Sustainability Software M&A: EcoOnline Acquires ESG Reporting Platform Ecometrica

EcoOnline, backed by private equity firm Apax Partners, is acquiring Ecometrica, which develops a sustainability software platform to help customers measure, report and monitor their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Together, EcoOnline and Ecometrica plan to deliver an ESG solution with capabilities in Carbon Accounting, ESG Framework reporting, Climate Risk, Environmental Compliance and more, the companies said.

Related: See all M&A deals involving sustainability, green IT and renewable energy services here.

Sustainability Software M&A: About EcoOnline and Ecometrica

About the buyer: EcoOnline, founded in 2000, is based in Oslo, Norway. The company's two flagship software platforms are:

• Chemical Manager, which allows customers to manage chemical safety; and
• EcoOnline EHS, a SaaS-based solution that allows customers to track health and safety management.

EcoOnline has more than 10,000 customers and 900 employees across Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the UK, the US, Canada, and New Zealand. Private equity firm Apax Partners has owned EcoOnline since 2022.

About the acquired business: Ecometrica, founded in 2008, is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company raised early stage funding in 2012. We don't know if there were follow-on rounds.

Ecometrica had 54 employees listed on LinkedIn as of July 6, 2023. The company develops a software platform that allows customers to measure, report and monitor GHG emissions. Ecometrica's data and software services are available worldwide through the firm's offices in London, Boston, Edinburgh and Montreal.

The Ecometrica partner program is featured in our global Sustainability Partner Programs database.

Sustainability Software M&A: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the M&A deal, EcoOnline Chairman and CEO Chris Joseph said: "The acquisition of Ecometrica provides a robust addition to our suite of solutions at EcoOnline. We know EHS data plays a critical role in ESG performance reporting, and many organisations currently struggle to bring a unified data strategy together. Our goal is to offer a holistic approach to ESG management, providing our clients with comprehensive solutions to manage, report, and deliver healthier, safer, and more responsible business."

Added Richard Tipper, chairman and co-founder of Ecometrica: "We were immediately struck by the complementary nature of the EcoOnline and Ecometrica product suites. The combined entity will have an unrivaled depth and breadth of service offerings on health, safety, and ESG to bring the best-in-class sustainability reporting to the EcoOnline product suite. This comes at an ideal time for regulations coming into place in North America and Europe."

Sustainability Software M&A: Recent Mergers and Acquisitions

M&A activity across the sustainability software, ESG consulting, green IT and renewable energy markets remains strong.

Funding in the ESG market has slowed in 2023 compared to early 2022 -- but deals are still happing. For instance:

• Measurabl, which develops an ESG technology platform for real estate, has raised $93 million Series D funding. 
• Novisto, which develops cloud-based ESG software, raised USD$20 million in a Series B funding round, led by Inovia Capital.
•  Sentra.World raised $2 million in seed funding, Entrepreneur India reported.

Private Equity and ESG Software Investments

Apax Partners, the private equity firm that owns EcoOnline, operates a Global Impact fund that revolves around four sector themes:

• Health & Wellness;
• Environment & Resources;
• Social & Economic Mobility; and
• Digital Impact Enablers (technology businesses that will generate impact across the other three themes). 

The firm has raised $65 billion since the company's inception.