Plan A Secures $3 Million to Advance ESG Reporting

Plan A, a Berlin-based SaaS startup focused on the B2B sector, has successfully raised $3 million in funding. This investment will be utilized to further develop its platform, which assists companies in measuring, tracking, decreasing, and reporting their environmental impact, ultimately enhancing their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings.

Investment Details and Market Opportunity

The funding round was spearheaded by French venture capital firm Demeter, with participation from German VC Coparion. SoftBank also joined as a strategic investor. The capital injection is earmarked for enhancing Plan A’s carbon emission and ESG management software, specifically for enterprise-level clients throughout Europe, and to facilitate international expansion.

Market projections estimate the emission management solutions sector to be worth between $10 billion and $26 billion within the next five years. Increasing pressure on businesses to manage their carbon emissions, driven by initiatives like the U.S. Green Deal and the new “EU taxonomy for sustainable activities,” is fueling the growth of platforms such as Plan A.

Competitive Landscape

While companies like Emitwise (U.K., $3.4 million raised) and Watershed also operate in this space, Plan A differentiates itself through its continuous automation and monitoring capabilities regarding a company’s carbon output. This ongoing assessment provides a more comprehensive solution.

Established Customer Base

Since its founding in 2017, Plan A has attracted a diverse clientele, including prominent organizations such as Société Générale, GANNI, AlbionVC, the BMW Foundation, BCG Digital Ventures, and the football club Werder Bremen.

Statements from Leadership

Lubomila Jordanova, co-founder and CEO of Plan A, stated that the company’s technology has enabled businesses to transform sustainability into a competitive advantage. She emphasized that the investment will allow for further refinement of their carbon and ESG management platform to meet the evolving needs of enterprises globally.

Olivier Bordelanne, partner at Demeter, highlighted the strong demand for B2B monitoring services and data-driven insights into companies’ sustainability indicators and climate risk exposures. He noted that Plan A distinguished itself as a comprehensive solution for businesses seeking to calculate, monitor, and reduce their carbon footprint through mitigation and offsetting strategies.

Alexander Lüttge, partner at Coparion, added that Plan A provides an easily integrated and user-friendly SaaS solution for carbon footprint transparency, mitigation, and offsetting. He believes their solution is the most versatile for automated emissions data collection, creating transparency in both emission and cost structures, and delivering significant value through automated business process optimization.

Differentiating Factors and Ongoing Support

Jordanova explained that many competitors focus on one-time carbon footprint calculations, followed by offsetting and certificate issuance, without providing ongoing support for reduction efforts. “We provide all of those services,” she clarified, “but also empower companies to reduce their carbon footprint and integrate sustainability into their operations continuously.”

Benefiting from Regulatory Shifts

Plan A is well-positioned to capitalize on evolving regulatory landscapes. Recent shifts in policy from both the U.S. administration and the EU are demanding increased transparency in emissions reporting. For example, over 90 banks in the Netherlands have committed to greater transparency regarding CO2 emissions. Furthermore, capital is increasingly being redirected from fossil fuels towards ESG investments, requiring companies to demonstrate their emissions reductions to access this funding.