The EU taxonomy has been a big thing since it was first released in 2020. After all, the regulations of the EU determine which economic activities are to be classified as ecologically sustainable – and thus, among other things, that nuclear power and gas as “transitional technologies” are considered “green” under certain conditions. In any case, the set of rules is a complex matter. And the Viennese startup Viridad has taken on exactly this matter and offers its customers an online platform that can be used to analyze business activities for compliance with the specifications of the EU taxonomy and to carry out sustainability assessments.
This has now brought the First Climate AG from Switzerland and Germany onto the scene, which has invested 25.1% in Viridad and thus has a blocking minority. The company itself advises corporate customers on climate strategies and sustainable energy and wants to become the central contact for all aspects of corporate climate protection. „We are therefore very pleased to be able to support our partners through the cooperation with Viridad in order to react to the challenges of implementing the EU taxonomy, which already directly affects many companies within the EU and will do so in the near future will become a real mega-topic,” says First Climate CEO Olaf Bachert.
First Climate has already invested in the Viennese startup Glacier, which is involved in climate training for employees. As a strategic investor, First Climate now wants to expand its offerings, which are currently primarily in the areas of CO2 management and renewable energy supply, to include the increasingly important EU taxonomy. “Building on our existing EU taxonomy platform, we will now develop our digital solutions step by step and grow in the market,” says Klemens Marx, CEO and co-founder of Viridad. “The Taxonomy Regulation is a complex set of rules and is currently mandatory for large listed companies, but will soon be mandatory for smaller unlisted companies as well.
Glacier: Viennese climate startup secures EUR 1.7 million
SaaS tool for sustainability reports
The Viridad tool is offered as a Software as a Service (SaaS) company and costs four to five digits per year, depending on the size of the company. Of course, you could also create the necessary sustainability reports yourself. However, you would then have to dig through the current 400 pages of the EU taxonomy (will grow to 1,000 pages) yourself to find out what is relevant for your own company. With Viridad’s online tool, this work would be made easier. Viridad’s potential clientele will expand significantly over the next few years. Because the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will extend the reporting obligation to more and more companies over the next few years – including those that are not listed on the stock exchange. Marx: “In the end, every company in the EU will be indirectly affected.”
Viridad is a spin-off from AIT (Austrian Institute of Technology), which was founded in 2022. Before First Climate got involved, the German consulting company OMNIA Holding, which is also active in the sustainability and energy sectors, was already involved in Viridad.