Regulations, technological shifts and new demands from the financial sector have reshaped the energy market over the past two decades. Throughout that period, EG Mestro has held on to an idea as old as the product itself: good data should be easy to understand – and therefore able to drive real change. Product Manager Jesper Stenberg reflects on the forces that shaped EG Mestro’s journey, and the ones still guiding its direction.
A product built on a simple conviction
When Mestro was founded twenty years ago, there were no EU Taxonomies, no CSRD, and very few people talking about green finance. Energy data existed, of course, but it lived far from strategic decisions – tucked away in a corner of the organisation.
Today the same data informs credit assessments, valuations, sustainability strategies and board-level governance. This shift hasn’t come as a surprise to EG Mestro, but it wasn’t predicted either. Instead, it mirrors a mindset that has been part of the company from day one: curiosity about what data can enable when more people have access to it.
“We’ve never looked at data as something isolated,” says Product Manager Jesper Stenberg. “But we’ve also never assumed we had all the answers. Our work has always been to stay close to the market, understand how user needs evolve, and act on that.”
What began as a vision to make complex information clear has gradually become a way of working where data doesn’t just support reporting – it drives decisions.
From data points to insight: a focus that hasn’t shifted
The early years of EG Mestro were defined by intensive work on data collection and quality assurance. As digitalisation accelerated, it felt like a revolution to many, but for EG Mestro it became a deepened mandate.
“We realised early on that data needs to be understandable, not just accessible,” Jesper says. “And to make it understandable, we need to know the entire journey it takes: from the meter, through validation and calculation, to the final visualisation. Over time one thing has become clear: we couldn’t have refined the model without our users. Much of what we now take for granted – from how data should be presented to which trade-offs actually matter in daily work – has grown out of conversations with the people who use the platform every day. That’s where the logic is tested, challenged and shaped into something that works both technically and practically.”
This perspective has given EG Mestro a sharp focus: owning the chain from data collection to analysis. Not out of prestige, but necessity. As more functions started working with energy data – sustainability teams, finance departments, analysts and even CFOs – this became even more important.
“Data has to speak multiple languages,” Jesper says. “Our job has been to translate it.”
When legislation accelerated the development
Recent waves of regulation – CSRD, the EU Taxonomy, EED and EPBD – have made energy data part of the financial infrastructure. For EG Mestro, this accelerated a direction the company was already exploring, without implying that everything was obvious from the start.
“It confirmed that the things we’ve spent years on – data quality, methodology, transparency – are now universal concerns,” Jesper says. “That pushed us to go even deeper.”
This meant higher resolution data, more frequent error checks, automated validation and detailed documentation of every calculation. At the same time, more stakeholders wanted to understand how the numbers connect: banks, investors, certifiers and regulators.
“We see that data has moved into boardrooms,” Jesper says. “That means we need to stand behind every decimal.”
Primary energy figures: when the details matter
One of the most meaningful steps in EG Mestro’s evolution has been the development of its calculated primary energy figure – a metric that connects measured data, regulations and energy classes, moving data from tracking to true understanding.
“The primary energy figure helps customers see their building in a new way,” Jesper explains. “It shows not only what has happened, but what is needed to move forward.”
The work behind it has strengthened EG Mestro’s belief that complex calculations must be paired with clarity. For many customers it has become a bridge between technology and strategy – a single number that explains a complicated reality.
User experience as method – and as a requirement for real value
For EG Mestro, user experience has never been a cosmetic layer. It is the condition for the product to have impact. No calculation, however accurate, creates value unless it is used. That is why UX has been one of the defining elements of the product’s development.
“A visualisation only matters if it helps someone take the next step,” Jesper says. “If the interface prevents you from using the data, the underlying logic doesn’t matter.”
Over twenty years, EG Mestro has seen the audience for energy data expand. Technicians, sustainability managers, finance teams, boards and analysts now work with the same numbers but with completely different needs. This has raised new demands on how information is presented, which concepts are used and how quickly someone can understand what actually matters.
Owning the entire chain – from raw data to presentation – has made it possible to adapt the experience over time. As data becomes more advanced, the interface must become more intuitive. As regulation grows more complex, users need guidance to navigate it. And as more functions engage, the language of the platform has to meet them where they are.
“It’s simple, really,” Jesper says. “If the product isn’t used, the value doesn’t show. UX is the bridge between all the calculations we’ve built and the moment someone makes a better decision.”
A role that evolved as quickly as the product
Looking back, Jesper describes how the product has grown into new roles – and how his own role has expanded alongside it. Asked how the product manager role has changed during EG Mestro’s twenty years, he laughs.
“It’s hard to describe how much time we’ve spent trying to understand what the real need is,” he says. “Because it has shifted just as fast as the product.”
EG Mestro has moved from a tool mainly for technical teams to a central component in sustainability strategies, financial discussions, reporting and governance. This has required a product manager who can read market signals, speak to users in entirely different functions and translate those insights into the next development steps.
“The challenge isn’t the technology,” he says. “It’s keeping up with how our customers’ everyday work is changing – and giving them something that genuinely helps.”
The more EG Mestro has been used by different roles, the more important responsiveness has become. The product manager role has moved from roadmap administration to analytical work where the product’s direction is constantly tested against a shifting market.
The pillars shaping the future – and what must never change
Looking ahead, Jesper sees three areas that will continue to guide the product: deeper investment in data quality, broader accessibility for diverse users and a credibility that holds even as regulation becomes more demanding.
Underneath these pillars is something more fundamental: an idea that has remained intact for twenty years.
“Technology will change, regulations will change, user expectations will change,” Jesper says. “But our job stays the same: help people understand their reality – and give them the confidence to improve it.”
In the end, it isn’t EG Mestro’s map that sets the direction, but the customer’s compass. It is in that meeting – where openness and curiosity shape the conversation – that the next steps take form.
