An example Worldfavor dashboard

Worldfavor, a Stockholm-based business, can add its name to the roster of ESG data companies that have attracted institutional backing. Worldfavor is used by private equity firms such as Oakley Capital and IK Partners, and corporates such as Oatly and Nudie Jeans, to gather and analyse ESG data from across their portfolios and supply chains.

The company has raised €10.2 million in a Series A funding round led by SEB Private Equity, the private equity unit of the Swedish bank. Existing investors – Brightly Ventures and Spintop Ventures – also participated in the round (press release here).

The context: the arrival of ESG reporting regulation across the world, combined with evolving investor preferences, has created major tailwinds for any business involved in gathering and making sense of ESG data. Private markets investors are participating in this trend both at the early stages, as with Worldfavor or carbon accounting business Normative, and with later-stage businesses, such as consulting giant ERM or software business Sphera.