Small businesses are often overlooked in climate discussions, yet they're essential to solving our environmental challenges. In my recent Lead with AI conversation with Dr. Anand Verma, founder and CEO of Expect AI, I discovered how his company is transforming the way small businesses approach sustainability.

Dr. Verma brings a unique perspective to this challenge. As a computer scientist who worked in machine learning long before AI became a buzzword, he's combined technical expertise with a clear vision: helping small to mid-sized businesses reduce emissions while increasing profitability. This approach, which he calls "Profitable Climate Action," addresses a critical gap in the market. While large corporations have resources and expertise to address climate challenges, the 330 million small businesses worldwide that contribute nearly half of global emissions often lack the knowledge, capital, and guidance to take meaningful action.

Through his AI platform Una, Dr. Verma is democratizing access to climate solutions. What struck me most during our conversation was how Una creates instant carbon profiles for businesses using only publicly available data, then connects them with tailored opportunities to reduce emissions and increase profits simultaneously. This innovative approach is making climate action accessible to businesses regardless of their size or technical capabilities.

The Hidden Climate Crisis No One is Talking About  

When we discuss climate change, conversations typically focus on large corporations or individual consumer choices. However, Dr. Verma highlighted a startling reality that's rarely acknowledged: small to mid-sized businesses collectively contribute 40-50% of global emissions. That's approximately 330 million companies worldwide that form the backbone of our economies yet lack the resources to address their environmental impact.

These businesses face a triple challenge: they're short on ideas about what actions to take, short on capital to implement solutions, and short on knowledge about regulations and opportunities. Unlike large corporations with dedicated sustainability teams and extensive resources, small business owners are typically focused on day-to-day operations and staying profitable. Environmental initiatives often seem like a luxury they can't afford rather than a path to greater success.

This gap represents both a crisis and an opportunity. If we can empower these 330 million businesses to reduce their environmental footprint while maintaining or improving their financial performance, we could make significant progress toward global climate goals. That's precisely the challenge that Expect AI has taken on with their Una platform, offering a solution that doesn't require businesses to choose between profitability and sustainability.

How Una Creates Carbon Profiles Without Asking for Private Data  

The most fascinating aspect of Una is how it works without requiring businesses to input their private information. In our conversation, Dr. Verma explained that Una starts by creating what he calls an "adaptive carbon profile" using only publicly available data about a company.

When a business owner types their company name into Una's search bar (which Dr. Verma likened to a Google-like search), the platform immediately begins building a carbon profile. It draws information from the company's website, regulatory filings, and other public sources to create a neural network of relationships centered around the business. This network includes information about the company's location, industry sector, employee count, revenue, and other relevant factors that influence its carbon footprint.

For new businesses with limited public information, Una creates "proxy data" based on similar companies in the same sector. While this initial profile might have a lower confidence score, it provides a starting point and encourages businesses to enhance their profile with private data over time. This progressive disclosure approach, similar to how LinkedIn prompts users to complete their profiles, makes the process accessible even to companies just beginning their sustainability journey.

Turning Six Months into Six Minutes

One of the most striking examples Dr. Verma shared about Una's impact, which involves connecting small businesses with unused green subsidies. In the UK alone, approximately £5 billion worth of green subsidies go unused or underused each year because small businesses lack awareness of their existence or find the application process too cumbersome.

Una changes this dynamic by ingesting all available subsidy data and making it accessible through a simple interface. When a business identifies a relevant subsidy, Una's agents take over, handling the entire nine-step application process that traditionally takes six months and compressing it to just six minutes. This dramatic reduction in time and effort removes one of the major barriers preventing small businesses from accessing financial support for sustainability initiatives.

This capability demonstrates the practical value of what Dr. Verma calls "agentic AI" or "agentic experience models." Rather than simply providing information, Una completes actual tasks on behalf of businesses, allowing owners and employees to focus on high-impact activities while the AI handles administrative processes. The result is not just information but tangible financial benefits delivered directly to the business's bottom line.

The Climate Knowledge Graph

At the core of Una's capabilities is what Dr. Verma describes it as the "world's first climate knowledge graph." This neural network connects climate data with business intelligence to uncover relationships and opportunities that wouldn't be visible through traditional analysis.

The climate knowledge graph works by placing the company at the center of a mind map, with various attributes branching outward. As these connections form, Una identifies anomalies, detects patterns, and discovers opportunities specific to that business. This might include energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy options, or process changes that could reduce emissions while cutting costs.

Dr. Verma emphasized that knowledge drives insights, and insights drive actions. By transforming climate data into actionable knowledge, Una helps businesses make informed decisions that align with both environmental and financial goals. The platform's goal is to create what he called a "new balance sheet" for companies, where sustainability initiatives contribute directly to profitability rather than competing with it.

The Vision for 2030

Looking toward the future, Dr. Verma shared his ambitious vision for Expect AI by 2030. He aims to position Una as the AI backbone for small and medium-sized enterprises globally, enabling these businesses to focus on their core operations while AI handles climate-related tasks and opportunities.

In concrete terms, he projects that Expect AI will help reduce 500 megatons of emissions by 2030 while adding approximately $40 billion in savings to small businesses worldwide. This dual impact exemplifies the company's core philosophy that profitability and sustainability must go hand in hand. Without profitable businesses, Dr. Verma noted, people won't prioritize climate action; and in the coming decades, businesses that ignore sustainability will struggle to remain competitive.

Dr. Verma also highlighted a particular passion for bringing this technology to Africa, which he believes has been largely left out of the digital revolution. Just as many African countries leapfrogged from limited landline infrastructure directly to mobile technology, he sees an opportunity for African businesses to use AI to bypass traditional development paths and build sustainability into their growth from the beginning. With its youthful population and untapped potential, Africa represents a significant opportunity for technologies like Una to create positive impact.

How Your Business Can Benefit  

After speaking with Dr. Verma, I'm convinced that every small business owner should explore how AI-driven climate solutions can benefit their company. The beauty of Una is that it requires no technical expertise or significant time investment to get started.

If you're curious about your business's carbon footprint and potential opportunities to reduce emissions while increasing profits, I encourage you to:

1. Visit expectai.com to access the Una platform

2. Simply type your company name into the search bar

3. Explore your adaptive carbon profile generated from public data

4. Discover tailored recommendations for your specific business

5. Investigate potential subsidies and support available in your region

Currently, Una covers 5.6 million companies in the UK, with U.S. expansion beginning with New York, California, and Massachusetts by the end of this year. The platform plans to cover the entire U.S. market by mid-next year, expanding state by state.

For businesses in regions not yet covered or those wanting to see a demonstration, Dr. Verma invites direct contact at anand@expectai.com. As he emphasized during our conversation, seeing is believing, and the best way to understand Una's potential is to experience firsthand how it analyzes your business and identifies opportunities.

In a world where we often feel climate challenges are too big for individual action, platforms like Una show how technology can empower businesses of all sizes to make meaningful contributions while strengthening their financial performance. By bringing together climate intelligence and business intelligence, Expect AI is creating a future where doing good for the planet and doing well as a business are perfectly aligned goals.