Gap 1
Fragmented information
Environmental, financial and regulatory data are dispersed across different sources, scales and systems.
- APA
- ICNF
- INE
- IPMA
- Copernicus
- EEA
- ENCORE
Transform environmental data into economic intelligence.
ECONODE integrates environmental, business and regulatory information to help companies understand their relationship with nature and translate environmental exposure into economic insight and better decisions.
The problem
Companies depend on nature, but struggle to turn that dependence into economic decisions.
Three gaps sit between environmental information and business decisions. Each one compounds the next.
Gap 2
Difficulty translating environmental data into business risk
Knowing that a company is exposed to water stress, biodiversity loss or flood risk does not reveal what that exposure means for its activity. The assessment requires combining:
Location + activity + dependencies + impacts + vulnerability
Gap 3
Lack of economic translation
Ultimately, companies need to be able to answer:
- How much could this dependency cost?
- How much could we lose if the risk materialises?
- How much does it cost to act today?
- What is the economic value of reducing this risk?
The ECONODE solution
A different way of looking at environmental risk.
ECONODE transforms environmental data into economic intelligence to support business decisions, through three core functions.
INTEGRATE
Environmental data + business data + regulatory information
ECONODE brings together information from different sources and relates it to each company's activity and location.
ANALYSE
Dependencies + impacts + risks + opportunities
ECONODE seeks to understand the relationship between business activity and natural capital.
VALUE
Nature → economic impact → decision
ECONODE translates environmental information into economic metrics that can support investment, risk management and strategy.
Our approach
Three steps, from the territory to the balance sheet.
Each assessment starts where the company operates and ends with figures that can inform a decision.
LOCATE
Contextualise the company through its location, activity and relationship with the territory.
ASSESS
Identify dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities related to nature.
QUANTIFY
Translate environmental exposure into risk indicators and economic metrics.
From territorial characterisation to economic decision-making.
Understand your relationship with nature.Quantify the implications.Make better decisions.
Why our approach
Companies do not simply operate in nature. They depend on it, affect it and are exposed to changes in it.
Water availability, soil, climate, biodiversity and the condition of the surrounding territory all shape how a business performs. Yet the information describing these conditions is produced by environmental agencies, statistical offices and scientific programmes, in formats designed for monitoring rather than for business decisions.
This creates a gap. Companies can access environmental data, but rarely see what it means for their own activity, their costs or their exposure to risk. ECONODE exists to close that gap by relating environmental information to the specific company, the place where it operates and the economic consequences for its business.
The chain of reasoning
Every step connects environmental information to the economic reality of the company.
- 01
Environmental data
Climate, water, biodiversity, land use and other indicators from public sources.
- 02
Company & location
The data is placed in the context of a specific site and economic activity.
- 03
Dependencies & impacts
What the activity relies on from nature, and how it affects it.
- 04
Risks & opportunities
Where exposure could affect operations, and where it could create value.
- 05
Economic implications
Exposure expressed through indicators and economic metrics.
- 06
Business decisions
Evidence that can inform investment, risk management and strategy.
The objective is not to produce another sustainability report. It is to connect environmental information with the economic reality of the company.
From data to decision
Six kinds of information, related to one company.
ECONODE brings these inputs together so the resulting analysis can support concrete business decisions.
What ECONODE brings together
- Environmental information
- Geographic information
- Business activity
- Regulatory information
- Economic information
- Nature-related dependencies and impacts
What the analysis is intended to support
- Investment decisions
- Risk management
- Strategic planning
- Resource management
- Sustainability strategy
Who it is for
Companies whose activity depends on nature or is exposed to environmental and territorial risk.
ECONODE's services are designed to meet the needs of organisations from SMEs to large companies, regardless of their sector or industry.
A growing need
Nature and environmental dependencies are progressively entering business management.
Available data
Portuguese, European and global sources make it possible to build a contextualised view of each company.
A decision gap
Environmental information still needs to be translated into risk, economic impact and decisions. In Portugal, we see room for solutions that integrate all three.
See how the model turns this reasoning into a structured assessment.
The ECONODE model
An analytical model, not just a dashboard.
The ECONODE platform is built around an analytical model that connects environmental information with company-specific economic implications. Dashboards and reports are how results are presented; the model is what produces them.
The model is organised in four stages. The first three structure the assessment. The fourth describes where the project is heading: from assessment towards decision support.
01
Locate
Contextualise the company in its territory.
- Geographical location
- Sector and activity
- Relationship with the territory
- Environmental context
Geographic context matters because environmental risks and natural capital are spatially dependent. The same activity can face very different water availability, climate hazards or biodiversity sensitivity depending on where it takes place.
02
Assess
Understand the relationship between the activity and nature.
- Dependencies on nature
- Environmental impacts
- Physical risks
- Transition and regulatory risks
- Potential opportunities
The conceptual framework of this stage is informed by established methodologies, including TNFD's LEAP approach, SBTN and Natural Capital approaches.
03
Quantify
Express exposure in terms a business can act on.
- Environmental indicators
- Risk indicators
- Company-specific metrics
- Economic implications
Environmental exposure→Business impact→Economic consequence
04
Decision
The long-term objective: moving from assessment towards decision support.
Assessment→Prioritisation→Action
The platform should eventually help companies understand:
- Where the relevant risks are
- Which dependencies matter most
- What actions could reduce exposure
- What the economic implications of those actions may be
Conceptual architecture
How information moves through the model.
A simplified view of the analytical architecture, from raw data to decision support.
- DATAEnvironmental + geographic + economic + regulatory
- PROCESSINGCleaning + validation + harmonisation
- MODELIndicators + normalisation + risk assessment
- INTELLIGENCEDependencies + impacts + risks + opportunities
- DECISION SUPPORTDashboards + analysis + reports + strategic insights
Methodological context
Frameworks that inform the project.
ECONODE has researched these frameworks and uses concepts associated with them to structure its approach.
Natural Capital Protocol
A framework for identifying, measuring and valuing an organisation's impacts and dependencies on natural capital.
TNFD / LEAP
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and its Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare approach to nature-related issues.
SBTN
The Science Based Targets Network, which provides guidance for companies setting targets for nature.
ESRS / CSRD
The European Sustainability Reporting Standards applied under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.
These frameworks are presented as methodological and regulatory context informing the project. They are not certifications, and ECONODE does not claim full compliance with them.
Our database
A data foundation built around the company and its territory.
ECONODE combines Portuguese, European and international sources to build a contextualised picture of the environmental, economic and territorial conditions surrounding a company.
The two layers work together: Portuguese institutional data characterises the local context, while European and international sources add complementary context, risk and biodiversity information, and methodological support.
Two layers, one infrastructure
Twelve sources, organised by what they describe.
Select a theme to see which sources contribute to it.
Portuguese sources
Local layerData specific to Portuguese territory, used to characterise the environmental, economic and territorial context of each company.
- APAAgência Portuguesa do AmbienteEnvironment, water, air, waste and environmental informationVisit
- IPMAInstituto Português do Mar e da AtmosferaClimate, meteorology and wildfire-related informationVisit
- INEInstituto Nacional de EstatísticaEconomic and territorial informationVisit
- ICNFInstituto da Conservação da Natureza e das FlorestasBiodiversity, forests and protected areasVisit
- DGTDireção-Geral do TerritórioLand use and cadastral informationVisit
- ERSAREntidade Reguladora dos Serviços de Águas e ResíduosWater and waste services, and service-efficiency informationVisit
European & international sources
Context layerContext, risk, projections and reference methodologies that complement the local layer.
- CopernicusEU Earth observation programmeClimate, land use and satellite dataVisit
- EEAEuropean Environment AgencyEuropean environmental indicatorsVisit
- WRI AqueductWorld Resources InstituteWater-related risk informationVisit
- GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information FacilityBiodiversity dataVisit
- Global Forest WatchWorld Resources Institute platformForest and wildfire-related informationVisit
- ENCOREExploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and ExposureNature-related dependencies and impacts across economic activitiesVisit
Data architecture
From public source to model input.
The database is not simply a collection of datasets. The goal is to structure and relate the information so that environmental indicators can eventually be associated with a company's location, activity and exposure.
- SOURCEPortuguese, European and international institutions
- RAW DATADatasets collected in their original formats and scales
- VALIDATIONChecks on consistency, coverage and quality
- PROCESSINGCleaning and harmonisation across sources
- DATABASEStructured, related information tied to territory
- MODELIndicators linked to location, activity and exposure
About us
An early-stage project, moving from proof of concept towards validation.
ECONODE — Natural Capital & Sustainability Advisory is being built by two co-founders who combine economics and computer engineering. The project is currently at the proof-of-concept stage.
This page sets out what has been done, where the project stands today and what comes next. The roadmap describes planned development, not capabilities that are already complete.
Our progress
What we have done, where we are, where we are going.
Concept & research
What we have done
- Defined the value proposition
- Structured the ECONODE architecture
- Mapped relevant data sources
- Researched Natural Capital methodologies
- Analysed TNFD, SBTN and ESRS
- Started developing the data infrastructure
Proof of concept · now
Where we are
- Building the environmental database
- Integrating and processing data sources
- Developing the first platform components
- Structuring the environmental risk assessment model
- Validating the economic approach
Validation & development
Where we are going
- Complete the data infrastructure
- Develop and test the assessment model
- Build initial use cases
- Validate the solution with companies
- Refine the business model
- Evolve from PoC to product
Development roadmap
Four stages from prototype to risk engine.
These stages describe the project's planned development. Only the first is currently under way.
- Current phase
Prototyping
Implementation and organisation of the database.
- Planned
1st Deliverable
Interactive dashboard demonstrating data relating to the local ecosystem.
- Planned
2nd Deliverable
Connect environmental data with the economic impact of natural capital on each company.
- Planned
3rd Deliverable: Risk Engine
An in-house model focused on measuring and eventually predicting risks that may influence client productivity over the short, medium and long term.
The team
The co-founders.
A note from the founders
“ECONODE is more than a business opportunity in an under-explored market. It is also our chance to make a difference on an increasingly over-exploited planet, facing a climate that is ever more extreme and unpredictable.”
João Rodrigues and João Luz
Contact