“Materiality is a concept that defines why and how certain issues are important for a company or a business sector. A material issue can have a major impact on the financial, economic, reputational, and legal aspects of a company, as well as on the system of internal and external stakeholders of that company.” Datamaran, Materiality Definitions: The Ultimate Guide
Every startup operates in a different ecosystem — fintech, health tech, supply chains, AI, and more. And each of those comes with its own sustainability risks, expectations, and opportunities.
This page helps you understand what topics tend to matter most in your sector, so you can spot risks early, avoid blind spots, and build smarter.
You don’t need to solve everything. But knowing what might matter gives you a head start with customers, regulators, and investors.
Use this as a reference tool to validate your own priorities, or explore what issues typically show up in your space. This map is most useful after you’ve worked through the 5 sustainability levers (in toolkit section: “From understanding to action”) or your own internal strategy mapping.
💡 This map doesn’t tell you what’s urgent, it tells you what’s likely to matter based on your sector and model. The closer you align it with your business model and stakeholder goals, the more valuable it becomes.
The Antler sustainability priority map highlights high-priority ESG areas by industry — simplified from the SASB materiality map.
If you're leading ESG at your firm or want to explore portfolio-level themes, check out the VentureESG materiality tools below: