Retail brands throughout Europe are facing growing scrutiny from regulators, investors, and consumers who increasingly expect real data to back up sustainability claims. Behind many polished ESG reports, however, lies a fragmented reality. Sustainability teams still rely on chaotic spreadsheets, incomplete supplier data, and expensive consultants to calculate carbon footprints and meet disclosure requirements. As a result, reporting cycles remain slow and costly, while decisions are often made using outdated or incomplete information.
Root Sustainability Raises €1M Seed Round
Amsterdam-based climate tech startup Root Sustainability aims to change this dynamic. The company has raised €1M in seed funding to help retail brands transform scattered operational and supply chain data into transparent, auditable, and decision-ready sustainability insights. The round was led by Borski Fund, with participation from Rockstart, angel investors Spotlight and Empower Impact, as well as other private backers.
“Our solution can now reach retail brands across Europe,” said Maud Schijen, co-founder of Root Sustainability. “Today, many companies spend enormous amounts of time and money on consultants just to calculate their company and product carbon footprints. The process is slow, fragmented, and often outdated. Our AI-powered platform turns incomplete, scattered data into clean, auditable datasets in minutes instead of months, enabling faster decisions, real impact, and measurable ROI.”
Built for the Reality of Retail Data
Founded in 2022 by Gijs de Mol and Maud Schijen, Root Sustainability is an AI-driven data platform designed specifically for retail brands. Unlike traditional sustainability software that depends on highly structured inputs or narrow lifecycle assessment models, Root is built to handle the messy reality of retail supply chains, where data is often inconsistent, missing, or spread across multiple systems and suppliers.
The platform ingests data from across the value chain, including sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and product specifications. Using AI, Root fills data gaps, standardises inputs, and converts raw information into high-quality datasets that meet regulatory and audit standards.
From Reporting to Decarbonisation Planning
Once structured, Root’s datasets can be used for a wide range of applications. These include product-level carbon footprinting, corporate emissions reporting, and modelling different decarbonisation scenarios. Retailers can test the environmental impact of sourcing, material, or product design changes before making costly decisions.
Retail brands such as HEMA, O’Neill, and Holland & Barrett are already using Root’s platform to calculate product footprints, compare emissions reduction scenarios, and prepare for compliance with upcoming regulations.
Meeting Europe’s Regulatory Wave
Root’s timing aligns closely with a wave of new European sustainability regulations. Retailers are preparing for stricter requirements under frameworks such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Digital Product Passports, and VSME standards. These regulations demand more accurate, traceable, and auditable data than many retailers currently have access to.
By delivering high-granularity insights in minutes rather than months, Root aims to reduce reliance on consultants and manual data collection.
Standing Out in a Crowded Market
While established sustainability software providers such as Sphera and SimaPro offer lifecycle assessment tools, Root differentiates itself through its retail-specific focus, AI-driven speed, and ability to work with incomplete data. The platform’s emphasis on value-chain breadth and regulatory readiness addresses day-to-day challenges faced by sustainability teams.
“Root is solving a real challenge for retail brands today: the lack of accessible, accurate, and actionable sustainability data,” said Anieke Lamers, Operating Partner at Borski Fund. “Root is building the data backbone retailers need to succeed under new sustainability regulations and consumer expectations.”
Scaling Across Europe
The newly raised capital will support Root’s expansion across Europe and further development of its AI capabilities, particularly in data optimisation and decarbonisation planning. As sustainability shifts from a marketing exercise to a regulatory and strategic imperative, Root is betting that faster, cheaper, and better data will become a decisive competitive advantage for retailers navigating an increasingly complex landscape.