As manufacturers face growing pressure to measure product-level emissions and provide sustainability data to customers, Climate Seal is using artificial intelligence to simplify carbon accounting and compliance workflows. Its approach reflects a wider opportunity for climate-tech startups seeking to make sustainability management more accessible to smaller businesses.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are becoming an increasingly important part of the global decarbonisation challenge, but many lack the resources to measure and manage their environmental footprint. In South Korea, SMEs accounted for approximately 14.3% of greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial sectors of manufacturing and mining in 2023, according to an OECD assessment published in June 2026. Yet only 15% of Korean SMEs had measured their emissions or developed a reduction plan, based on survey evidence cited in the report.
As international buyers increasingly seek emissions information from their suppliers, smaller businesses must navigate complex calculations, fragmented data and reporting methodologies, often without dedicated sustainability teams. Climate Seal, an AI-powered sustainability compliance startup, is targeting this problem with a platform designed to automate parts of carbon accounting and make environmental data management more accessible.
The Carbon Accounting Challenge Facing Smaller Businesses
For SMEs, measuring emissions involves more than recording electricity consumption or fuel use. Businesses must account for direct emissions, indirect emissions from purchased energy and, increasingly, emissions across their value chains.
Scope 3 emissions present a particularly difficult challenge because they involve suppliers, raw materials, transportation and other activities outside a company’s direct operations. Collecting this information requires coordination across multiple organisations, while the selection of appropriate emission factors and calculation methodologies demands technical expertise.
The OECD’s assessment of South Korea highlights the capacity constraints behind this problem. Around 30% of SMEs surveyed cited a lack of internal expertise and technical capacity as a barrier to emissions monitoring, while approximately 25% identified measurement and verification costs as obstacles.
Although most SMEs are not directly covered by mandatory emissions reporting requirements, commercial expectations are changing. The OECD found that 87% of South Korea’s 30 largest companies conduct ESG evaluations of SME suppliers, while 69% incorporate those evaluations into procurement decisions. This makes environmental performance increasingly relevant to supplier relationships and market access.
How Climate Seal Is Applying AI to Carbon Management
Climate Seal is developing an AI-powered sustainability compliance workspace that brings product, supplier, environmental and operational information into structured assessments and reporting workflows.
According to its official platform materials, the system supports Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) calculations, Scope 3 accounting, project carbon assessments and Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA). It also supports methodologies including ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol.
Rather than functioning solely as a carbon calculator, the platform is designed to handle several stages of the accounting process. Its capabilities include document parsing, data extraction, methodology mapping, emission-factor matching, calculation support and evidence tracking. AI agents can assist with research, data checks, modelling and report preparation, while experts retain control over key assumptions, methodology decisions and final reviews.
The objective is to reduce the manual work involved in preparing carbon assessments. Climate Seal says its workflows can turn fragmented files and supplier information into traceable calculations and review-ready outputs. Such automation could be particularly useful for smaller manufacturers and sustainability consultants managing multiple projects with limited resources.
Why Product-Level Emissions Data Matters to Asian Manufacturers
For export-oriented manufacturers, understanding the carbon footprint of an individual product is becoming increasingly important. Product-level calculations consider emissions across relevant stages of production and the supply chain, including materials, energy consumption and transportation.
This information can help suppliers respond to customer requests, demonstrate environmental performance and prepare documentation for markets with specific carbon-related requirements.
The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which entered its definitive phase on January 1, 2026, illustrates the growing importance of embedded emissions data. Its direct reporting and certificate obligations apply to covered EU importers. However, manufacturers outside the bloc may face indirect pressure from customers seeking emissions information about imported goods.
For South Korean manufacturers, this is particularly relevant in sectors connected to international industrial supply chains. The OECD identifies textiles and automotive manufacturing as areas where SMEs account for substantial shares of sectoral emissions. The challenge is therefore not limited to regulatory compliance. Suppliers may also need reliable environmental data to maintain relationships with larger buyers.
Making Automated Carbon Calculations Credible
Automation alone does not resolve the challenges of carbon accounting. The reliability of an assessment depends on the quality of underlying data, appropriate system boundaries, suitable emission factors and transparent calculation assumptions.
Climate Seal says its platform addresses these requirements through methodology-aligned workflows, source-linked information, risk reviews and traceable evidence. Its outputs are designed for customer review and potential third-party verification.
However, AI-generated calculations should not be confused with independent certification. Climate Seal’s own FAQ clarifies that the platform does not independently certify or assure its results. Expert review and external verification remain important, particularly when businesses use carbon data for formal disclosures, customer requirements or regulatory processes.
This distinction will matter as more companies adopt automated sustainability tools. Making calculations faster is valuable, but businesses must also be able to explain where their data came from and how their emissions figures were determined.
Bringing AI Innovation and Sustainability Together
Climate Seal’s development strategy reflects an effort to connect technology innovation with practical environmental applications. The company is part of NVIDIA Inception, Google for Startups and the Global ESG Leadership Association’s GELA programme under the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network ecosystem.
While conversing with KoreaTechToday, Michael Ma, Founder and CEO of Climate Seal, explained how these networks have influenced the company’s direction:
“These ecosystems connect us with two worlds that are equally important to our company: AI innovation and sustainability. Through NVIDIA Inception and Google for Startups, we have opportunities to learn from the broader AI and startup communities. GELA connects us with people and organizations working on real sustainability challenges.
What matters to us is bringing those two worlds together. We don’t want to develop AI just because the technology is exciting. We want to build something that solves a real problem and makes a measurable difference in how businesses approach sustainability.”
The company’s approach also points to a potential role for sustainability consultants, who can use automation to manage documentation and calculations more efficiently while retaining responsibility for technical review. Climate Seal has introduced a consultant partner programme and is seeking to expand its work with manufacturers and sustainability professionals. The company has also indicated that it is preparing for a seed funding round.
Can AI Make Sustainability Management More Accessible?
For climate-tech startups, the opportunity lies in addressing the gap between growing demand for emissions information and the limited capacity of smaller businesses to produce it. AI can reduce repetitive work, organise fragmented information and help standardise reporting processes. But adoption will depend on affordability, data quality, transparent methodologies and confidence in the results.
South Korea’s experience illustrates why this market matters. Government support and simplified emissions tools are already helping SMEs build their carbon-management capabilities, but the OECD’s findings show that significant gaps remain, particularly in Scope 3 measurement and technical expertise.
Climate Seal is entering a market where the need is becoming more visible across manufacturing supply chains. Its longer-term opportunity will depend not simply on how quickly its platform can generate carbon reports, but on whether it can help smaller businesses produce reliable information that customers, consultants and independent reviewers can trust. For Asian SMEs facing the demands of a lower-carbon economy, that distinction could determine whether AI-powered sustainability tools become practical business infrastructure or remain another layer of technology.
