First Climate takes stake in software and consulting startup VIRIDAD
First Climate is investing in a digital platform solution for EU Taxonomy and is taking a stake in Austria-based VIRIDAD GmbH. Through the cooperation, First Climate expands the service offering of its in-house consulting team with a customizable software solution that provides access to a variety of services related to EU Taxonomy. The participation enables VIRIDAD to further develop its own platform and grow its business in the DACH market.
For First Climate, the investment in VIRIDAD is another important building block in its development towards becoming a fully integrated climate protection service provider for the private and public sectors: "Our goal is to make First Climate the central point of contact for all aspects of corporate climate protection, and to accompany our clients with innovative solutions at all stages of their individual climate journey," says First Climate CEO, Olaf Bachert. "We are therefore very pleased to be able to support our partners through this cooperation with VIRIDAD in the future, as well as to support them in responding to the challenges of implementing the EU Taxonomy, which already affects many companies within the EU and will further increase its impact in the near future."
EU Taxonomy urges companies to take action
As a European regulatory framework, the EU Taxonomy sets criteria for assessing the sustainability of economic activities. The aim is to create transparency and standards of comparison, to align investments and capital streams, more closely with environmental considerations. The EU Taxonomy will also gradually impose a reporting obligation on companies and capital market participants. Currently, this already applies to large publicly listed companies and financial service providers. By 2026 and with the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), however, the obligation to report on sustainability in accordance with the EU Taxonomy will be further extended to a large number of additional companies and will affect all businesses in the European Union for many years to come.
Digital solutions for efficient implementation of the EU Taxonomy
As part of VIRIDAD's software-as-a-service model, customers can easily access the platform online and, according to their individual needs, analyze their respective business activities for compliance with the EU Taxonomy, perform sustainability assessments and use digital solutions for non-financial reporting. For more complex tasks requiring specialized consultation, the VIRIDAD platform, which was developed in cooperation with the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, also includes access to an extensive pool of experienced experts who can be commissioned via VIRIDAD to work on individual tasks.
At the signing of the contracts in Vienna (from left to right): Wolfgang Hribernik, AIT; Andreas Pointvogl, Klemens Marx (both VIRIDAD) and First Climate CEO, Olaf Bachert.
Cooperation delivers win-win situation in growth market
“For businesses, the foremost challenges of the EU Taxonomy are managing the daunting complexity of the rules and the extensive verification obligations. Beyond this, many affected businesses are still not truly aware of the looming pressure to take action. As a result, many companies are running out of the precious time needed to actively prepare for the EU Taxonomy requirements," explains Dr. Klemens Marx, CEO and Co-Founder of VIRIDAD. In many cases, this can then only be remedied with the help of expensive consulting services from specialized experts. This is where VIRIDAD's software solution comes in, supporting companies in implementing the mandatory requirements of the Taxonomy and enabling efficient, and accordingly, time and cost-saving handling of all relevant processes.
"Building on our existing platform, we will develop our digital solutions incrementally and scale up our services," says Marx. "The investment and our partnership with First Climate now give us the capacity to take the next important step and collectively create added value for companies in the implementation of their climate and sustainability strategies.”
Following the investments in the Hamburg-based climate consulting and project development company everi GmbH and in Glacier GmbH, a provider of IT-supported climate education programs, the cooperation with VIRIDAD is now the third investment project that First Climate has been able to successfully complete within a few months.
About VIRIDAD
VIRIDAD simplifies the EU Taxonomy making it understandable and accelerating its implementation with a digital platform using standardized processes and intuitive interfaces. The platform spans all relevant application fields of the EU Taxonomy and also offers a pool of technical experts covering all relevant areas. VIRIDAD is headquartered in Vienna, and its employees and partners are united by the mission to further advance the sustainable transformation of the economic system by means of innovative solutions and services.
About First Climate
First Climate is a leading global provider of carbon management and green energy services for corporate and public sector clients. They develop, finance, and source verified emission reduction projects around the globe, thus enabling clients to support local sustainable development and climate change mitigation activities on the ground.
With access to a broad network of global partners as well as expertise in operational green energy procurement, First Climate is also a major provider of renewable energy solutions and offers procurement options to assist companies in reducing their energy-related carbon footprint.
