What you need to know:

• Former fractional CMO, Taz Bareham, has taken up a permanent role as the first c-suite marketing chief for Australia SaaS scale-up, Fair Supply.
• The ESG compliance solutions provider, co-founded by a human rights lawyer and a mathematician / supply chain expert has reportedly garnered $12m-plus in investments for its product suite, designed to help with use cases such as climate disclosure, modern slavery and broader ESG risk management and compliance.
• Bareham says regulatory backlash fears, along with growing global hostility towards sustainability, has made companies less vocal about ESG practices.
• But it hasn’t reduced any opportunity for Fair Supply nor has it changed the way she sees the business going to market. Per Bareham: “Among sophisticated enterprise buyers, it’s not a retreat from ESG; it’s a demand for rigour, transparency, and evidence”. 

Regulatory backlash fear, along with growing global hostility towards sustainability practices, have hushed ESG language across corporate Australia over the last 18 months. But none of it has dampened the market opportunity for homegrown ESG solutions scale-up, Fair Supply, claims its first full-time CMO, Taz Bareham. Instead, she reckons ramped-up pressure around ESG accountability is “filtering out the noise” and not only sharpening the company’s positioning, but deepening use cases.

Bareham, a former fractional CMO who has been consulting into sustainability compliance solutions provider, Fair Supply since January, officially commenced as its first full-time c-suite marketing chief last week. The Australian scale-up, founded in 2019 by human rights lawyer, Kimberly Randle, and mathematician / supply chain academic, Dr Arne Geschke, has been dubbed ‘Google for ESG’ for its Spotlight product, a SaaS-based solution designed to automate environment, social and governance (ESG) compliance.

Fair Supply has reportedly raised more than $12 million in funding to date, gathering the backing of notable investors such as Five V Capital, Airtree Ventures and QIC. Clients include Hesta, Ramsay Health Care, Lorna Jane, Rio Tinto, Stockland, QIC and Australian Super.

“After working with Fair Supply in a fractional capacity, it became clear that the company’s mission, pace, and calibre of talent were not just aligned with my values – they were energising,” Bareham tells Mi3. “I worked with a very different client in the sustainability space last year, and it whet my appetite for working with more purpose-led companies driving deep, meaningful impact. Fair Supply isn’t just tackling ESG challenges; it’s redefining how data can illuminate hidden risk and opportunity in global supply chains, which is pretty mind-blowing.”

Fair Supply’s expansion comes at a time when Australia is ushering in the next tranche of legislation requiring companies to report on their greenhouse gas emissions contribution – both directly and indirectly through the supply chain. From 1 July 2024, Australia’s largest organisations and financial institutions became subject to mandatory climate reporting laws requiring them to disclose information relating to carbon emissions governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and reduction targets. The rules begin trickling down to companies with over $200m from 1 July 2026, then from 2027 to companies with two of the following: More than $50 million in consolidated revenue; at least $25m in gross assets; at least 100 employees.

In the first year, reporting is restricted to Scope 1 and Scope 2 – direct emissions generated by the business. But from year two, reporting conditions also require companies to disclose Scope 3 emissions – those occurring up and down a company’s supply chain. In fact, Scope 3 are estimated to account for up to 98 per cent of a company’s total emissions.

ESG backlash versus go-to-market opportunity

Yet acting almost as a counterpoint to this, there’s been clear, growing global backlash against ESG policies and practices over the past 12–18 months, largely fuelled by political and ideological forces. President Trump’s war on sustainability and diversity has seen sustainability policies for jettisoned by many companies - Microsoft, Unilever, Kraft Heinz, Coca Cola and Shell – to name a few. Bloomberg Green also found mentions of sustainability related terms in S&P company earnings calls were down 76 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 versus three years earlier.

“The US has been the most vocal, with several states pushing ‘anti-ESG’ agendas, claiming ESG initiatives undermine shareholder value or promote ‘woke capitalism’,” Bareham agrees. “In response, some institutional investors have softened or rebranded their ESG language, even as the underlying risk practices remain unchanged.”

In Australia, ASIC crackdowns on greenwashing, which included handing down Vanguard a record $12.9 million fine for making misleading ESG claims late last year, have further escalated fears of retaliation. AANA CEO, Josh Faulks for example, told Mi3 he believed fear of backlash over sustainability claims had driven large financial services companies to strip all mention of environmental progress from their websites for fear of retribution when launching the group’s updated environment claims code.

Just last week, EnergyAustralia was in front of the Federal Court facing allegations of breaching Australian consumer law through its ‘carbon neutral’ marketing claims. It’s the first case brought against an energy retailer. The case has now settled out of court.

But none of this takes away the opportunity nor impacts the go-to-market approach Fair Supply is pursuing, according to Bareham.

“Naturally, this has created greater caution in how companies speak about ESG. But what we’re really seeing is a shift from slogans to substance, particularly in response to increased regulatory scrutiny, including ASIC’s stance on greenwashing,” she says. “Among sophisticated enterprise buyers, it’s not a retreat from ESG; it’s a demand for rigour, transparency, and evidence.”

With ESG moving from aspiration to accountability, Bareham sees Fair Supply is operating “at the intersection of regulatory urgency and commercial opportunity”.

“Solutions must now stand up to scrutiny not only from regulators, but also from boards, investors, and auditors,” she continues. “So yes, we’ve [Fair Supply] have thought carefully about how we enter the conversation, but it hasn’t required a change in direction. If anything, it’s sharpened our positioning and deepened the opportunity.”

Randle echoed this sentiment in a staff memo this week, sighted by Mi3, on the eve of launching its latest product, Analyst. The due diligence tool is designed for supplier-specific risk analysis and extended supply chain visibility, combining supplier-specific ESG risk signals with macroeconomic supply chain exposure. 

"I believe more than ever before that we are in the right place at the right time to finish what we have started," the co-founder stated in the memo. "Climate and human rights risks are now business risks. The CDP projects $1.3 trillion in annual losses by 2026 from climate-related supply chain disruption. Forced labour alone generates $236 billion annually in illicit profits and companies are paying the price when they are exposed."

What's more, procurement teams are on the frontlines and ESG reporting and compliance are increasingly being pushed to procurement, Randle continued. Fair Supply takes the view that every ESG risk is ultimately a supply chain risk. The products are positioned as being grounded in scientific, peer-reviewed methods, using trusted global datasets such as the Global Slavery Index and economic activity data to trace environmental and social risk through a company’s supply chain up to 10 layers deep.  

"Yet most lack the tools, data, and training to assess modern slavery, emissions, or biodiversity risk. That creates both a massive problem and a massive market opportunity," commented Randle.

From the EU’s CSDDD and CSRD to Australia’s Modern Slavery Act and Climate Related Financial Disclosure Regime, Australia’s own legislative reforms, transparency obligations are cascading through supply chains, whether a supplier is reporting or not, said Randle. "Supply chain resilience has become a strategic imperative. What used to be seen as a back office function is now a boardroom priority, driven by climate shocks, geopolitical risks, and stakeholder pressure," she said. "In short, the world is catching up to the problem we set out to solve."

Cutting through the noise

The job for the new CMO is to communicate this clearly, convincingly and consistently to the right audience at the right time, at scale. In Bareham's view, the pressure on ESG programs is filtering out the noise and creating space for companies like ours that prioritise rigour over rhetoric. 

"In that context, we’re seeing sustained demand, particularly from industries exposed to supply chain disruption, human rights obligations, and climate reporting mandates," she told Mi3. “Because we deliver hard data and defensible insights that help organisations meet regulatory requirements and manage the broader implications of risk – reputation, operational continuity, stakeholder trust – we see no need to change tack. On the contrary: This is a moment to be even clearer in our go-to-market approach. Our focus is on operationalising ESG in a way that is material, auditable, and commercially relevant.”

CMO priority list

Having been in there since January in a fractional capacity, Bareham has already been leading Fair Supply’s repositioning, working collaboratively with recently installed head of sales, Natasha Dunn, building marketing foundations from the ground up including hiring two new team members, and preparing for the launch of the company’s procurement due diligence product, Fair Supply Analyst.

“We’ve clarified our ICP, refined messaging, and elevated our narrative from annual compliance and reporting to proactive strategic business enablement,” Bareham says.

She sums up her first 90-day plan as CMO under four key pillars: Focus the narrative; demand engine foundations; team + talent; and category building to position Fair Supply as the authoritative voice in building sustainable, resilient supply chains – “not just a participant in the conversation, but shaping it”.

Maturing the approach to pipeline generation, strengthening the ever-important alignment between marketing and sales, and laying the foundations for international growth, starting with Canada, have also been on the priority list.

“In true ‘startup/scale-up’ fashion, we’re doing a lot of things at once, which at times can feel like running in quicksand. But it’s not the first time for Natasha or me, so there’s a level of comfort with discomfort, and a sense of excitement and commitment from across the team, which is invigorating to be part of,” adds Bareham.

Shifting from fractional to full-time

It's a notable move for Bareham, who has spent several years as a fractional CMO and insists the lifestyle has “suited her perfectly” – until now, that is.

“The decision to go full-time for me came down to impact, belief and human connection. I saw the chance to help shape a category-defining company from the inside, and knew I wanted to be part of building something lasting, not just advising from the edge,” she comments, adding that a female co-founder in the SaaS space is still a relative rarity and also appealed.

“I’ve been working in B2B SaaS in Australia. While I’ve worked with many amazing leaders over the years, the bias of representation has definitely been towards men. I’ve learned a lot, but the opportunity to work in tech with a female co-founder, a predominantly female leadership team and predominantly female board is pretty special, and not something that comes along often.”

According to Bareham, one of the big lessons fractional work teaches you is to drive fast impact with limited context and resources.

“You learn to focus on what matters, challenge assumptions, and build lean systems that scale. It also sharpens your ability to align cross-functional stakeholders – because trust and clarity are your currency,” she comments.

“These are exactly the muscles needed in an early-stage, high-growth company where you’re still building the plane while trying to take off and fly it. As a fractional, you drive your own learning and need to continually upskill to stay relevant. You cannot rest on your laurels, or assume anyone else will make things happen for you. You learn to be self-sufficient. All of these are great attributes to bring to a company. And of course you are expected to be proficient in using AI – something I’ve invested time and money into, and a hugely valuable skill to bring into a small team running fast with big aspirations.”