Canada-founded sustainability reporting software company Novisto has raised US$27m in a Series C round, led by Inovia Capital, with participation from all previous investors including White Star Capital, SCOR Ventures, and Sagard.
The firm has now raised over $55m to date, signalling market leadership and confidence in the face of global regulatory uncertainty.
Novisto’s revenue has almost tripled since its last round in 2023. The funds will be dedicated to innovating upon and enhancing its pioneering sustainability platform, and to accelerating its market leadership within Europe, aligning with the region’s forward-looking approach to ESG regulation. The firm aims to build a team of equal size to its North American counterpart in Europe.
The Emirates Group recently signed as a client, adding to the growing list of global companies taking ownership of their sustainability reporting via Novisto.
Using Novisto’s data consolidation and disclosure mapping capabilities, France-headquartered healthcare giant Sanofi produced one of the first 15 CSRD-compliant reports released earlier this year. Sanofi has been an early leader in sustainability strategy and data management.
“Sanofi is taking on some of the world’s most pressing challenges to build a healthier, more resilient world. Our partnership with Novisto has accelerated our journey towards our first CSRD aligned disclosures; and has established new standards for data governance and data quality”, said Laurent Lhopitalier, Head of ESG at Sanofi.
Novisto has joined global technology company SLB’s Digital Platform Partner Program, giving a network of customers access to its platform and supporting their broader ESG reporting needs beyond the greenhouse gas (GHG) solutions it already offers. Other prominent distribution partners include S&P Global, which offers the reporting solution to their own network of clients.
Novisto’s platform enables companies to efficiently and securely collect, manage, approve, disclose and defend their sustainability data, all in one place.
Clients have quoted improved data quality, stakeholder confidence, and a reduction in time to complete reporting assessments of 50%.
The EU’s Omnibus regulatory proposals bring to light the urgent need for streamlining, and the administrative strain for companies and investors alike, which Novisto exists to alleviate.
Charles Assaf, CEO and Co-founder, Novisto, says, “We have seen that forward-thinking leaders are not waiting for full policy clarity to act on sustainability reporting and ESG compliance: they are acting now. The market demands it of a leading organisation, and it encourages transparent, accurate and decision-grade sustainability information. We see a huge and growing global opportunity in front of us, underpinned by our current momentum, and spearheaded by senior leaders at global companies who are committed to making their businesses more resilient and sustainable."
Acting on the groundswell of green reporting activity, Inovia recognised an early opportunity in Novisto to lead the European ESG zeitgeist, and moved decisively.
Inovia Principal, Mia Morisset, says: “Novisto is trusted by leading global enterprises, a testament to the strength of its best-in-class product. Since its Series B, we’ve had the opportunity to witness firsthand how Charles and his team have built a uniquely positioned solution for success. We look forward to continuing to support Novisto as it scales.”
The State of ESG Regulation in The EU
In the wake of some green policy uncertainty, The EU’s recent Omnibus package will simplify and consolidate requirements for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and others, while upholding a “firm” focus of accountability on the largest organisations: the 20% deemed likely to have “the biggest impacts on people and the environment”.
These regulations, including EU Taxonomy and CSDDD, pertaining to general sustainable finance reporting have been broadly experienced as highly burdensome -- on a par with financial statement reporting.
Novisto is bolstering its European GTM strategy to support the captaincy of Europe’s largest firms, in a region at the forefront of progressive policy.