Barclays has announced a new collaboration with UK-based climate technology company ExpectAI, aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises use sustainability data and artificial intelligence to improve profitability, productivity, and competitiveness. The partnership reflects a growing shift in how banks and technology providers approach sustainability for smaller businesses. Rather than treating climate action as a compliance burden, the initiative is designed to demonstrate how data-driven sustainability insights can directly support commercial performance and cost reduction.

Using AI to Link Emissions, Efficiency, and Business Performance

Founded in 2021, London-based ExpectAI develops AI-powered tools that combine public data and machine learning to help SMEs understand their carbon footprint and identify practical opportunities to reduce emissions while improving operational efficiency. The company recently launched Una, its first commercial platform. Una provides businesses with an automated view of their emissions profile alongside a tailored climate action plan. This includes energy-efficiency recommendations, insights into operational improvements, and connections to verified solution providers and potential funding partners to support implementation. ExpectAI’s approach is designed to lower the barriers that often prevent SMEs from engaging with sustainability. Many smaller firms lack in-house expertise, time, or capital to assess emissions data or identify credible actions. By automating analysis and linking insights directly to cost-saving measures, the platform aims to make sustainability both accessible and commercially relevant. The company is chaired by former bp CEO Bernard Looney, adding senior industry experience to its leadership team.

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Barclays to Pilot the Platform With UK Businesses

Under the collaboration, Barclays will begin testing the Una platform in early 2026. The bank will assess how the AI-based insights translate into real-world value for UK SMEs, including measurable improvements in productivity, energy efficiency, and overall competitiveness. The pilot will explore whether sustainability data, when presented in a practical and business-focused way, can support better decision-making across areas such as energy use, operations, and investment planning. Barclays said the initiative will also help evaluate how emerging climate technology can support its broader SME client base as sustainability expectations continue to evolve across supply chains and financial markets. Anand Verma, Founder and CEO of ExpectAI, said the partnership aligns closely with the company’s founding mission. He noted that ExpectAI was built to help SMEs become more profitable and productive while also reducing emissions, and that Barclays’ long-standing focus on small businesses makes it a natural partner for advancing that goal.

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Sustainability as a Growth Lever for SMEs

For Barclays, the collaboration fits within its wider sustainable and transition finance strategy, which increasingly emphasizes the role of technology in enabling practical climate action. The bank has highlighted that SMEs are central to the UK economy but often face disproportionate challenges in responding to sustainability pressures from regulators, customers, and larger corporate clients. Daniel Hanna, Group Head of Sustainable and Transition Finance at Barclays, said the bank sees AI platforms as an important tool in supporting sustainability-related decision-making. He added that the ambition of the initiative is twofold: to support the development of an emerging UK climate tech company, and to help business clients better understand how sustainability initiatives can drive value creation rather than simply add cost.

A Broader Shift in SME Sustainability Support

The Barclays and ExpectAI partnership reflects a broader trend in sustainable finance and climate technology. As large corporates and regulators increase expectations around emissions data and transition planning, pressure is cascading through supply chains to smaller firms. Rather than relying solely on reporting requirements or voluntary disclosures, banks and technology providers are increasingly focused on enabling SMEs to act. Tools that translate sustainability data into operational insights and financial outcomes are emerging as a critical bridge between climate goals and day-to-day business realities. If successful, the pilot could offer a blueprint for how financial institutions support SME decarbonization at scale. By combining banking relationships, AI-driven insights, and access to implementation partners, the model points toward a more integrated approach where sustainability becomes a driver of resilience and growth for smaller businesses, not a constraint.

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