Helsinki’s Upright raises 5 million euros to scale its social impact data analysis engine
Upright has raised 5 million euros in seed funds to expand its operations Vertical projectan open data analysis project based on deep technology, which allows organizations to create new impressive investment products in accordance with environmental, health and social goals.
The seed round is led by a green technology VC Planet A Ventures alongside The first partnersfund started by Finnish angel investor Risto Siilasmaa (former chairman of Nokia and currently chairman of the board of cyber security company F-Secure).
With ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) reporting, companies and investors can understand their impact on the world around them.
And since the UN set its Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, there is a solid benchmark against which every company must be judged against 17 “core” global goals.
Increasingly, ESG is no longer a sideshow, but is associated with rewarding C-level executives and especially B-Corp designation for social and environmental “performance.”
This has led to a market for forecasting tools and analytics that help companies pinpoint how ESG could be improved. Given the business stakes, some are apparently caught up in faulty ESG reporting, making the benchmarking game especially important.
According to Planet A’s founder and partner Nick de la Forge an astonishing 42% of companies exaggerate sustainability requirements.
“WWe need a new course on impact,” de la Forge said. “If powerful stakeholders, from governments and investors to talent and consumers, are able to understand the net impact of companies and make informed decisions, it will lead to a step change in how companies operate and their impact on our planet.”
With its Upright project, Upright aims to provide a single download source to make investments impactful, leveraging data sets, goals and ratings from over 15,000 companies.
In addition to the UN framework, it includes EU taxonomy adaptation assessments and its own quantification of net effects.
On the UX side, possible impact factors are described as a net impact diagram. Each positive and negative impact is scored based on how it relates to job creation, disease prevention, greenhouse gas emissions and other general impact metrics.
The software is designed to meet EU sustainable finance disclosure regulations, allowing the user to remain compliant in screening, due diligence and reporting of new sustainable investment products.
Upright has also given us a few examples and put everything in a layman’s context. Suppose an asset manager has to decide between Walmart and PepsiCo stock; With the help of the net reporting tool, they get a breakdown of impact assessments. The same effect filters down; because it is open access, Upright will soon release versions for consumers and employees.
Angel investor Risto Siilasmaa said:Upright’s goal is in their name: to make impact assessments more honest and reputable.
“They solve one of the most complex challenges for businesses by removing blind spots from our current impact assessment while democratizing it. When they asked me to invest, I didn’t have to think twice,”