Sweep sweeps up $22 million in new funding round

Montpellier-based carbon management platform Sweep has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round. The startup targets large enterprises and helps them meet the growing demand from customers to net-zero sustainability goals. Following a $5 million seed round in April of this year, Sweep has now raised a total of $27 million.

Greenwashing, green sheen, whatever you want to call it, has been a problem since the term first appeared in the mid-1980s. Not exactly the same topic, but in the same ballpark, the issue of lip service has become so prevalent that last month Boston Consulting Group reported, “that over 90% of companies aren’t measuring their emissions accurately and regularly.”

Again, the topic has become so important, that just last week, barely two-year-old climate action and carbon management platform Planetly was snapped up by US-based OneTrust for an undisclosed amount, clearly signaling that enterprise companies are taking their ESG responsibilities seriously. In other words, Sweep is hot in a red hot marketplace.

Earlier this month, the startup was one of a select group invited to present at COP26 at the UK Cabinet’s Tech for Our Planet programme, in which it showcased its technologies via measurements of Bpifrance portfolio companies telco Orange and edtech startup Openclassrooms.

“Reporting direct emissions is just the tip of the iceberg for the world’s largest corporations,” commented Sweep co-founder and CEO Rachel Delacour. “Sweep connects large enterprises with their entire network of business partners, staff, and suppliers to get a complete overview of their direct and indirect emissions. Our enterprise-grade tool is here to make carbon data collection, security and analysis seamless and automated, so companies focus on reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to global net-zero efforts.”

Sweep’s Series A sweep was led by Balderton Capital and saw participation from New Wave, La Famiglia, and 2050.

Balderton’s Bernard Liautaud commented, “Sustainability is a huge priority for us at Balderton and Sweep's mission and vision are perfectly aligned with our Sustainable Future Goals. When we looked at the market, we were incredibly impressed with the strength of Sweep's team, and the thoughtfulness and maturity of their product.”