Paulig invests in Improvin’, a startup whose AI-powered platform drives emission reductions in the agrifood value chain
Paulig’s venture arm PINC invests in the Swedish startup Improvin’. The startup provides an AI-powered sustainability performance platform which allows food and beverage companies to measure and reduce emissions in their primary production and improve biodiversity together with their suppliers. The investment supports Paulig’s aim to develop a food culture that enables the well-being of people and the planet.
Joel Nedar and Niklas Wallsargård, founders of Improvin'.
Many food and beverage companies that have set climate targets have one thing in common – it’s difficult to measure, verify and thereby reduce, the indirect emissions that are created in their value chain (scope 3). These emissions stand for approximately 90% of the emissions1. To reach the set climate targets, a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is required.
In January 2023, the European Union Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)2 also entered into force, and this will set the standard for companies’ sustainability reporting. According to the proposed standards, companies will be required to report value chain emissions (scope 3).
“Improvin’s platform makes a complex task much easier both through automatic satellite data and user-friendly interfaces. It is also the perfect starting point to work on reducing the environmental impact. We have tested the platform with some of our wheat suppliers and this is the best platform they have come across, which can also be seen in the current traction of the company. This is why we invested. That and an amazing team with roots from farmer families”, says Marika King, Head of PINC.
The sustainability performance platform connects food and beverage companies, processors, and farmers and makes it possible to effectively measure, report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their value chains at scale. The startup has so far signed collaborations with customers capturing more than 500,000 hectares and 10,000 farmers in Sweden and other parts of Europe.
“We support the food and beverage industry in their efforts of becoming more sustainable by providing a platform that does the heavy lifting for measuring and reporting and hence supports reducing emissions and enhancing biodiversity. We’re thrilled to take part of PINC’s industry knowledge. This investment will fuel our expansion across Europe, starting from Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands”, says Niklas Wallsargård, the CEO and founder of Improvin’.
Improvin’s technology combines the scalability of remote sensing with the precision of growers’ inputs. The customers can get verified Scope 3 calculations traced down to land-management units without gathering the data manually. Verification is done by using high-frequency and high-resolution satellite imagery in combination with AI that are used for machine learning algorithms and deep neural networks.
The round of 3.5 million euros was led by the climate tech fund Pale Blue Dot, and the US-based supply chain focused VC Dynamo Ventures, with participation from FoodBridge, in addition to PINC.
Paulig’s climate target is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from its value chain by 50 percent by 2030, from the 2018 baseline.
About PINC
PINC is Paulig’s venture arm for investments in early-stage start-ups in and around the future of food. The objective of PINC is to help Paulig renew itself and prosper as well as contribute to a tastier and more sustainable planet.
About Paulig
Paulig is a family-owned food and beverage company, growing a new, sustainable food culture – one that is good for both people and the planet. Paulig provides all things tasty; coffees and beverages, Tex Mex and spices, snacks and plant-based choices. The company's brands are Paulig, Santa Maria, Risenta, Poco Loco and Zanuy. Paulig’s sales amounted to EUR 1,1 billion in 2022. The company has 2,300 passionate employees in 13 different countries working around the purpose For a life full of flavour.
About Improvin’
Improvin’ is a Swedish technology company that provides a sustainability performance platform for the agri-food industry. Food brands, processors and mills use the platform to quantify, verify and report emissions from their primary production and collaborate with their suppliers to reduce emissions and enhance biodiversity. Improvin's digital infrastructure allows agri-food businesses to incorporate sustainability into their existing sourcing processes while meeting regulatory standards for reporting with primary data.
For more information, please contact:
Nils Sjöberg
Communications Manager Sweden
nils.sjoberg@paulig.com
+46 70 085 24 11
Sources:
1. CDP Technical Note: Relevance of Scope 3 Categories by Sector
2. The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is mandated to develop standards called the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and due for finalization by June 2023. Read more on this link.
