Sustainability data is everywhere, but making sense of it is another challenge. Kelly Ruigrok founded GSES to bring fragmented standards, certifications and sustainability information together in one clear system, helping organisations understand, compare and improve their sustainability performance.

Kelly’s journey did not start with a perfect network, formal qualifications or a clear roadmap. As a single mother with limited resources, she experienced first-hand how difficult it was to navigate unreliable sustainability scores and greenwashing. That frustration pushed her to begin developing sustainability standards in 2017 and eventually launch GSES.

5 Founder Facts.

1. ONE LANGUAGE FOR SUSTAINABILITY.

GSES solves fragmented sustainability data by providing one verified, clear language for all stakeholders.

The platform is designed to make complex sustainability information easier to understand, compare and use, helping organisations turn data into practical action.

2. MORE THAN 500 CERTIFICATIONS.

GSES brings together over 500 global certifications into one universal scorecard and operates in more than 110 countries.

By bringing different standards and certifications into one framework, GSES aims to make sustainability performance easier to benchmark across organisations and markets.

3. BUILDING WITHOUT THE PERFECT START.

Kelly built GSES despite having no formal diplomas, starting out as a single mother with little network or resources.

It’s not hard what I’m doing, it’s just hard to stick with it.

Kelly Ruigrok, Founder & CEO of GSES.

4. FROM STANDARDS TO SCALE.

Kelly began developing sustainability standards in 2017, founded the company in 2019 and raised a multi-million investment in 2022.

What started with the development of sustainability standards grew into a platform with international ambitions and the backing to scale further.

5. BUILDING A GLOBAL STANDARD.

GSES aims to become the global standard for transparent, trusted and comparable sustainability data worldwide.

The ambition goes beyond helping individual organisations. GSES wants to create a common, trusted framework that can support better sustainability decisions globally.

Beyond the five facts.

Kelly’s founder story is not only about sustainability data. It is also about building something before the path is completely clear. She entered entrepreneurship without many of the things founders are often told they need first, and learned how to keep moving despite skepticism and uncertainty.

In the Founded. podcast, Kelly speaks openly about those harder parts of entrepreneurship. She talks about learning to sell something that did not fully exist yet, believing in a goal bigger than herself and continuing even when the journey was far from straightforward.