Berlin-based carbon accounting startup Plan A said on Wednesday that it had raised a $10m Series A, just half a year after raising a seed round. That makes it the second best-capitalised European company building such a technology, according to Dealroom data. 

The round was co-led by HV Capital and Keen Venture Partners. Previous investors Demeter IM and coparion also participated; SoftBank, which participated in the previous round, did not take part though the company confirmed they were still on the cap table. 

“We have experienced a brutal acceleration of the market we operate in,” chief executive Lubomila Jordanova says.  “With the confluence of the pandemic (and its slowing down), the evolution of financial and non-financial reporting frameworks and the acceleration of the carbon and ESG accounting market, we have seen an opportunity to seize and a necessity to accelerate our growth.”

“We have experienced a brutal acceleration of the market we operate in”

Plan A is one of many startups building on the back of increased demand from corporates seeking to track, report and ultimately reduce their carbon emissions. Notable funding rounds in Europe this year include a $7.8m raise by Sylvera, a startup that vets carbon offsetting solutions, a $5m funding injection for French carbon-tracking startup Sweep, and UK carbon measurement and removal platform Supercritical’s $2.75m round, led by LocalGlobe. 

The best capitalised European company in the same sector is France-based EcoVadis, which provides sustainability and ESG ratings, according to Sifted analysis and Dealroom data. 

Plan A sells its carbon footprint tracking and ESG monitoring software to enterprise customers. Its clients range from big corporates like BMW and Société Générale to fast-growing startups like on-demand grocery startup JOKR. Plan A says that it will use the capital to improve its software offering. 

“Our plan is to become a fully global company in the next two to three years,” says Jordanova. “We support companies that operate in multiple countries and that need a great level of service and accuracy for each of their markets. We plan on opening antennas promptly to support this goal. Opening a new office in London is our next step, and we will keep expanding from there.”

Plan A also helped found the Greentech Alliance in 2020, an alliance of greentech companies, advisors and partner organisations.

Eleanor Warnock is Sifted’s commissioning editor. She tweets from @misssaxbys