Compared to other companies in the carbon and environmental accounting markets, Carbon Maps is a relatively new entrant because it has been around for less than a year. Despite this, the French firm has already obtained finance for $7.6 million (€7 million) due to the extension of the seed round by €3 million given to the startup.
Because I have already discussed carbon maps in February, I strongly suggest you read this earlier essay to obtain the complete picture. On the other hand, I felt it was necessary to provide an update because the firm successfully persuaded Daphni to participate in the seed round. Breega and Samaipata have already contributed four million euros, equivalent to four and a half million dollars at the current exchange rate.
To refresh your memory, Carbon Maps is now in the process of developing a software-as-a-service platform that is centered on the environmental effects of the food business. Carbon Maps, in contrast to other carbon accounting startups, concentrates on a specific industry to assist businesses in calculating their environmental impact at the product level.
To lessen our influence on the environment, we first need to quantify and monitor it precisely. Stanislas Lot, a partner at Daphni, stated in a statement that “we are convinced that only a pure player like Carbon Maps has the capacity to do this at a sufficiently granular level to enable monitoring and improvement over time to take place.”
An example would be a firm that sells chicken breasts and uses carbon maps to evaluate these chicken breasts’ life cycles. This assessment would consider various factors, including the amount of energy necessary, the suppliers (grains), the packaging, the transportation, the waste, and others.
Using the most recent recommendations from standardized sources such as the GHG Protocol, the IPCC, ISO 14040, and ISO 14044, Carbon Maps adheres to these guidelines. It considers carbon emissions that fall within scopes 1, 2, and 3, which means that you can incorporate indirect carbon emissions from clients and suppliers.
Through the platform, customers can obtain an eco-score and establish goals to reduce their influence on the environment over time. Additionally, it is an effective method for evaluating several suppliers and optimizing the supply chain depending on the carbon footprint of each source.
The ratings are not something that we wish to develop. We want to build the tools that assist with calculations—a kind of SAP,” Patrick Asdaghi, co-founder and CEO of Carbon Maps, told me a few months ago. “We want to create the tools that help with calculations.”
Carbon Maps has already successfully persuaded a dozen businesses to utilize its platform. These clients include Andros, Sodexo, Potel & Chabot, the Bel milk producers’ organization, and Foodles.
Because French regulations are undergoing a transformation and the official introduction of the eco-score grading system is just around the corner, it is quite probable that we will hear more from Carbon Maps in the coming months. A virtuous loop might be created if food companies could compute and add a letter rating to their packaging, ranging from A to E. This resembles how the nutrient score is shown everywhere in French supermarkets.
