Pledge raises $10 million to drive decarbonisation of logistics supply chains
New Series A investment will drive development of Pledge’s decarbonisation software to help supply chain leaders and logistics businesses meet their sustainability goals
London, UK 16.05.2023: Climate technology leader Pledge has secured $10 million in Series A funding to drive its mission to help businesses reach net zero emissions, starting with logistics and supply chain.
Pledge provides accredited tools for supply chain leaders and freight forwarders to understand, report, reduce and remove their logistics emissions. Its platform is built with accessibility, transparency and simplicity at its core.
“We started Pledge with the belief that technology can be a powerful lever in the fight against climate change,” said David de Picciotto, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
“This funding round enables us to continue building best-in-class products to help accelerate businesses’ transition to net zero and remove gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere.”
Increasing regulatory pressures from new climate directives, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Fit for 55 in Europe, mean supply chain and logistics leaders need to address their emissions and make significant, long-term reductions.
Pledge is accredited by the Smart Freight Centre (SFC) for its adherence to the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) framework, the only globally recognised methodology for calculating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the logistics supply chain, which has formed the basis of the recently published ISO 14083 standard.
Pledge includes unique features such as Clarity™ and Accuracy™, which guide users through every step of the emissions calculation process, ensuring calculations are auditable and customers are confident in fulfilling their reporting requirements.
Supply chain emissions account for over 70% of the total GHG emissions for large and medium-sized businesses, whilst the logistics industry as a whole produces 11% of the world’s total GHGs.
Pledge’s self-serve product and free trial mechanism is part of its commitment to providing the best user experience in the industry and helping logistics companies of all sizes save time and resources, win new business and improve supply chain resilience.
The funding round is led by Zinal Growth, with new investors including Base Partners, Ace & Company, as well as founders from leading business-to-business (B2B) Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies and veterans from the logistics industry, including Dirk Reich, former Member of the Management Board at Kuehne+Nagel.
They join existing investors Lowercarbon Capital and Visionaries Club, who are doubling down on their initial investment in the company at the seed round.
“Pledge’s product-led approach and vertical focus makes it a really exciting company in a new and growing space,” said Guillaume Waser, Managing Partner, Zinal Growth.
“With a product built on simplicity, scalability and transparency, the founders have drawn aspects from their background in highly regulated and complex industries like payments and capital markets and applied them to the world of climate tech.
“They are taking an approach usually seen in vertical B2B SaaS companies and are applying it to impact some of the biggest emitting industries in the world.”
Pledge has already partnered with a range of logistics and freight forwarding customers, including Ligentia, Raft and Zencargo, as well as powering sustainability programmes for leading industry associations such as WCAworld, which counts over 10,000 members globally, and BIFA in the UK.
The Pledge team has grown to more than 20 employees since launching in the summer of 2021, and the business is planning additional hires across its engineering and commercial functions over the coming year.
About Pledge
Pledge empowers logistics and supply chain leaders to reach their sustainability goals through its accredited and integrated software. With a focus on accessibility and transparency, Pledge allows users to start measuring, reducing and removing their carbon emissions in minutes with its self-serve product, giving customers the confidence they need to take credible and impactful climate action in logistics supply chains.
Founded by early Revolut employees, David de Picciotto and Thomas Lucas, and Freetrade’s co-founder and former CTO, André Mohamed, Pledge's team draws on its experience building scalable businesses in the regulated and complex payments and capital markets industries and applies it to help decarbonise some of the highest emitting industries on the planet.
Pledge is accredited by the Smart Freight Centre (SFC) for its adherence to the Global Logistics Emissions Council (GLEC) framework and is ISO 14083 compliant.
