deep understanding of the user’s decision-making process can differentiate you from listing-based competitors
Problem
Problem
Sustainability managers struggled to find affordable, trustworthy ESG solutions due to the lack of a centralized and accessible platform.
How might we help sustainability managers quickly discover and compare ESG solutions to reduce their company’s environmental footprint?
Our challenge was to design a climate tech marketplace MVP under limited time, budget, and research resources – while ensuring it was usable, scalable, and genuinely helpful for decision-makers.
Sustainability managers struggled to find affordable, trustworthy ESG solutions due to the lack of a centralized and accessible platform.
How might we help sustainability managers quickly discover and compare ESG solutions to reduce their company’s environmental footprint?
Our challenge was to design a climate tech marketplace MVP under limited time, budget, and research resources – while ensuring it was usable, scalable, and genuinely helpful for decision-makers.
UX Research
UX Research
Stakeholder & Expert Interviews
Conducted 5 in-depth interviews with sustainability managers across mid-size and enterprise companies in finance, manufacturing, and retail.
Spoke with 2 ESG consultants to understand industry pain points and decision-making workflows.
Key insight
Decision-makers spent 10–15 hours per week manually searching for ESG vendors, relying on fragmented information from industry reports, networking, and cold outreach.
Competitive Benchmarking
Reviewed 8 existing ESG-related platforms and climate tech directories.
Evaluated navigation, search functionality, data transparency, and pricing clarity.
Key insight
None offered apples-to-apples comparison tools, and many lacked transparency around vendor credentials or certifications.
User Surveys
Distributed a 10-question survey to a network of sustainability professionals via LinkedIn
Received 42 responses
Key insight
Top decision factor: verified impact metrics (78%)
Top frustration: lack of centralized database (65%)
Most desired feature: side-by-side solution comparison (72%)
Strategy
Strategy
Simply listing ESG vendors wouldn't be enough. To deliver value, we needed to focus on decision-making efficiency and make it easy to compare, trust, and act on solutions.
Through research, we found that users:
Wanted clear ROI and budget estimates
Struggled to compare solutions side-by-side
So we positioned the product to help managers make faster, smarter, and lower-risk sustainability investments — not just browse vendors.
Solution
Solution
We designed the MVP with features focused on streamlining discovery, comparison, and decision-making:
Filterable Marketplace
Users could browse sustainability solutions by category, budget range, impact, and more — enabling focused discovery.
Energy efficiency solutions flow
Offsetting solutions flow
Impact
Impact
Task Success Rate
80% (user testing)
Task Success Rate
80% (user testing)
Solution discoverability
↑ 40%
Solution discoverability
↑ 40%
Design system
Used in all post-MVP iterations
Design system
Used in all post-MVP iterations
My Role
My Role
I led design across all stages of the UX process:
Conducted 8 user interviews and 10 surveys with sustainability professionals
Created customer journey maps, user flows, and site architecture
Designed responsive lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes in Figma
Adjusted a design system with over 30 components
Conducted usability testing, synthesized findings, and iterated quickly
Partnered with the developer for smooth handoff and implementation
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
Designing for clarity and trust is critical in complex B2B marketplaces
Even under tight constraints, focused features can deliver real business and user value
Deep understanding of the user’s decision-making process can differentiate you from listing-based competitors
Designing for clarity and trust is critical in complex B2B marketplaces
Even under tight constraints, focused features can deliver real business and user value
Deep understanding of the user’s decision-making process can differentiate you from listing-based competitors
