What Optera does

Optera is a Boulder, Colorado-based SaaS company providing carbon emissions management software to large enterprises subject to climate disclosure regulations such as California's SB 253/SB 261 and the EU's CSRD. Founded in 2006 as boutique consultancy Point380 and rebranded around the 2016 Paris Agreement, the company launched its software platform in 2018 and has raised $18 million across a Seed-2 (March 2022) and Series A (September 2023), both led by Next Frontier Capital. Its platform is built around modular architecture: Operator manages scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions data; Supply Chain Manager and Outreach handle supplier emissions collection and engagement; Response Hub applies generative AI to automate sustainability questionnaires and regulatory responses; and the Direct-Use Product Emissions Database (DPED), co-developed with RILA, provides scope 3 category 11 data across 500+ product types.

The company's commercial model is enterprise subscription-based with quote-based pricing for the core platform and bundled expert services (implementation, technical support, climate consulting) included at no additional cost. Go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales supported by inside sales, targeting $1B+ revenue companies across retail, technology, manufacturing, financial services, and supply chain-intensive sectors. Named customers include Target, Cisco, HPE, NVIDIA, Lowe's, Dell, TJX, Williams-Sonoma, Intel, KKR, Robinhood, and Bloomin' Brands. The company tracks 225M+ metric tonnes of CO2e across 84,000+ customer sites in 100+ countries, reports a 64 NPS (versus 44 industry average), and claims 100% client success rate with third-party verifiers, supported by SOC 2 Type II certification.

Name

Optera

Legal name

Optera™

Website

https://opteraclimate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Optera provides an enterprise SaaS platform for carbon emissions management and Scope 1/2/3 reporting, serving Fortune 500 companies in retail, technology, and manufacturing that must comply with CSRD and California climate disclosure regulations, with bundled expert services and AI-powered reporting automation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Carbon and ESG Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210), Software Publishers (51321), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Carbon Accounting & GHG Inventory Platforms (EUABAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Supply Chain (Scope 3) Emissions & Supplier Engagement Platforms (EUABAEAE), Climate Target-Setting, Transition Planning & Performance Management Platforms (EUABAEAF), Benchmarking, Ratings & Stakeholder Reporting Portals (Scorecards, Dashboards) (EUABAEAJ)

Keywords

• Carbon emissions management
• ESG reporting software
• Supply chain decarbonization
• Scope 3 emissions tracking
• Climate compliance software

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software Subscriptions: Annual subscription-based pricing for access to Optera's carbon management platform including Operator, Supply Chain Manager, Outreach, and Response Hub modules. Includes full-service implementation, technical support, and ongoing climate consulting.
2. Direct-Use Product Emissions Database (DPED) Licensing: Annual licenses for DPED database access: FREE tier for single entity self-use, $3,000 for multiple entities supporting third parties, and custom pricing for commercial use in software solutions.
3. Expert Services: Climate consulting services included with software licenses - full-service implementation, technical support, and ongoing advisory. Professional services bundled into software engagements rather than sold separately.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Optera sells a cloud-based carbon management SaaS platform that centralizes Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions accounting for large enterprises, paired with supply chain supplier engagement tools and AI-powered sustainability reporting automation. The platform is sold as annual subscriptions that bundle the software with embedded climate consulting services, targeting Fortune 500 companies needing to comply with regulations such as California SB 253/SB 261, EU CSRD, CDP, CBAM, and TCFD.

Product overview

Optera offers a unified carbon management platform with modular architecture consisting of a core Platform, four main modules (Operator, Supply Chain Manager, Outreach, and Response Hub), specialized solutions (California SB 253/SB 261 Compliance, CSRD Reporting), and supporting tools (Direct-Use Product Emissions Database). The Optera Platform serves as the foundation, with Operator handling internal scope 1/2/3 emissions management, Supply Chain Manager addressing supplier emissions, Outreach enabling supplier data collection, and Response Hub automating sustainability reporting using AI. The company originally operated as Point380 (founded 2006) and launched its software platform in 2018.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Optera Platform Comprehensive cloud-based carbon management software platform that provides real data for decarbonizing the global economy. Empowers organizations to accurately measure and manage Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions with direct and actionable information across the full value chain. Sold as an annual subscription that includes the Operator, Supply Chain Manager, Outreach, and Response Hub modules bundled with embedded expert climate consulting.
• Response Hub AI-powered sustainability reporting engine built on the Operator platform that ingests questionnaires, frameworks, and regulations (CDP, EcoVadis, CSRD, CA SB 253, customer RFPs, investor frameworks) and drafts audit-ready answers using verified emissions data and a curated knowledge base. Includes governed AI with human review and approval workflows, reducing manual reporting time from weeks to minutes for sustainability teams at large enterprises.
• Supply Chain Manager Module for companies with complex supply chains to collect, store, and forecast allocated emissions across global suppliers. Informs Scope 3 emissions reporting and management with custom supplier standards, cradle-to-gate accounting, and supplier engagement tracking across 10,000+ suppliers in the database.
• Outreach Supplier-facing emissions data collection module that empowers suppliers to share environmental data through three paths — Reporting, Calculation, or Estimation — accommodating all levels of supplier climate program maturity. Enables scalable Scope 3 supplier engagement workflows for retail and enterprise customers.
• Operator Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions management module combining a streamlined interface with flexible data structures for organizing emissions data, pursuing climate goals, and maintaining audit readiness. Includes centralized data management, strategic overviews, hotspot identification, transparent audit-ready calculations, and renewables tracking.
• Direct-Use Product Emissions Database (DPED) Comprehensive database providing consistent and comparable Scope 3 Category 11 (use of sold products) emissions data for over 500 consumer and commercial product types. Available as a standalone licensed database (FREE for single-entity self-use, $3,000 annual license for multi-entity support, custom pricing for commercial software integration).
• California SB 253 & SB 261 Compliance Solution Compliance solution for California's climate reporting regulations covering SB 253 (GHG emissions disclosure by August 2026 for companies with $1B+ revenue doing business in California) and SB 261 (climate-related financial risk reports). Includes regulatory gap analysis, tailored action plans, and compliant Climate-Related Risk Reports supported by the Optera platform.
• CSRD Reporting Solution Streamlined CSRD compliance solution combining expert consultants and Optera software to guide EU organizations through data collection, gap analysis, and audit-ready reporting for EU-wide CSRD requirements and member state variations, aligned with ESRS standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 64 NPS against 44 industry average
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers25 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to develop the Direct-Use Product Emissions Database (DPED) for scope 3, category 11 emissions reporting. RILA and Optera jointly develop and publish the database annually. Founding supporters include Lowe's, Target, and other RILA members.
• SPS CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to launch the Retail Sustainability Collective - industry initiative integrating environmental data collection into supplier engagement workflows. Combines Optera's Scope 3 emissions tools with SPS Commerce's proven supplier collaboration framework.
• Consumer ReportsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEx officio committee member providing input on Direct-Use Product Emissions Database development and methodology
• European DIY Retail Association (EDRA) / Global Home Improvement Network (GHIN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEx officio committee member providing input on Direct-Use Product Emissions Database development and methodology
• Retail Council of Canada (RCC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEx officio committee member providing input on Direct-Use Product Emissions Database development and methodology
• Adrian TuckminorOthersBoard member and advisor. 25+ year entrepreneur and technology leader, Co-Founder and former CEO of Uplight. Named World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of The Year.
• Kirsten SuddathminorOthersGeneral Partner at Next Frontier Capital, which led Optera's Series A and Seed-2 funding. Formerly with Blackhorn Ventures and Techstars Boulder entrepreneur in residence.
• Melissa CheongminorOthersManaging Partner of Blackhorn Ventures, an investment firm focused on industrial resource efficiency. Former Chief Investment Officer at Zoma Capital and held positions at Goldman Sachs-Imprint.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Watershed: Enterprise carbon accounting and sustainability platform serving Fortune 500 companies with Scope 1–3 reporting, audit-ready disclosures, and supply chain engagement—directly overlapping Optera's core offering and target buyer.
• Persefoni: Cloud-based carbon accounting and climate management platform targeting large enterprises with GHG inventory, CSRD/SEC reporting, and decarbonization planning—competing head-to-head with Optera's Operator and CSRD solutions.
• Sweep: Sustainability and carbon management platform focused on Scope 3, supplier engagement, and CSRD reporting for multinational enterprises—a closely comparable mid-stage competitor with similar buyer profile.
• Normative: Carbon accounting engine with deep Scope 3 emissions methodology and science-based target tracking, serving large European and global enterprises—directly comparable on methodology depth and compliance workflows.
• Plan A: Carbon accounting and ESG platform with strong European footprint, supporting CSRD reporting, decarbonization planning, and supply chain emissions management—comparable on regulatory focus and enterprise GTM.

Broad incumbents

• Sphera: Long-standing enterprise ESG, EHS, and carbon management software provider owned by Blackstone—offers broader operational risk and product stewardship capabilities beyond pure carbon, competing for the same Fortune 500 sustainability budgets.
• Workiva: Public reporting and compliance platform widely used for ESG and sustainability disclosure by large enterprises—competes for the audit-ready ESG reporting workflow that Optera's Response Hub targets.
• Salesforce Net Zero Cloud: Carbon accounting solution from Salesforce targeting enterprises already on its CRM platform—leverages installed base and data integration advantages to compete in the same Fortune 500 carbon accounting market.
• Microsoft Sustainability Manager: Microsoft's ESG data and carbon accounting solution integrated with the broader Microsoft Cloud—a major incumbent benefiting from co-sell motion and enterprise IT standardization that competes for Optera's enterprise pipeline.
• OneTrust: Trust intelligence platform with a sustainability/ESG module for carbon accounting and supply chain disclosures—broader privacy and governance portfolio but overlapping enterprise buyers and reporting workflows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/opteraclimate
• Instagraminstagram.com/opteraclimate

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors12 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Optera