#16 Data with a Difference: Arbor’s Mission to Build Sustainable Smart Supply Chains

Let's dive into the Insight, Inspiration & Impact behind Arbor with Abdullah Choudhry

Follow & Support Arbor

• WSA Winning Year: 2020 & 2021

• Award: Young Innovators & The World Summit Award

• Category: Young Innovators in 2020 & Business & Commerce in 2021

• Founders: Danny Grande, Ben Grande, Alex Todorovic, Abdullah Choudhry

• Country: Canada

• On WSA website: https://wsa-global.org/winner/arbor/

Global supply chains often obscure the true environmental cost of products, but Arbor, a Calgary-based startup, is forging a path toward transparency and sustainability. Co-founded by Abdullah Choudhry, Alex Todorovic, Ben Grande, and Danny Grande, Arbor’s journey began not in a boardroom but in the vibrant, collaborative chaos of hackathons, driven by a shared passion for creating meaningful impact. Abdullah’s story, shared on the Edge of Impact podcast, is one of inspiration, sparking insight, and ultimately creating a company that redefines how businesses measure and manage their carbon footprints.

A Personal Journey Fuels a Global Vision

Abdullah Choudhry’s story is rooted in his childhood in a small manufacturing town in Pakistan, where the absence of basic infrastructure, such as reliable electricity, shaped his perspective. Growing up in the 1990s–2000s, he witnessed the environmental toll of industrialization: polluted rivers, rampant waterborne diseases, and factories that prioritized profit over people. These experiences instilled in him a deep desire to address systemic problems through engineering and innovation.

As an international student navigating the UK, US, and eventually Canada, Abdullah faced financial hurdles that forced him to think creatively. To fund his education, he ran side businesses, helping software companies deliver technical projects. This blend of engineering rigor and entrepreneurial hustle laid the groundwork for his future. When he arrived in Calgary in 2019 to pursue research at the University of Calgary, he was determined to merge his technical expertise with his drive to make a difference.

In Calgary’s vibrant entrepreneurial community, Abdullah met his co-founders: Alex, a Bosnian refugee with a knack for simplifying complex problems, and brothers Ben and Danny, computer scientists who built software for the joy of creation rather than financial gain. Together, they shared a vision of building something that was not just profitable but purposeful, guided by three core values: helping people, making money, and having fun.

The Spark of Arbor: Hackathons and a Commitment to Impact

Arbor’s origin story is as dynamic as its founders. The idea was born in 2020 at a local hackathon hosted by a Canadian bank, where the team placed third and won VR headsets. Just a week later, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their existing software services company, 99 Bits, forcing a pivot. With clients unable to pay and only a few months of runway, the team turned to a list of ideas they’d been nurturing. Arbor stood out, aligning perfectly with their values of creating impact, ensuring financial sustainability, and enjoying the process.

What set Arbor apart was its focus on addressing a critical gap in global supply chains: the lack of accurate, regionally relevant data to measure environmental impact. Abdullah’s frustration with outdated carbon emissions data, often based on decades-old assumptions, fueled the team’s mission. “I knew from Pakistan that the data didn’t reflect reality,” he explained, noting that factories and practices vary widely by region, yet global databases treated everything uniformly.

To test their idea, the team entered a Canada-wide Microsoft AI Hackathon, competing against 700 other teams. They set a bold goal to win first place, believing that only the best technology, business model, and impact could validate their vision. After three months of late nights and relentless iteration, they claimed the top spot, solidifying their belief in Arbor’s potential. This victory propelled them to compete globally at the WSA Young Innovators Board, where they continued to refine their approach.

Insight into Action: Building a Platform for Transparency

Arbor’s mission is to empower businesses with precise, actionable data to measure and reduce their environmental impact. Unlike traditional methods that rely on generic metrics or expensive consultants, Arbor’s platform uses machine learning and regional data to calculate carbon footprints with unprecedented accuracy. By focusing on mass- and weight-based inputs rather than spend-based estimates, Arbor fills data gaps with worst-case assumptions, incentivizing suppliers to provide more detailed information for better results.

Abdullah, as Chief Impact Officer, plays a unique role. Far from a traditional marketing position, he builds data models that ensure regional accuracy, reflecting his commitment to ground truth over vanity metrics. His perspective from Pakistan informs Arbor’s approach, ensuring the platform accounts for the nuances of global supply chains. “If you’re sitting in Europe or the US, you might use the same number for emissions, but that’s not how it works in Pakistan, India, or China,” he said.

Arbor’s customers, including Canada Goose, HP, and Swiss outdoor brand SCAR, use the platform for diverse purposes. Canada Goose prototypes designs to minimize CO2, HP builds digital product passports for laptops, and SCAR analyzes sub-components of products like bikes to optimize sustainability. Arbor’s self-serve system also makes its technology accessible to smaller businesses, ensuring that mom-and-pop shops can participate in the push for sustainability without paying thousands to consultants.

Values That Drive Success

Arbor’s rapid growth, closing their first major customer in a year and securing investment from a respected Calgary entrepreneur, stems from the team’s unwavering commitment to their values. The co-founders’ diverse backgrounds foster a culture where the best logic wins, free from ego. “We lay out the logic, and if someone brings a better idea, that’s what we do,” Abdullah said, emphasizing their collaborative approach. This openness extends to their 14-person team, many of whom are students or recent graduates who wear multiple hats and drive innovation.

The team’s dedication to execution is another key to their success. Weekly internal hackathons, dubbed “build days,” keep the spirit of rapid prototyping alive. “We show progress in weeks, not decades,” Abdullah noted, highlighting their relentless pace. This approach ensures that Arbor remains agile, constantly improving its platform to meet the needs of global markets.

Fun, one of Arbor’s core values, is more than a buzzword. It’s a commitment to enjoying the process, whether through late-night coding sessions or celebrating milestones like Halloween, a nod to Alex’s childhood memory of feeling rich with candy as a refugee in Canada. This joy fuels their resilience, enabling them to tackle complex challenges with optimism.

A Vision for Global Impact

Looking ahead, Arbor aims to expand its data coverage to include waste, water, and social metrics, all with the same rigor as its emissions calculations. Abdullah is particularly excited about empowering third-world manufacturers by providing tools to improve their practices and compete in global markets. By connecting retailers with sustainable suppliers and fostering transparency, Arbor bridges the gap between first-world demand and third-world supply.

Abdullah’s journey, from a small town in Pakistan to leading a global sustainability platform, underscores the power of inspiration to drive insight and impact. “I saw the problems firsthand,” he reflected, “and now we’re giving businesses the tools to make better decisions every day, not just at the end of the year.” With a team that thrives on collaboration, a platform that prioritizes truth, and a vision that spans the globe, Arbor is proving that meaningful change starts with a spark, growing through relentless execution.

To learn more about Arbor or explore their platform, visit their website or connect with Abdullah Choudhry on LinkedIn.

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