Carbon accounting startup Plan A just raised $27 million in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with this 11-slide pitch deck


Lubomila Jordanova (CEO of Plan A, left) and Julie Kainz (Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners)

  • Carbon accounting startup Plan A just raised $27 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners.
  • The Berlin-headquartered company will use the funds to expand in France, the UK, and Scandinavia.
  • We got an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to raise the funds, which also came from Visa.

Carbon accounting startup Plan A has just secured $27 million in a round led by Californian tech investor Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Berlin-based Plan A, founded in 2017, is one of many startups helping big companies measure and manage their carbon emissions. Many do this by collecting data and generating sustainability targets for long-term decarbonization. Carbon accounting companies raised $5 billion at the sector’s 2021 peak, per PitchBook, as venture capitalists and large asset managers piled into the buzzy category. 

One way Plan A differentiates itself is its steady pace, cofounder and CEO Lubomila Jordanova told Insider. Operating in a hype market can be tricky because it deflates the value of carbon accounting in the long term, she said. 

“We are working on transforming the economy, we’re not working on making companies effective in preparing a report,” she added. 

The startup’s platform can process millions of data points across the value chain and, on a monthly basis, allows hundreds of users from one entity to work collaboratively on emissions reduction, Jordanova said. It is designed to be always in use, meaning customers are always looking at and working on their sustainability strategies, rather than to generate one-off compliance reports. 

Plan A touts a 1,500-strong customer base that includes global payments company Visa, which also joined the funding round following a two-year due diligence process, Jordanova said. The two companies also signed an exclusive global partnership in December 2022, with Visa offering Plan A to its clients. 

Deutsche Bank, Opera Tech Ventures, which is the VC arm of BNP Paribas, and a host of unicorn founders also participated in the round.

As well as growing revenue, Plan A has grown its biggest accounts and this resonated with investors, Jordanova said. “We have clients like BMW where we have many contracts within the BMW Group,” she added.

“Revenue growth is something that is a good KPI for investors but then if you don’t show that you do up-sells, if you don’t show that you’re able to stay strong within the account, and that you are really a trusted partner, as that is what corporates need, it’s a little bit tricky.” 

The fresh funds will be used to deepen its Scope 3 coverage, which refers to emissions in a company’s value chain. Plan A will also grow its policy alignment capabilities following a flurry of ESG regulations in recent years, making it hard for customers to keep up. The startup also has an in-house policy team and an “academy” to educate others on legislation and decarbonization. 

Plan A itself is aligned with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), while its emissions calculation methodology is certified by TÜV Rheinland. 

The startup will double its 240-strong headcount as it expands across Europe, with a focus on growing its presence in France, the UK, and Scandinavia. It also has offices in Paris and London. 

Check out the 11-slide redacted pitch deck it used to raise the cash. 



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