With COP26 underway, SoftBank-backed greentech startup Plan A raises €8.6M

Greentech startup Plan A has closed its Series A funding round, raising $10M (nearly €8.6M) in the process. The German company offers a software solution that helps businesses monitor and reduce their emissions. For the past decade, there was a major fight to raise funds for the greentech companies but the situation is changing with a boom in green investing. With this new wave of funding in the greentech space, more companies are going from a lab idea to a market-ready solution.

HV Capital and Keen Venture Partners lead the Series A funding round

Plan A’s $10M Series A funding round was led by HV Capital, which was joined by Netherlands-based Keen Venture Partners. During this funding round, existing investors French VC Demeter and German VC Coparion doubled down on their seed investment. Back in March, SoftBank had joined Demeter and Coparion as a strategic investor in the company.

With the new investment, Plan A aims to further develop its platform and expand internationally. The Berlin-based automated SaaS B2B startup is planning to open offices in London, Munich, Paris and other international hubs. It aims to become a fully global company in the next three years while the local teams continue to grow exponentially.

Lubomila Jordanova, co-founder and CEO of Plan A, says: “I am incredibly happy to bring HV Capital and Keen Venture Partners onboard the Plan A journey, given their stellar track record. Since the launch of Plan A, we have worked hard on making corporate sustainability a must-have attribute for any business, which wasn’t a given some years ago. Now that the awareness is high and the regulatory system defined, we are firm that our advanced and automated software can support any business to quickly achieve tangible results on decarbonisation and reporting that go beyond simple carbon compensation.”

Plan A to launch an ESG tool

Founded in 2017, Plan A already has international clients such as BMW, Société Générale, JOKR, Apax, and the European Union. These clients already use and rely on Plan A’s software for complex carbon accounting and ESG measurement and improvement. In order to help companies meet their ever-increasing societal and regulatory pressures, Plan A plans to further deepen its SaaS platform’s calculation engine and machine learning capabilities.

It will expand the decarbonisation tool and Scope 3 calculations for various industries. Plan is also launching an ESG tool for measuring, analysing and reporting to address all existing and upcoming regulations. This will join Plan A’s existing software functionalities that enable detailed corporate carbon footprint accounting and AI-driven decarbonisation planning.

Plan A’s customers not only rely on its SaaS solution but also count on the company’s scientific roots and carbon accounting team consisting of international scientists, researchers, and experts in emissions accounting, carbon reduction, sustainability and lifecycle analysis. The market for emission management solutions is estimated to reach between $10B and $26B in the next five years. With the Green Deal in the US and EU’s taxonomy for sustainable activities, businesses are under pressure to manage their carbon emissions and turning to platforms like Plan A.

“We are delighted to support Plan A to solidify its leadership position in the rapidly expanding carbon and ESG reporting market. HV Capital invests in talented entrepreneurial teams and platforms that build scalable products, with a proven go-to-market and a strong drive to positively change the world. After a thorough review, we believe Plan A is best-positioned to export its offerings globally and enable decarbonisation at a scientifically impactful scale,” said Alexander Joël-Carbonell, Partner at HV Capital.

Briehan Burke, Principal at Keen Venture Partners, says: “Now more than ever, corporations need to manage their companies sustainably and report on their climate impact. They often have nowhere to turn for accurate and enterprise-ready help. Plan A’s advanced data processing approach uniquely positions them to succeed and is a win-win for corporates and the planet alike.”