- Press release -
Traace supports companies in their environmental transition by helping them reduce their carbon footprint through a SaaS solution for measurement, analysis and decision support. The greentech startup today announced a €2.5 million fundraising from Orange Ventures¹, the German family office Arché-Gruppe² and private investors.
Everything is going very fast for Traace: created in 2020, it is developing its eponymous solution, which will be available from July 2021, and signed its first clients, including the French group Sodexo, in September. It now has around thirty clients, including SMEs and major accounts in the food, industry and construction sectors, for which it manages 20 million tonnes of CO2 - equivalent to the emissions of 2 million French people.
This fundraising will enable the company to strengthen its technical and sales teams. Its objective is to recruit ten people by the end of the year, thus doubling its workforce, and to triple its client portfolio in France and Europe.
" This fundraising is a sign of confidence from our investors and an opportunity for us to accelerate our development. We have clients who have trusted us from the start and we are already working with prestigious consultancies such as Carbone 4, EY, South Pole and Utopies. The acceptance of our product shows that there was a real need for this type of tool, we will continue to optimise it and open up to new markets" , says Rodolphe Denieau, CEO and co-founder of Traace.
" Traace is the third investment of our Orange Ventures Impact initiative, launched in mid-2021, in line with Orange's strategic plan, Engage 2025, which aims to reconcile economic performance with a sustainable approach. We are pleased to support Traace, which will help businesses, and therefore society, to achieve Net Zero Carbon commitments. The climate issue is of course a constraint, but it is also one of the greatest opportunities for digital and responsible transformation, in which Orange, in its business lines, and Orange Ventures, intend to play a full part," says Jérôme Berger, President and Managing Partner of Orange Ventures.
The reasons for success
A solution that is simple to use, comprehensive and empowers employees.
Accurate data collection
Traace collects data from the entire value chain of the company: operational data from each position, purchasing, logistics, energy, waste, transport, etc.
Analysis of the main emission items
This is done in order to define a tailor-made action plan.
Modelling of reduction actions
The actions are adapted to each sector and allow to simulate their impact on the company's carbon trajectory. Traace proposes a catalogue of actions that allows to define a specific strategy and emission reduction objectives. To date, several dozen actions are referenced in the platform. As a real steering and decision support tool, Traace provides each user with a readable and ergonomic dashboard.
Multi-site tool
Traace allows the carbon footprint to be broken down by country or by Business Unit for a feasible implementation according to the constraints and parameters of each site; thus favouring the commitment of the employees.
According to the latest BCG Gamma study, 85% of companies are looking to reduce their CO2 emissions, but only 9% are doing so specifically.
"There are two factors that need to be taken into account, the first is the measurement of all the emission items. If we focus on energy consumption, we have got it all wrong. For example, the item that emits the most, but which is also the most often neglected by companies, is purchasing! The other decisive factor in effectively and sustainably reducing emissions is to make decisions that are sustainable. This means that they must be adapted to the internal and external parameters of an entity. Within the same company, different levers can be used to reduce its footprint, depending on its geographical location, the number of employees, suppliers, etc." explains Thomas Guyot, co-founder of Traace.
About Traace
Founded in 2020 by Rodolphe Denieau, Thomas Guyot and Patrick Nollet, the greentech Traace helps companies reduce their carbon footprint. It offers a SaaS solution that enables companies to measure, monitor and reduce their carbon emissions by identifying the main sources of emissions and proposing concrete actions to reduce their impact.
Traace is hosted at Station F and is part of the Future 40 class of the most promising startups.
The startup already has around thirty clients, both SMEs and major accounts, including Sodexo, Siemens, Paul, SES-Imagotag, and institutions such as the French Development Agency.
Traace currently employs 10 people.
¹ Orange Ventures: ventures.orange.com
² Arche Gruppe: www.arche-gruppe.de
