Today, companies are tasked with incorporating both economic and societal objectives into their mission to enhance the well-being of their employees. Some must explore ways to sustainably nourish. They need to find solutions for social and environmental performance that respect all living beings and protect health. Let’s focus on some companies that have become unicorns and inspire dynamism.
EcoVadis, a Platform for Assessing Supplier Performance
Valuation January 2020
EcoVadis is a collaborative platform that allows large companies to assess the environmental and social performance of their suppliers. Founded in 2007 by Pierre-François Thaler and Frédéric Trinel, EcoVadis aims to reduce risks related to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and promote eco-innovations within their supply chains. To date, EcoVadis’s rating platform is used by over 60,000 companies in 155 countries, including L’Oréal, Nestlé, and Heineken. Its methodology is based on international sustainability standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact, and ISO 26000, covering 200 spending categories and over 160 countries.
More than 450 companies (including 70% of the CAC 40) – representing over €2,500 billion in annual spending – rely on supplier assessments and EcoVadis’s collaborative platform to evaluate and improve the CSR performance of their supply chains. EcoVadis has experienced an annual growth of 40% over the last five years.
“The model of a company governed by values of responsibility has been intensifying for years in a very virtuous dynamic. Today’s leaders are increasingly aware of the importance of implementing assessments on CSR and sustainable development to protect their brands, increase valuations, enlighten investment strategies, and positively influence society.”
Reinventing the Food Chain, That’s Ÿnsect’s Credo
Valuation February 2019
Ÿnsect offers an ecological, healthy, and sustainable solution to meet the growing global demand for protein and plants. Founded in 2011 in Paris by scientists and environmental activists Antoine Hubert, Jean-Gabriel Levon, Fabrice Berrot, and Alexis Angot, Ÿnsect transforms insects into high-value-added premium ingredients for animals, fish, plants, and potentially humans in the future. Ÿnsect operates breakthrough technologies protected by 300 patents from 30 families, allowing them to raise Molitor and Buffalo beetles in vertical farms with a negative carbon footprint.
Ÿnsect is currently building its third production unit, the world’s largest vertical farm, in Amiens, France, and operates two sites in France (since 2016) and the Netherlands (since 2017). Moreover, the 200-employee B Corp certified company’s activity is carbon negative and meets the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance. In October 2019, it raised $125 million (106 million euros), totaling $425 million in funding for the company.
Swile, an Innovative Unicorn Anchored in Occitania and Brazil
Valuation October 2021
Swile is a worktech launched in 2018 by its founder and CEO Loïc Soubeyrand (also co-founder and former CEO of Teads, sold to Altice in 2017). Swile’s territorial anchoring has already created 150 jobs and contributes to both attractiveness and development factors in Occitania.
Its ambition is to become the global leader in the employee experience. In four years, Swile has captured 13% of the employee benefits market by focusing on innovation and product quality. After attracting major Tech players (Doctolib, Spotify, Airbnb), Swile now equips companies of all sizes and sectors, from one-person startups to the 65,000 employees of France’s largest private company, Carrefour.
Swile offers 2 products:
- Swile Card, a smart card that manages all employee benefits (meal vouchers, gift vouchers, mobility, etc.). While other employee benefits will be added in the coming months (holiday vouchers, salary advances, etc.), the ambition is to make it the reference card for employees to manage all expenses related to the professional context (employee benefits, professional expenses, and payments between colleagues).
- Swile App, which will soon be launched and dedicated to the employee experience. It allows measuring and acting on employee engagement through features that stimulate cohesion, exchange, recognition, and feedback among colleagues, as well as the feeling of being listened to with the help of anonymous questionnaires sent by employers. These decision support tools will be complemented in the coming months by indicators tracking the social performance of organizations, an increasingly crucial element in the ESG rating of companies.
The company, operating in two countries (France and Brazil), has a total of 500 employees, 500,000 users, and 15,000 customer companies. This ambitious funding aims to strengthen Swile’s technological advantage and accelerate its international deployment with recruitment evenly distributed: 25% of the workforce in Montpellier, 25% in Paris, 25% in full remote, and 25% of employees in Brazil.
“With this €175 million funding, we are giving ourselves additional means and a top-tier partner to continue disrupting established models and bring our ambitious mission to life: creating a fulfilling work world. Today, we have the full means of our ambitions to continue developing our products, offering the best employee experience, and continuing to recruit the talents and skills necessary for our development.
