Impact ratings and analysis provider Impak Ratings announced today that it has raised €4.5 million in a Series A funding round, with investors including Societe Generale’s venture capital arm, Societe Generale Ventures, and impact-focused venture investor Altalurra Ventures.

Impak is also partnering with the new investors. Societe Generale’s Global Banking and Advisory division selected Impak in December 2021 as a provider of environmental and social impact analysis for all of its major corporate clients. Altalurra has signed a co-development agreement with Impak for impact assessment for institutional investors.

Pierre Palmieri, Head of Global Banking and Advisory, Societe Generale, said:

“Having a good understanding of our clients’ environmental and social issues is essential in supporting them with their sustainability roadmap. By welcoming the start-up into Societe Generale Ventures, Societe Generale is contributing to accelerating the environmental and social transformation of its clients’ activities.”

Launched in 2019, and based in Montreal and Paris, Impak utilizes augmented intelligence to provide impact analysis to the financial sector, assessing how companies mitigate their negative impacts and generate positive ones, with  a focus on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The company promotes a double materiality approach that considers ESG risk to a company’s business model as well as the impact of the company on the environment and society.

Impak Ratings stated that it “aims to be the leading European impact analysis and rating agency.”

Paul Allard, co-founder and CEO of impak Ratings, said:

“The announcement of our partnership with Societe Generale is significant and confirms impak’s positioning as a leading impact analysis and rating agency in Europe. It shows the acceleration of the financial sector’s transformation towards responsible and positive impact finance. This investment and the resulting partnerships clearly demonstrate the global leadership of these players in terms of sustainable finance.”