Smart sustainability powered by AI
AOE and GREENZERO have created a platform that redefines ecological intelligence. Powered by a multi-agent system and an AI Canvas.
Challenge:
GREENZERO wanted to make corporate sustainability scientifically precise yet practically manageable. The key challenge was handling and interpreting vast, heterogeneous environmental data across thousands of products – while keeping the interface simple and intuitive for non-experts.
Outcome:
AOE developed a scalable AI-driven multi-agent platform with an innovative AI Canvas interface, automating complex sustainability analyses and enabling intuitive human–AI collaboration.
Outcomes
To realize its vision of an AI-powered sustainability platform, GREENZERO sought a partner combining scientific depth, technological excellence, and agile implementation skills. The choice fell on AOE – recognized for expertise in artificial intelligence, data-driven platform architectures, and UX design, combined with a collaborative, flexible working approach.
AOE impressed with experience in developing complex, scalable systems and the ability to respond quickly to new insights and requirements in interdisciplinary teams. The partnership was defined by co-creation, openness, and shared learning – fostering both technical innovation and cultural evolution.
The result: a system uniting scientific accuracy, AI-driven automation, and user-centered design – and an example of how agile product development can accelerate sustainable transformation.
Intro
GREENZERO – AI as an Engine for Measurable Sustainability
GREENZERO represents a new understanding of sustainability – data-driven, scientifically grounded, and technologically scalable. The company pursues a clear goal: the "green zero" – living and operating with a balanced ecological footprint. Founded by Dirk Gratzel, the first person in the world to calculate his full ecological footprint, GREENZERO now brings this pioneering spirit to companies and organizations.
Its mission: to make sustainability measurable, manageable, and economically integrated into corporate action.
To achieve this, GREENZERO combines scientific life-cycle assessment (LCA) according to international ISO standards (14040/44) with cutting-edge AI-based data analysis. The system measures environmental impacts far beyond the traditional CO₂ footprint – including water use, land use, eutrophication, ozone depletion, and ecotoxicity – and converts them into comparable environmental costs (€).
This creates a precise digital model of ecological relationships, enabling companies to identify hotspots in product portfolios, implement reduction strategies, and offset remaining impacts through local reforestation.
To realize its vision of an AI-powered sustainability platform, GREENZERO sought a partner combining scientific depth, technological excellence, and agile implementation skills. The choice fell on AOE – recognized for expertise in artificial intelligence, data-driven platform architectures, and UX design, combined with a collaborative, flexible working approach.
AOE impressed with experience in developing complex, scalable systems and the ability to respond quickly to new insights and requirements in interdisciplinary teams. The partnership was defined by co-creation, openness, and shared learning – fostering both technical innovation and cultural evolution.
The result: a system uniting scientific accuracy, AI-driven automation, and user-centered design – and an example of how agile product development can accelerate sustainable transformation.
Challenge
GREENZERO’s vision was to make sustainability not only measurable but also actionable for companies.
To achieve this, environmental impacts far beyond CO₂ had to be automatically captured, analyzed, and visualized. The goal: a system translating complex scientific calculations into intuitive, actionable insights while enabling flexible AI-driven interaction.
The main challenge: a massive and diverse data base covering thousands of products with different raw materials, supply chains, and manufacturing processes.
Manual processing or updating was nearly impossible. At the same time, the platform had to offer an intuitive, accessible interface – even for non-experts.
Moreover, the system needed to process heterogeneous data sources dynamically and detect patterns autonomously – for instance, in calculating environmental impacts or identifying missing product data.
To address this, a novel AI-based multi-agent approach was developed, where specialized agents handled tasks such as data collection, validation, and hypothesis formation.
User experience was another key focus: despite scientific complexity, the interface had to be clear, dialog-driven, and easy to use.
The AI Canvas, a combined chat and dashboard interface, introduced a new interaction mode that allowed users to collaborate with the AI like a team member – bridging scientific analysis, AI intelligence, and human decision-making.
Solution
In close collaboration with GREENZERO’s development team, AOE built an AI-based multi-agent system that automates complex analysis and evaluation processes.
Several specialized agents work in parallel to interpret data, calculate environmental impacts, and derive optimization recommendations.
A supervising agent oversees and consolidates results into a coherent overall picture.
The centerpiece of the solution is the AI Canvas – an innovative user interface combining manual input and AI-driven automation.
Through a chat sidebar, users can directly interact with the AI, while the right side displays real-time results, visualizations, and recommendations.
This enables efficient handling and analysis of large datasets – such as thousands of product records.
Developed using modern web technologies in an agile co-creation model, UX and accessibility were integral from the start.
Based on scientific models (ISO 14040/44), the system translates complex environmental impacts into understandable metrics – for example, monetary values (€) that make product footprints tangible.
The result: a platform combining scientific precision, AI intelligence, and user-centered design – a technological milestone for AOE that merges AI, sustainability, and UX in a single end-to-end solution.
Quotes
Our vision has always been to make sustainability data-driven and scalable. Together with AOE, we succeeded in developing an AI system that turns this idea into reality – transparent, precise, and future-proof. With GREENZERO, we are already delivering today what will be part of the digital product passport of tomorrow.
With GREENZERO, we realized a project that perfectly embodies our ambition to lead in the fields of AI and sustainability tech. It demonstrates how data-driven intelligence can make complex sustainability topics transparent and actionable – creating real value for both business and society.
.jpg)
GREENZERO has shown the courage to completely rethink their business with AI. The result is a showcase platform for the age of artificial intelligence – an impressive example of how humans and AI can create value together in a multi-agent system.
This project was far more than a technical endeavor for us – it was truly a passion project. Together with GREENZERO, we experienced how sustainable thinking and modern AI technology can merge into something entirely new. It was precisely this close collaboration, the joint experimentation and co-creation, that made the project so special and value-creating.
Business benefits
Management Summary
By developing an AI-powered sustainability system for GREENZERO, AOE demonstrated how AI, UX design, and sustainability science can merge into a forward-looking digital product.
Scientific precision, technological innovation, and pragmatic implementation combined to create a new class of digital sustainability solutions.
The multi-agent concept and AI Canvas establish a new quality of human–machine interaction: complex ecological data become intuitively visualized, and AI-generated recommendations are understandable and actionable.
This turns abstract data into concrete decision intelligence – a key step toward data-driven sustainable business management.
The project stands as one of AOE’s AI flagship initiatives, exemplifying how technological excellence can meet societal relevance.
Through agile co-creation, interdisciplinary teamwork, and deep tech expertise, complex topics like sustainability can be implemented data-driven, flexible, and user-focused.
GREENZERO is already using the system operationally. Future plans include additional data sources, advanced analytics, and automated reporting modules – aiming to make sustainability not only measurable but strategically manageable.
Thus, this project is a pioneering example of AI-driven sustainability in practice – and a milestone for AOE in establishing artificial intelligence as a cornerstone of sustainable value creation.
We'd love to hear from you
Our experts take a deep dive into your case to understand your requirements, assess your infrastructure alongside your IT team, and develop tailored solutions. With our knowledge and expertise, we enhance your team’s skill set - driving speed and efficiency. Ready to take it to the next level?
