Environmental, social and governance technology startup Optera, officially known as Point380 Inc. said today it has closed on a $12 million early-stage funding round to grow its enterprise-focused ESG and carbon management platform.

The Series A round was led by Next Frontier Capital and saw the participation of Blackhorn Ventures, Mucker Capital, Overture, Engage, Massive, SaaS Ventures, Valo Ventures, AngelList and Stout Street Capital.

Optera has created a carbon management software platform that enterprises can use to track and reduce the climate impact of their business operations, global supply chains and products. Using its platform, companies can follow through on their commitments to sustainability and a clean environment.

Optera’s platform helps to track emissions associated with more than $180 billion in supply chain spend. It provides companies with insights and support on ways they can reduce their carbon emissions and reach their sustainability goals.

The startup reckons its platform is gaining traction because ESG is becoming a major concern for more organizations. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the European Union are both looking to establish new guidelines around climate disclosure, so businesses need a reliable platform to help them decarbonize and derisk their business operations and supply chains. Optera believes its platform is tailored to do exactly that.

According to co-founder and Chief Executive Tim Weiss, though the world’s biggest organizations are actively transitioning to a low-carbon economy, it remains questionable if they’ll be able to do so quickly enough to have a positive impact on global sustainability. “Optera’s platform enables global companies to quantify and manage their biggest sources of emissions with greater accuracy, confidence, and actionability,” he said. “We are proud to have Next Frontier Capital as a returning investor, who, along with new partners, will enable Optera to scale its solution at the rate necessary to support this global transition.”

Optera’s software platform

Analysts agree with the need for a reliable data collection platform to ensure compliance with new climate regulations. Doug Henschen of Constellation Research Inc. noted that the EU already has strict rules in place, and the U.S. is expected to announced long-delayed rules around ESG compliance in the fall. “Most public companies are already reporting, but they’re turning to data suppliers to better understand their carbon contributions and climate risks, as well as their labor and community practices,” he said. “Leaders aren’t just reporting, they’re systematically assessing their supply chains and business, manufacturing and distribution practices to drive toward aggressive net-zero goals and change the way they interact with suppliers, employees and communities.”

“It’s good to see that Optera is focused on going beyond data-collection and reporting to help companies with actionable insights and consistent, year-over-measures to help them reduce carbon emissions and climate risks,” Henschen added, but he warned that the startup faces a lot of competition from other emerging ESG data-focused platforms.

Still, Optera reckons it’s already on a fast-growing trajectory. In the last year, it said it has increased its staff by more than 250%, while quadrupling its customer base. Some of its biggest new clients include Dell Technologies Inc., Williams-Sonoma Inc. and Zayo Group.

“Optera plays an important role in Zayo’s plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2030,” said Mike Nold, Zayo’s executive vice president of corporate development and strategy. “With Optera’s leading software solution to streamline data collection and analysis, Zayo has greater confidence that we’re on the leading edge and making the ESG strides we’ve committed to.”

Going forward, Optera aims to use the funds from today’s round to accelerate product innovation and expand its sales and marketing teams to scale its platform globally.

Next Frontier Capital General Partner Kirsten Suddath said she’s backing Optera because its software makes it easier for corporations to manage their decarbonization journeys across the entire value chain. “By making emissions data actionable, Optera is instilling confidence in its customers that they can report accurately and make progress toward net-zero initiatives,” she said.

Main image: Matthias Heyde/Unsplash