Root, a startup based in Berlin, has secured €8 million in a seed funding round to advance its operating system designed for food and beverage companies aiming to manage their climate footprint. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate growth and expand its team. Root’s platform, Root OS, assists firms in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieving net zero goals. This development reflects the growing importance of climate performance as a business metric.
In previous news about Root, the company had been rapidly gaining traction by onboarding some of Europe’s largest food and beverage players, including a major dairy plant and a global fast-food chain. Root’s collaboration with over 10,000 farmers to manage and reduce CO2e emissions was highlighted as a significant achievement. Past reports also noted the company’s strategy of addressing one food product category at a time to effectively measure and reduce emissions. This current funding round supports Root’s continued efforts to scale its operations and refine its technology to meet industry needs.
Funding and Future Plans
The funding round was led by Christoph Janz at Point Nine, with additional investments from Project A, HelloWorld, Arc Investors, and several seasoned startup operators. The infusion of capital is intended to facilitate Root’s expansion plans and bolster its workforce. The company, founded by Eric Oancea and Maurice Hensl, aims to tackle the pressing issue of climate change within the food system through its innovative platform.
Root’s co-founders emphasized their commitment to understanding customer needs and addressing critical pain points. They stated,
“In the past 18 months, we have been obsessed with deeply understanding our customers and solving their most urgent pain point.”
The company’s mission is to provide companies with precise tools to measure and reduce their GHG emissions, focusing on significant emission sources typically found deep within supply chains.
Strategic Approach and Achievements
Root’s approach involves working with companies to measure and reduce emissions for specific food product categories. By focusing on the largest emission sources in supply chains, Root helps companies achieve accurate climate performance metrics. For instance, Nestlé’s supply chain emissions amount to over 107 million tons of CO2e, out of their total 113 million tons.
The company’s platform has gained popularity through word of mouth and industry references, which have been critical in attracting new clients. The co-founders noted,
“What makes us particularly proud is that the majority of our customers discovered and started working with us thanks to strong word of mouth and industry references.”
Root aims to provide unprecedented levels of accuracy and efficiency in carbon footprint assessments while also initiating practical emission reduction measures.
Root’s mission holds significant urgency as climate performance becomes a crucial business performance indicator. Companies are now mandated to disclose their climate metrics and set net zero targets, a requirement that had caused some firms to lose key customers before partnering with Root. The co-founders expressed this sentiment,
“Our mission is more urgent today than ever. Climate performance has become a critical business performance indicator as enterprises are now mandated to disclose their climate performance and set Net Zero targets.”
Root’s future plans include demonstrating year-over-year emission reductions by leveraging critical supply chain data. The company aims to establish its solution as the industry standard for the €400 billion market. The co-founders added,
“We aim to demonstrate emission reduction year over year. Given we have access to the most critical data in the supply chain, we believe we have a clear and practical solution that will become industry standard for a €400bn market.”
Root’s innovative platform and strategic approach position it as a key player in helping the food and beverage industry manage climate-related challenges. By offering precise carbon footprint assessments and supporting tangible reduction measures, Root aims to set new standards in the sector. The company’s latest funding round will enable it to further its mission and make significant strides in climate performance management.
