EcoVadis, the startup that note, CSR of companies, up 30 … – Tribune.fr

EcoVadis does definitely nothing like the others. Established in 2007, the startup paris has waited nearly ten years to make its first fundraiser of the Series (after a small seed financing at the time of its creation). But the amount was worth the wait : as usual, the first round of a startup French is between 1.5 and 3 million euros, EcoVadis up ten times more : € 30 million, with the fund Partech Ventures.

A collaborative platform used by 30,000 customers in 110 countries

With this fundraising spectacular, the startup asserts loud and clear its ambition to impose himself as the indispensable leader of the rating in corporate social responsibility (CSR). The company has created the first collaborative platform, allowing large groups to assess the environmental performance of their suppliers. This is determined through 21 indicators (emissions of CO2 at the conditions of work, consistent with legal standards, and fine-tuned by a network of experts.

“customers, citizens and investors now require companies best practices in terms of sustainable development. EcoVadis enables large businesses to ensure this for all their suppliers,” said Omri Benayoun, partner at Partech Ventures.

In retail, suppliers must complete an online questionnaire about their practices. This information is then cross-checked and verified by the employees of EcoVadis (320 in the world right now), but especially with the aid of an analysis software, which compares the data with “hundreds of sources” (NGO, audit reports, various databases). These information are then accessible to the entire community, which allows providers to compare their performance with others and to put themselves at the level they are lagging.

The company believes that this transparency created a virtuous circle. And its spectacular growth gives reason : today, EcoVadis claims 30,000 customers, distributed in 110 countries (including France and the United States). Organic growth increased 50% per year since its creation. “Our evaluations are an annual purchase volume of more than a trillion euros,” said the startup in a statement.

half of the CAC 40 as clients

In addition to a myriad of SMES, EcoVadis has attracted 150 major international groups, and over 50% of CAC 40 companies, including Coca-Cola, Heineken, Axa, Nestlé, Orange, Nokia, L’oréal, Renault-Nissan, Schneider Electric and Nestlé. The company has offices in six countries (France, United States, United Kingdom, Mauritius, Hong-Kong, Poland).

For the Pierre-François Thaler, co-founder and co-president, EcoVadis, the fund-raising will accelerate its conquest of enterprises international. “We want now to multiply the positive effects of our collaborative platform in order to accelerate progress. We also want to help our customers respond to the new requirements imposed by the european directive on extra-financial reporting and by the duty of care“, he explains. Has the key, the startup should hire a hundred new talents.