9 Sustainable Tech Companies Leading The Eco-Innovation Charge
The future is E-co-friendly—or at least it needs to be, if we want to continue to live on this big and beautiful blue rock called Earth.
But amidst all the devices and services that help us out in our daily, tech-centric lives, what tech companies are helping the planet?
While the tech sector as a whole still has a long way to go before reaching what we would consider a sustainable status, there are countless companies leading the fight for sustainable practices, manufacturing, and products.
Being aware of these brands can help you find ethical devices that don’t harm the environment and help you support companies making a tangible impact on the world.
So what is the most sustainable technology company?
Well, as we touch on below, it’s not a straightforward answer, because there are different approaches to sustainability tech companies can use.
While we can’t definitely say what the best is, we’ve compiled a wide variety of leading sustainable technology companies doing their best to fight climate change.
The Full List Of Ethical & Eco-Friendly Tech Companies
- Fairphone | Visit Store
- Circ | Visit Store
- BioLite | Visit Store
- Amp’d Energy | Visit Store
- rePurpose Global | Visit Store
- Klima | Visit Store
- Seabin | Visit Store
- Ÿnsect | Visit Store
- Microsoft | Visit Store
1. Fairphone
About Fairphone
Fairphone is easily one of the best sustainable tech companies, leading the smartphone industry to a more sustainable future.
The Dutch technology company was founded in 2013 and became a Certified B Corp in 2015.
Since then, they have fought for environmental sustainability using fair trade, conflict-free, and recycled materials.
It’s estimated that the Information and Communication Industry will contribute to 14% of the global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
Fairphone fights this by creating modular, easy-to-repair devices built to last. They combat the semi-disposable nature of smartphones with long-term software updates lasting 5–10 years—well beyond industry standards.
Through its improved Reuse and Recycle Program, Fairphone promotes a more circular economy, recycling over 17,000 devices in 2020. They also recover e-waste in countries that lack support, enhancing the world’s recycling infrastructure.
Fairphone follows Fair Sourcing Principles, measuring the impact of 14 primary materials.
They were the first environmental tech company to source gold from Fairtrade-certified artisanal mines. Also, they co-founded the Fair Cobalt Alliance—a platform prioritizing improving artisanal cobalt miners’ livelihoods and working environments.
But one of their most significant impacts is how they treat the individuals making their phones.
Their production partners have SA80000 certifications, one of the highest standards for safe and responsible working conditions.
In addition to regular fair wages, Fairphone provides a living wage bonus of $1.99 per device, resulting in a total of $305,000 to over 1,900 factory workers at three locations.
Plus, each device is shipped in recyclable packaging.
2. Circ
About Circ
“Fashions fade. Their impacts last forever.”
Circ understands the detrimental impacts of fast fashion and aims to create innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems.
And if you’ve seen the latest fast fashion facts, you’ll know fast fashion definitely constitutes one of those.
The EPA estimates 17 million tons of textiles were created in 2018. Less than 15% of these fibers were recycled, with the majority ending up in landfills or incinerators.
A leader among sustainable fashion tech companies, Cirq was founded in 2011, aiming to have a positive environmental impact with new industrial processes.
Based in Danville, Virginia, Circ makes the unusable reusable through its proprietary hydrothermal process that recovers the original materials from polycotton blends.
They start with textile waste from various sources—fabric scraps, industrial waste, old clothes, and more.
After they prepare the garments, they use water, pressure, and ethical chemistry to separate synthetic fibers from cellulosic materials. Once finished, the new material is spun into new fibers ready for use.
This recycling process results in Circ® Lyocell and Circ® Polyester, which match the quality of virgin materials. Both materials are recycled, adaptable, and don’t have any dyeing restrictions.
Preserving and separating the fibers without damaging them allows both fibers to be reused in new garments while drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Circ’s circular economy-based production methods have been recognized by the Earthshot Prize, becoming one of 15 Finalists in 2023 for addressing the fashion industry’s carbon footprint.
They have several partners like sustainable outdoor clothing brand Patagonia and Breakthrough Energy.
Circ also worked with one of the largest fashion manufacturers, Zara, to produce their first collection of garments made from separated textile waste. This helps ethical apparel reach the masses that may not know about slow fashion.
3. BioLite
About BioLite
BioLite is one of the leading sustainability technology companies developing solar energy solutions that remain accessible to everyday folks.
In 2011, there were over 1.2 billion people across the world without access to electricity. Thanks to companies like BioLite, that number has decreased to just over 760 million in 2019.
The social enterprise is dedicated to bringing safe, reliable energy access to everyone through eco-friendly camping gear like cookstoves, cooking accessories, headlamps, lighting, personal solar panels, power stations, and battery banks.
BioLite utilizes a unique business model known as Parallel Innovation.
This model pairs two distinct groups with the same need for renewable energy: outdoor enthusiasts and communities in emerging markets without reliable access to the grid.
Parallel Innovation allows the BioLite team to develop high-quality products that are relevant to each group without sacrificing durability, accessibility, or energy efficiency.
So far, BioLite has reached over 7 million people in Africa and Asia. They have generated over 7,400-kilowatt hours of electricity and offset over 1.3 million tons of carbon dioxide.
With a headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, BioLite’s Emerging Markets (EM) Team supports key partners across 23 countries, providing last-mile distribution, training, and financing to remote customers.
BioLite is also Climate Neutral Certified and actively measures, reduces, and offsets its carbon emissions each year.
Additionally, the company aims to provide 20 million individuals with clean energy and to eliminate 3 million tons of CO2 by 2025.
4. Amp’d Energy
About Amp’d Energy
With a high demand for sustainability, tech companies like Amp’d Energy are critical in facing some of the world’s largest environmental challenges.
The total carbon emissions of the construction sector were roughly 5.7 billion tons in 2009, making up 23% of global emissions. Building sites require lots of energy consumption, typically in the form of fossil fuels.
This creates harmful pollutants like CO2, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide.
That’s where 2022 Earthshot Prize finalist Amp’d Energy comes in.
Their flagship technology is the Entertainer, an all-electric battery used to power construction sites without any fossil fuel energy. It can power any type of electrical equipment but works best with high-power devices like cranes, hoists, and welders.
The Entertain doesn’t produce direct “tailpipe” emissions, meaning zero carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, or other harmful pollutants.
It doesn’t have any moving parts, making it safer and nearly thirty-two times quieter than traditional diesel generators.
So far, the sustainable alternative has been used in over 180 construction projects, eliminating 40,440 tons of CO2. This is like getting rid of 69,900 cars worth of air pollutants.
Additionally, the Entertainer is driven by software with frequent updates for higher performance. It features a modular architecture, making it easy to service in the field.
Plus, the design is familiar to any trained electrician, making it incredibly accessible.
5. rePurpose Global
About rePurpose Global
Plastic waste has more than doubled in the past two decades, with a staggering 460 million tons produced in 2019 alone—and only 9% of it is recycled.
Eco-friendly tech companies like rePurpose Global are working to reduce waste and fight climate change, one bottle at a time.
The company provides other businesses with smart technology, allowing them to measure their plastic production with industry-leading benchmarks. rePurpose Global provides businesses with sustainable solutions, like methods for reducing plastic waste and alternative materials.
Through Verified Plastic Recovery, businesses can take immediate action on the plastic epidemic.
rePurpose Global uses cutting edge technology to give the brands the opportunity to not only keep track of their own plastic use, but the opportunity to offset it by supporting plastic clean-up initiatives in seven different countries.
All of the recovered is nature-bound, meaning it would negatively impact ecosystems, waterways, and the environment.
These projects support the local community, like in Bogata, Columbia, where recovered plastic is transformed into eco-wood that’s used for housing and furniture.
So far, rePurpose Global has recovered 47,404,355 pounds of nature-bound plastic and is trusted by over 270 global brands.
6. Klima
About Klima
Moving to a more sustainable world can seem like a big undertaking. It can feel like your actions have a negligible impact on the big picture.
But every person matters.
The average United States citizen produces 16 tons of carbon emissions each year. To avoid a rise in global temperatures, each person needs to reduce their carbon footprint to under two tons by 2050.
Sustainable software companies like Klima are making this easier and easier.
Klima provides individuals with an effective strategy for fighting climate change and reducing their carbon footprint through an easy-to-use mobile app.
The app calculates your carbon emissions through a questionnaire so you can understand the impact of your lifestyle. You have the option to fund science-based climate solutions that are certified with either the Gold standard or the Verified Carbon Standard.
Klima only selects reputable and effective projects that have achieved top ranking on Project Drawdown’s list of climate solutions.
For example, you can support the Panama Reforestation Project, which has planted more than 1.9 million trees since 2005.
Through the Climate Class video series, you can learn easy ways to reduce your impact by focusing on lifestyle choices, like using a reusable water bottle.
As a Certified B Corp, Klima is 100% transparent on how it invests its money and what impact it creates.
Each year, they release an annual Spending and Impact Report to document in detail where their money went and how it helped the environment.
For instance, Klima captured or avoided over 96,000 tons of CO2e in 2022. That’s roughly the equivalent to 20,000 passenger vehicles CO2 emissions per year.
7. Seabin
About Seabin
Sustainability startups like Seabin are conquering the white whale of the modern era: the plastic pollution epidemic.
As one of the top eco-friendly tech companies, you’ve probably seen their results online.
If you haven’t, the Seabin is a cross between a garbage can and a pool skimmer that works by skimming the surface and sucking water to remove waste.
Each bin can filter up to 1.3 million liters of water per day, capturing marine waste with a maximum capacity of 20kg before it needs to be emptied. They operate all day and night, 365 days per year.
The company started in Sydney, Australia, and has recovered 100 tons of plastic fibers, microplastics, oils, and other pollutants since 2020.
The ESG tech company currently has Seabins deployed in Australia and California.
They developed the Pollution Index (PI) to quantify the efficiency of each Seabin ranging from 1–11. PI was created over four years of manual data collection and now works to help cities and governments reach sustainability goals.
They use this rating in tandem with their 100 Smarter Cities by 2050 project to rectify the global plastic epidemic. The project aims to encourage communities, private companies, corporate entities, and individuals to change their behaviors and protect the ocean.
But one of the biggest ways Seabin has a positive impact is through social media. Through platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, Seabin has reached over 108 million people and encouraged them to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
8. Ÿnsect
About Ÿnsect
Sustainability in the technology industry can be a difficult endeavor to achieve—let alone technology that also helps us achieve a more sustainable food system.
But companies like Ÿnsect are bringing innovative technologies to solve complex problems.
Founded in 2011 in Paris, France, the Next40 and Certified B Corp transform insects into high-quality ingredients for pets, marine life, the environment, and humans.
Yes, you read that right—Ÿnsect cultivates two types of mealworms in state-of-the-art vertical farming facilities powered by advanced technology and AI.
This method uses less emissions, land, water, and resources compared to traditional farms. Currently, they have six established sites across Europe and the United States.
Plus, the mealworms are packed with high-quality protein, vitamins, and minerals that benefit humans, animals, and ecosystems alike.
Ÿnsect has over 380 patents, ensuring every aspect of its process is optimized for health, sustainability, and quality. They prioritize a circular production process by upcycling the mealworm dejections into useful fertilizer.
One of the ways they use their products is in high-performance feed solutions, known as Sprÿng.
Not only is the product sustainable, but it provides animals and pets with protein-packed products containing all essential amino acids. Their insect-based nutrition, AdalbaPro, is made for human consumption.
It’s equally healthy and sustainable, matching the quality of the gold standard, whey protein. It’s a healthy, sustainable alternative, and more people are willing to try it, with 96% of people who have eaten insects liking them or willing to try them again.
9. Microsoft
About Microsoft
You might not have expected a Fortune 500 company like Microsoft to make our list, but the company does quite a bit for the environment.
Founded in 1975 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the company now has one of the highest-rated ESG scores among all ranking ESG tech companies
What is ESG in the IT industry?
ESG stands for ‘Environmental, Social, and Governance’. It’s a framework used to determine a company’s business practices and performance across numerous environmental issues.
Microsoft has a score of over 72 and contributes to environmental and ethical issues in several ways. They’re committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and have invested in removing 1.4 million tons of carbon in 2022.
Microsoft has adopted a circular strategy for its materials by diverting over 12,000 metric tons of waste from landfills and incinerators. They provided just under one million people with clean water and sanitation solutions as well.
Plus, they protected over 12,000 acres of land in Belize and now protect more than 11,000 acres of land they use.
Microsoft demonstrates how tech companies can be more sustainable by pledging $1 billion in funding to invest in new climate solutions to accelerate development over the next few years.
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What Are Green Tech Companies?
Let’s start with the basics—what are green tech companies? And how can tech companies be more sustainable overall?
Sustainable technology refers to two concepts: products and services designed to mitigate or prevent environmental problems, and sustainable electronics produced with sustainability at the forefront of design.
This could mean companies developing large renewable energy solutions, like making wind and solar power more accessible to farmers.
It could mean a company making an everyday device out of sustainable materials, like sustainable appliances made of recycled metals or eco chargers made of recovered ocean plastic.
Or, it could be as simple as a company developing devices intended to help the user achieve a greater level of sustainability in their lives, like portable solar panels and electric food composters.
Ideally, the most sustainable tech company will tackle both fronts—sustainability of design and sustainability of function—but even tackling just one is still a significant step in the fight for a more sustainable planet.
Eco-friendly tech companies and products are critical, as electronic production contributes to some of the biggest issues. Unethical mineral mining, energy-intensive manufacturing, shipping costs, and lack of transparency are just a few of the problems.
Shopping and supporting green tech companies helps mitigate these issues.
Your dollar helps change trends in the industry, leading to more and more companies looking for green solutions.
Final Thoughts On The Top Sustainable Tech Companies
Climate change isn’t going away anytime soon.
Tech companies’ sustainability still leaves so much to be desired, especially considering the IT Industry is estimated to contribute to 14% of the global greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.
Something has to be done if we want to ensure a more sustainable future for ourselves and out planet.
That’s why it’s vital to spend your money wisely, supporting eco-friendly tech companies making sustainable products or fighting for environmental change.
Some of the businesses on our list create sustainable gadgets, while others create innovative solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems.
Either way, small changes can lead to a massive ripple effect and help change trends in the industry.
Do you know someone who loves getting their hands on the latest gadgets?
Send them this list of the most sustainable tech companies so they can fight climate change one sustainable innovation idea at a time.
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