Pathzero raises $6.8 million to improve carbon transparency

Sydney envirotech startup Pathzero has raised US$5 million (A$6.8m) as it looks to expand globally.

The round was led by VC Carthona Capital, with Antler Australia – the startup emerged out of the Antler program – and impact investor, Phil Vernon. Former Commsec MD Paul Rayson also signed on as one of several new investors.

The funding will go towards the company’s global ambitions.

Pathzero created a digital platform enabling companies to easily create and securely share their carbon emissions information to help them become carbon neutral. The calculations can be done in minutes.

The Sydney software startup launched last year in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdowns and raised $1 million 12 months ago in a seed round that included Antler, Black Nova Group, former bank boss Brian Hartzer, climate campaigner Simon Sheikh, and former Australian Ethical Investment CEO Phil Vernon.

Since then Pathzero have moved swiftly to build its platform that offers a more accessible way to measure corporate carbon emissions, implementing a reduction plan, purchase verified carbon credits and disclosing carbon emissions information publicly.

Co-founder and CEO Carl Prins said that asset manage have, until now, found access to emssions data for small listed and unlisted companies a major challenge.

“The expense of performing an assessment and the lack of consistency in reporting has meant that greenhouse gas emissions information has simply not been available,” he said.

“Gaining direct access to portfolio company emissions information is revolutionary as it by-passes the traditional flow of information from companies to active institutional investors.

“Pathzero believes that by providing corporate carbon transparency, companies will be equipped to make confident strategic decisions about their transition to a low carbon paradigm, with the support of their informed stakeholders.”

His co-founder and CTO Charbel Ayoub the platform is designed so people who may be new to sustainability to create a certifiable measurement of their carbon account.

“This means they can make informed business decisions and have confidence in their public carbon emissions disclosures,” she said.

Carthona Capital partner Dean Dorrell said they’d been seeking a carbon tech investment opportunity for some time.

“We have had a thesis that carbon measurement, reporting and offsetting would transition from an altruistic, ‘good citizen’ responsibility to becoming all that and good business,” he said.

“It is clear that time has come, and we believe all businesses will need to show their carbon credentials to retain or attract customers – from the ASX20 down to the smallest business. Pathzero has already shown incredible vision and execution and has massive growth ahead of it.”