Net Zero by 2070 and the launch of the IndiaAI Mission have set the stage for India’s leadership in sustainability and artificial intelligence. But as enterprises commit to greener goals, a major hurdle still remains—how do they generate accurate, audit-ready ESG data across vast, fragmented, and complex supply chains?
In this exclusive interview, Ambalika Gupta, Vice President of Sustainability at Snowkap, unpacks how Snowkap AI, an India-built platform, is solving this challenge with precision, speed, and scale. From parsing invoices and utility bills to calculating Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, Snowkap’s AI-driven platform helps companies ensure data integrity, meet global frameworks like BRSR Core and GHG Protocol, and stay competitive in the face of rising trade-related climate regulations.
The conversation explores how Snowkap reduces ESG disclosure time by 70%, prevents greenwashing through anomaly detection, empowers Tier-3 suppliers with vernacular-friendly tools, and transforms sustainability reporting into a strategic business advantage. As India’s exporters face growing compliance demands, platforms like Snowkap are becoming critical enablers of both global market access and responsible growth.
Q. What specific gaps in ESG data management led to the creation of Snowkap AI?
A. Honestly, it came from lived pain points. Before Snowkap, I spent years working on shop floor and later in sustainability consulting roles which required me helping companies across sectors implement ESG programs. The biggest recurring frustration? Data silos, inconsistent disclosures, supplier-level blind spots, too many frameworks and ever changing buyer ESG requirements. Especially when you're dealing with hundreds of factories, vendors, or tier-2 suppliers across different geographies, manual formats and excel sheets just don’t cut it.
We built Snowkap to eliminate this friction and bring ESG intelligence closer to operations—not just boardrooms.
Q. How does Snowkap AI collect and standardise data across fragmented supply chains—factories, vendors, logistics, and packaging units?
A. We start with simplicity. Our platform is API-ready, but also low-tech friendly, so whether you’re a digitally native warehouse in Germany or a Tier 3 vendor in Bhiwandi with only WhatsApp and PDFs, we meet you where you are.
We use a mix of:
- Supplier-facing auto-translatable digital forms
- OCR and NLP tools to read existing invoices, manifests, utility bills
- Pre-built templates aligned to GHG Protocol and BRSR , TCFD formats
All incoming data is mapped to a standardised schema. Think of it as translating ten different dialects into one ESG language.
Q. Can you explain how the platform uses AI to verify data accuracy and minimise reporting errors or greenwashing risks?
A. This is where Snowkap AI really shows up. We run:
- Anomaly detection algorithms to flag data inconsistencies (e.g., emission factors that don’t match activity levels)
- Cross-validation rules between reported and derived data
- Peer benchmarking tools that compare supplier inputs with industry averages
And when something doesn’t add up, the system flags it not just to the buyer but to the supplier as well, enabling real-time correction.
So, it’s not just automation, its automated integrity.
Q. How is the platform aligned with global frameworks like BRSR Core, GHG Protocol, and ISO standards?
A. We’ve embedded these standards at the data model level.
- Every metric in our system is tagged to the GHG Protocol categories (Scope 1-3).
- Our BRSR Core module, GRI, CSRD frameworks are dynamic so when SEBI or other agencies updates the requirements, our templates adapt overnight.
- We also allow ISO-aligned document uploads, and audit trails are maintained for all entries.
Think of it as an ESG cockpit that’s compliance-ready by design, not by post-processing.
Q. What role does Snowkap play in helping companies measure Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions with speed and accuracy?
A. Most companies struggle with Scope 3 not because they don’t want to measure, but because the data lies with someone else.
Snowkap bridges this by:
- Enabling supplier-side primary data capture
- Using sector/ region -specific emissions factors for estimation when needed
- And allowing real-time tracking across categories like purchased goods, logistics, employee commute, etc.
Our backend AI learns with every dataset, improving both granularity and forecasting.
Q. You’ve mentioned a 70% reduction in ESG disclosure preparation time and 10x faster reporting cycles. How is this achieved in practical terms?
A. We replaced months of back-and-forth emails, manual consolidation, and offline validation with:
- Live data dashboards for real-time visibility
- Auto-filled BRSR and GHG templates
- A collaborative audit log that keeps supplier clarifications, document trails, and commentary in one place
In short, what took quarters, now takes weeks and that’s not just productivity, it’s peace of mind.
Q. How does Snowkap ensure that its output is always audit-ready and trusted by regulators or investors?
A. We’ve built trust into the product architecture.
- Every data point has a source document, a timestamp, and a validation status
- Our platform maintains a digital audit trail, exportable in formats requested by Big 4 auditors
- We also allow for limited-time third-party access so external reviewers or agencies can view the exact data used in disclosures
Nothing’s hidden, nothing’s retrofitted. It's transparency by default.
Q. With India’s exports facing increasing carbon-related trade regulations, how is Snowkap helping exporters maintain competitiveness and compliance?
A. Exporters are under pressure from CBAM in the EU to product-level EPR mandates elsewhere. For many, carbon is the new currency of trade.
We help by:
- Giving exporters a SKU-level carbon footprint
- Mapping country-specific regulations and aligning disclosures accordingly
- Generating supplier compliance scorecards they can use to prioritise low-risk partners
In many cases, we're not just enabling compliance we're turning ESG into a competitive advantage that is your global passport.
Q. Can you share how your collaborations with current clients or partners have enhanced the platform’s performance or expanded its impact?
A. Absolutely. Much of our product roadmap has been co-built with clients.
For example:
- A beauty and wellness client helped us build category-specific Scope 3 modules (like packaging and upstream and downstream )
- With global automotive giant, we designed a simplified onboarding for Tier 3 suppliers laced with vernacular support
- Through our partnerships with global assurance firms, we’ve created an audit ready data traceability module that’s now standard across clients
It’s this ecosystem-first mindset that has made Snowkap not just a tool, but a trusted ESG infrastructure partner.
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