What akaryon GmbH does

akaryon GmbH is an Austrian privately-held software company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Langenwang, Styria, with a second office in Vienna. The company is co-owned 50/50 by co-founders DI Dr. Franz Niederl and DI Petra Bußwald, who serve as its managing directors. akaryon develops web-based sustainability management and ESG reporting software, with its flagship product the ESG-Cockpit — a multi-standard reporting platform supporting ESRS, GRI, EMAS, GHG Protocol (Scopes 1/2/3), Gemeinwohlökonomie (GWÖ), ISO 14000, AWK, and NFI. The technology stack is web-based, API-driven, and integrates with financial accounting systems (DATEV); the same core calculation engine is repurposed through an ESG-Portal white-label framework into customized portals for specific clients and sectors.

The company serves a broad customer base spanning municipalities, SMEs, large enterprises, government agencies, and specific verticals such as the events industry and energy communities. The Klimaschutz-Planer (KSP), co-developed with Klima-Bündnis Frankfurt since 2014, is used by over 2,200 municipalities in Germany, Austria, and East Belgium for municipal climate protection monitoring. Notable enterprise customers include Raiffeisen Bank International (12+ year user), niceshops, d&b audiotechnik, UBM, and German tax firms dhmp and Kanzlei Besser. White-label derivatives of the ESG-Cockpit include the WK-KlimaPortal (free for Austrian Economic Chamber members), d&b SustainSymphony (event industry, PLASA Award for Innovation 2024), and the Goldener Boden ESG-Portal (WKO Steiermark municipal quality seal).

Revenue is generated through subscription SaaS licenses for ESG-Cockpit, license fees for the Klimaschutz-Planer, white-label/development contracts for custom ESG portals, and professional services (training, consulting, grant application support). Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales, channel partnerships (Klimabündnis Services GmbH in Germany, ~30+ WIN consultants in Styria, WKO), event-driven lead generation (Austria Innovation Forum, Digital Finance Forum, PLASA Show), and free freemium platforms (WK-KlimaPortal, d&b SustainSymphony standard) as top-of-funnel entry points. The company participates in multiple EU-funded research projects (USEFLEDS, Energy WITH Spirit, Sustainnovation, Urban Menus, CovCoM Europe, EPAH, ManagEnergy), which serve both as product development vehicles and as channels for geographic and vertical expansion across the DACH region and broader EU.

Name

akaryon GmbH

Legal name

akaryon GmbH

Website

https://akaryon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

akaryon GmbH is an Austrian software company founded in 1999 that develops web-based ESG and sustainability management platforms (ESG-Cockpit, Klimaschutz-Planer) for municipalities, SMEs, and large enterprises across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

ESG / Sustainability Management Software

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

ESG Data Platforms, Controls & Audit Readiness (Data quality, internal controls) (EUAHAJAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Benchmarking, Ratings & Stakeholder Reporting Portals (Scorecards, Dashboards) (EUABAEAJ), ESG Governance, Sustainability Reporting & Assurance Advisory (BPAHAFAJ), Stakeholder Engagement & ESG Governance (Policies, KPIs, incentives) (EUAHAJAJ), ESG Strategy & Materiality Assessment (EUAHAJAA)

Keywords

• ESG management software
• Sustainability reporting
• Climate protection planning
• Carbon accounting software
• ESG compliance platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Leibnitz

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

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. ESG-Cockpit Software Licenses: The primary revenue stream is subscription-based access to the ESG-Cockpit SaaS platform, sold to organizations of varying sizes for sustainability data management and reporting. Pricing is tiered and supports multi-user/organizational structures. Used by thousands of organizations including large enterprises (Raiffeisen Bank International), SMEs, and municipalities.
2. Klimaschutz-Planer Licenses: The Klimaschutz-Planer, developed with Klima-Bündnis Frankfurt, serves over 2,200 German, Belgian, and Austrian municipalities. Revenue comes from municipal license fees and service agreements.
3. Custom ESG-Portal Development: akaryon develops custom ESG portals for specific clients or sectors (e.g., WK-KlimaPortal for Austrian Chambers, d&b SustainSymphony for the event industry, Goldener Boden portal for WKO Steiermark). These are typically project-based or white-label licensing arrangements.
4. Training, Consulting and Support Services: akaryon provides training sessions, workshops (e.g., WIN consultant training for ESG-Cockpit), and implementation support. The company also writes grant applications (Förderanträge) as a service. Professional services complement software licensing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

akaryon GmbH develops and sells ESG and sustainability management software for organisations. Its flagship offering is the ESG-Cockpit, a web-based platform that helps companies, municipalities, and other organisations capture, manage, analyse, and report on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. The company also offers the Klimaschutz-Planer (KSP), a specialised tool for climate protection planning, CO2 balancing, and the design and tracking of climate protection measures, including branded/white-label variants delivered through partner organisations.

Product overview

akaryon GmbH offers a portfolio of sustainability management software products centered around the ESG-Cockpit as the flagship platform for ESG data management and reporting. The product ecosystem includes specialized tools for municipalities (Klimaschutz-Planer, REsys Energielandkarte, Maßnahmen-Planer), corporate sustainability management (ESG-Cockpit), and sector-specific adaptations (d&b SustainSymphony for events, WK KlimaPortal for Austrian businesses, Goldener Boden for municipalities). Additional offerings include CO2 footprint calculators, energiewende planning tools, and training on sustainable investments. The company provides web application development, web marketing, impact measurement, and funding application support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• d&b SustainSymphony: ESG-Portal platform for sustainable event management developed for d&b audiotechnik. Awarded PLASA Award for Innovation in 2024.

Products and services

• ESG-Cockpit

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,200 municipalities in Germany, East Belgium, and Austria use Klimaschutz-Planer for climate protection monitoring
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability3 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• b-nk Büro für nachhaltige Kompetenz (Bente Knoll)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in the Energy WITH Spirit EU project, developing a specialized ESG reporting tool for energy communities from the ESG-Cockpit platform, targeting compliance with sustainability reporting obligations for energy cooperatives.
• Wirtschaftsagentur Wien (WAW)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Organized the 'Data for Sustainability' panel at Austria Innovation Forum 2024 featuring akaryon and Raiffeisen Bank International, facilitating visibility and networking for ESG solutions.
• Wirtschaftskammer Österreich (WKÖ) and Regional ChamberscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2024WKO initiated and co-promotes the WK-KlimaPortal (developed by akaryon). Regional chambers (Salzburg, Styria, Upper Austria, Tyrol) organize webinars and promote ESG tools to member companies. WKO Steiermark also commissioned the Goldener Boden ESG-Portal.
• Forschung Burgenland GmbH (USEFLEDS Project Coordinator)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Coordinator of the FFG-funded USEFLEDS project (2023-2027), which integrates ESG-Cockpit into an ESG-Super-Tool for multi-stakeholder energy data management under the European Green Deal. The project involves 14 partners from research, education, and industry plus large energy utilities.
• TeamWeitblickminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Sustainability strategy and reporting consultancy, with over 20 years of experience in sustainability. Partnered with akaryon to develop an intelligent bidirectional DATEV-ESG-Cockpit interface for tax advisory firms and their clients.
• Mensalia Unternehmensberatungs GmbHminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2023Specialist for Corporate & Capital Market Communications and Advanced Corporate Finance. Co-markets ESG-Cockpit and organizes test days (Best Practice Reporting Austria initiative).
• Spirit Design (Georg Wagner)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023FFG-funded Sustainnovation project partner working on integrating innovation management and sustainability strategy within the ESG-Cockpit. Joint research on how radical sustainable innovations can accelerate the transformation to a more sustainable economy.
• Klimabündnis ÖsterreichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Long-standing partnership with Klimabündnis Österreich for the development of early climate accounting tools (e.g., www.klimabilanz.at launched in early 2000s) and ongoing collaboration on ESG-Cockpit for Climate Alliance businesses and municipalities.
• Wirtschaftsinitiative Nachhaltigkeit (WIN) SteiermarkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2020WIN Styria provides subsidized consulting for SME climate accounting using ESG-Cockpit. Over 30 WIN consultants were trained in 2020 and subsequently provided Klimabilanzierung services to Styrian companies with grant support.
• Umweltbundesamt GmbH (Austrian Environment Agency)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014The Umweltbundesamt is a key expert partner in the further development of ESG-Cockpit, contributing authoritative expertise in emission factors, greenhouse gas accounting methodologies, and standard-compliant procedures. This partnership ensures ESG-Cockpit's calculation engine uses the most current and reliable emission data.
• Klima-Bündnis Frankfurt (Climate Alliance Frankfurt)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014akaryon co-developed and operates the Klimaschutz-Planer with Klima-Bündnis Frankfurt. This tool is the most widely used municipal emissions accounting instrument in Germany, serving over 2,200 municipalities. akaryon also maintains a partnership with Klimabündnis Services GmbH as the exclusive German service partner.
• Klima-Bündnis Services GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2014Exclusive service partner in Germany for ESG-Cockpit and Klimaschutz-Planer, targeting German municipalities, administrations, and communal operations. Provides webinars and individual support to German users.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Plan A: Berlin-headquartered ESG and decarbonization software platform for SMBs. Direct regional competitor with a comparable CSRD/SME-focused product, very similar KMU customer segment, and German-speaking roots.
• Greenly: Carbon accounting platform focused on SMBs and mid-market in Europe. Comparable on Scope 1/2/3 calculation, multi-framework reporting, and KMU segment, though Greenly is more carbon-first and less ESG-broad than akaryon.
• Persefoni: Climate management and carbon accounting SaaS platform for enterprises and financial institutions. Closely comparable product surface (carbon accounting, CSRD/ESRS-ready reporting) and target buyer (enterprise sustainability/finance teams).
• Sweep: French-headquartered ESG data management platform for SMBs and mid-market. Highly comparable to akaryon's ESG-Cockpit in multi-standard reporting and customer size tier, and is a primary competitor in the European SMB ESG segment.
• Watershed: US-headquartered enterprise carbon accounting and ESG reporting platform. Direct competitor targeting enterprise sustainability teams with similar GHG Protocol Scope 1/2/3 and disclosure workflows, though at much larger scale and with English-first positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Workiva: Large, publicly-traded ESG and financial reporting platform serving enterprise customers. Overlaps with akaryon in CSRD/ESRS reporting workflows but competes from a much broader GRC/financial reporting position with significant scale advantage.
• Microsoft Sustainability Manager: Microsoft's ESG data platform integrated with the Microsoft Cloud / Fabric / Purview stack. Competes indirectly with akaryon for enterprise ESG data management and offers the embedded advantage of Microsoft's data infrastructure.
• Salesforce Net Zero Cloud: Salesforce's sustainability management product for enterprises, native to the Salesforce CRM ecosystem. Competes for the same enterprise ESG buyer but bundled into a much larger CRM/ERP platform; long-term threat via ecosystem embedding.
• South Pole: Global climate solutions provider with software-enabled carbon accounting and ESG advisory. Comparable on Scope 1/2/3 reporting and CSRD support for European enterprises; significantly larger but more consulting-led than akaryon's pure-software model.

Regional players

• ClimatePartner: Germany-headquartered carbon accounting consultancy and software platform serving European enterprises. Comparable on carbon accounting and climate strategy offerings for DACH clients; differs by leading with offsetting/consulting rather than software-first.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=wxEfHMOEp4o
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/akaryon-gmbh

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 akaryon GmbH