CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Urgency among CEOs to implement and demonstrate real progress in sustainability initiatives is at an all-time high. In the 2022 IBM CEO study, sustainability was ranked as the top organizational challenge by 51% of CEOs, with 57% citing difficulty clearly defining and measuring ROI as the greatest hurdle.
At the same time, as organizations struggle with faltering employee engagement and retention, sustainability has emerged as a leading factor in attracting, engaging, and retaining talent. In an HP study, 81% of employees at global companies committed to sustainability described themselves as “more productive” and 82% as “more loyal.”
It’s clear that CEOs and their workforces must align. Enter Climate Club, a carbon reduction platform that embeds sustainability into the employee experience and delivers quantifiable, scalable carbon and cost reductions.
Vestigo Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm based in Cambridge, Mass., recognized the enormous potential at the convergence of sustainability, corporate net-zero goals, and employee engagement and participated in a $6.5M seed funding investment in Climate Club. Vestigo Ventures cites Climate Club’s differentiated ability to capture and reduce Scope 3 level emissions data as a key driver in the investment. Scope 3 emissions, also known as value chain emissions, are estimated to account for an average of 75% of a company’s GHG emissions and can approach 100% for companies in the financial services sector.
Many corporations have had limited to no visibility in the Scope 3 C02 emissions associated with their suppliers, partners, customers, and employees. Onsite, hybrid, and remote workplace models make capturing data and reducing emissions a critical yet elusive grail for CEOs around the globe. “The Climate Club platform puts the ability in sustainability, bringing the purpose-driven workforce and crucial data capture together to measure, reduce, and ultimately achieve sustainability goals,” says Kelly Shaw, Principal, Vestigo Ventures.
“Until now, organizations have been limited to purchasing clean energy and buying offsets, an approach that completely excludes the two most powerful factors — their people and Scope 3 emissions. These employees are responsible for a majority of decisions impacting emissions across the value chain. Climate Club engages and activates employees eager to participate in the carbon reduction journey — which delivers against both sustainability and engagement objectives — by operationalizing sustainability into the core employee experience and using behavioral science to inspire action,” says Adam Braun, CEO & Co-Founder of Climate Club.
As Climate Club captures more data on the nudges and incentives that drive behavior, the firm will continue to refine its product, providing additional insights and ROI as carbon reduction actions pay off. Additionally, Climate Club will be able to provide insight into carbon consumption at the individual level for purposes of ESG analysis and ratings. Climate Club’s API-first software platform also works in partnership with carbon accounting and other sustainability solutions providers.
“The pressure on CEOs to execute on sustainability commitments at scale and speed — and to show measurable results toward net-zero targets — will continue to escalate. Vestigo Ventures is excited to invest in and partner with Climate Club on an enterprise solution with such tremendous potential for positive outcomes,” adds Mark Casady, Vestigo Ventures’ Co-Founder, Chairman and General Partner.
About Vestigo Ventures
Vestigo Ventures is a venture capital firm founded in 2015 and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts that invests in early-stage technology companies based in North America and focused on enterprise software, worksite, and personal wealth. To learn more and to subscribe to our FinTech and InsurTech newsletters and podcasts, visit http://www.vestigoventures.com.
Climate Club embeds sustainability into the employee experience at leading companies and drives Net Zero emissions across every department, team and employee. Our software platform is purpose-built to reduce carbon emissions, save costs, increase revenue and retain talent in alignment with Net Zero targets and strategic business goals. We work with some of the most recognizable companies in the world to help them maximize the impact of sustainable actions across their business.