Sustainability network The Crowd reaches investment target

The Crowd, a network of corporate sustainability experts, has reached its investment target of £300,000 in its equity crowdfunding campaign and is now overfunding to launch two sustainability platforms.

The Crowd launched its investment with the aim of raising £300k – £500k through the sale of a 20% stake on Crowdcube, targeting angel investors and the sustainability community. With 45 days left to raise investment, 171 investors have already pledged a total of £322,440.

The funding will be used to develop two digital platforms designed to revolutionise the way companies draw up their sustainability strategies. The first platform, The Curve, is an interactive, online database where companies and public sector organisations can share their carbon and energy investment data, enabling them to make smarter decisions. The platform is due to launch in April this year.

The second platform, Crowd Consulting, is an online tool that enables organisations to efficiently tap into the wisdom of stakeholders and peers as they draw up solutions to specific sustainability challenges.

Jim Woods, CEO of The Crowd, commented, “It is already clear that pioneers are making very attractive returns from their sustainability strategies, whilst making substantial progress towards tackling issues such as climate change and youth unemployment. The hard benefits can be seen on the bottom line, as well as less tangible areas such as winning the war on talent and brand.”

He explained that 88% of companies with robust sustainability practices demonstrate better operational performance. However, business engagement with social and environmental challenges is described as “insufficient” and this is the gap The Crowd aims to bridge. Woods adds that the next stage is to transfer knowledge from the pioneers to the mainstream.

The Crowd’s platforms have been specially designed to access, showcase and debate knowledge from across organisations, sectors and geographies.

“We have invested considerable time in building a business model that creates financial value by tackling the big challenges facing society today. We’re part of a new movement that sees business as the solution rather than the problem. It turns a lot of conventional business thinking on its head,” Woods said.

“The tools for tackling sustainability exist but the knowledge is held in pockets of small teams in different sectors and geographies. If organisations were able to learn efficiently from each other the costs and risks associated with sustainability programmes would be reduced.”

To learn more about The Crowd and their investment round click here.

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Further reading:

Breakdown of business ethics destroying shareholder value, says Ecclesiastical

Taking steps towards a new ethical age of business

McKinsey: company leaders rallying behind sustainability

Companies turning to social media to communicate sustainability