WAVES

WAVES, founded in Luxembourg in 2019 by Armin Neises and Matthias Brinkert, provides a digital platform to help businesses improve their environmental and social sustainability performance. The company was established out of Neises's frustration with corporate reluctance to adopt sustainable practices, aiming to provide the necessary tools and knowledge for companies to reduce their emissions. On January 9, 2025, WAVES was acquired by pacemaker, a corporate venture of thyssenkrupp Materials Services, to expand pacemaker's sustainability product suite. The entire WAVES team was integrated into pacemaker as part of the acquisition, for which the purchase price was not disclosed.

The company operates in the growing market of corporate sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data management. Its clients are B2B customers across all industries, particularly those affected by regulations like the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the EU Taxonomy. WAVES operates on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business model, offering subscriptions to its modular platform.

The core offering is the Sustainability Management Platform (SMP), a TÜV-certified, cloud-based software solution designed to make sustainability efforts transparent and manageable. The platform allows companies to calculate, monitor, and report on key ESG indicators. Its modules include "Sustainable Transport" for calculating the carbon footprint of logistics down to the shipment level, "Sustainable Tendering" to help select environmentally friendly transport partners, and "Sustainable Companies" which calculates a company's overall carbon footprint, including complex Scope 3 emissions. This enables businesses to comply with legal reporting standards, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to reduce their environmental impact. In addition to its software, WAVES provides consulting, training, and coaching services to help managers integrate sustainability into their corporate strategy.

Keywords: Sustainability Management Platform, ESG reporting, CSRD compliance, EU Taxonomy, carbon footprint calculation, supply chain sustainability, carbon accounting, sustainable transport, ESG data management, corporate sustainability, environmental consulting, cleantech, SaaS, B2B software, supply chain law, carbon dioxide emissions, sustainability KPIs, circular economy, emissions transparency, green tech