• Three pioneers in the field of sustainability management join forces to accelerate the Sustainable Transformation of medium-sized companies and enable long-term business success.
• With a combined number of over 2,500 sustainability and reporting projects, more than 200 customers, and decades of experience, the merger will create a new leading integrated software and consulting company in the sustainability management and reporting sector.
• The newly formed company provides a solution to the massive ESG-regulatory challenges, especially those posed by the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the LkSG ( Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz – Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains), by offering customers established software and services from a single source.

Munich/Hamburg/Cologne, June 1, 2023 – VERSO, sustainabill and the Silvester Group announce their strategic merger today. VERSO is one of Germany’s most experienced providers of ESG management software and services, the sustainabill cloud platform increases supply chain transparency and sustainability, while Silvester Group supports and advises clients on corporate, ESG and financial strategy, communication and reporting. Together, they now provide a holistic solution ‘Made in Germany’ as the leading European provider for sustainability management and reporting.

The alliance of the three pioneers in the field of corporate sustainability aims to accelerate the Sustainable Transformation of medium-sized companies. With sustainability software, reporting and consulting, they offer a comprehensive solution that covers sustainability topics from the supply chain to the annual report, all from a single source. This helps companies break down data silos between sustainability and finance departments, logistics and purchasing, and external suppliers along the supply chain. In addition, the newly formed company assists clients with climate assessment and climate strategy using proprietary software and expertise.

More than 200 active customers already benefit from the holistic solution for all regulatory challenges and reporting obligations in the sustainability sector.

The newly formed company helps SMEs face increasingly complex ESG compliance

Medium-sized companies in particular face a wide range of challenges regarding compliance and communication in the field of sustainability. These include the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will require more than 15,000 German companies to disclose the impact of sustainability aspects on their business activities as well as their own impact on environment and society. The Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains (LkSG), which is already effective, will also require all companies with more than 1,000 employees to comply with due diligence requirements at their own facilities and in their supply chain starting 2024. In addition, sustainability requirements on the part of capital providers are leading to additional complexity under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

“Sustainability is becoming increasingly complex and our newly formed company is the answer to that. We bundle comprehensive sustainability expertise with leading technology. There is demand not only for accurate sustainability reports, but also for serious climate assessments and holistic sustainability strategies. With this merger, we fully cover all areas and become the leading European provider of sustainability software, reporting and consulting. Together with our partner ecosystem, we will massively accelerate the Sustainable Transformation of the economy,” said Andreas Maslo, co-founder of VERSO and CEO of the newly formed company.

“We are united by a common goal: the sustainable success of our customers. A success achieved not despite, but precisely because of the increasing sustainability requirements. Therefore, we accompany the development of sustainable corporate strategy and communicate to the state and the success of the development of ESG and financial performance. We do that in an active and target group-oriented way in the annual and sustainability reports we produce for our clients”, says Thilo Tern, Managing Director of Silvester Group and Co-CEO of the new company. “Sustainability and financial reporting will consolidate in the near future, because of the CSRD developments. We are very pleased that in the newly formed company we can support this convergence even better and with integrated software!”

“The sustainable supply chain is an irreplaceable building block in companies’ sustainability efforts. Starting now, we can deliver a holistic product range to meet all current and future ESG requirements. In doing so, we enable full compliance with regulatory challenges such as the Supply Chain Act, CSRD or the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive . Our focus is on transparency, as this allows management to measure progress and take action in a targeted manner,” explains Klaus Wiesen, co-founder of sustainabill.

The customer portfolios include companies such as Zeitfracht, Fonds Finanz Maklerservice GmbH or Lohmann & Rauscher (VERSO), Riese & Müller, Rational AG, Eat Happy Group (sustainabill) as well as Jungheinrich, Hapag-Lloyd or the BECKERS Group (Silvester Group). The newly formed remote-first company has offices in Munich, Hamburg and Cologne. Strategic partner is the German investment company NORD Holding, based in Hannover, which has been supporting the companies in this merger since November 2022. With over 50 years of history and € 3.2 billion in assets under management, NORD Holding is one of the leading capital partners in Germany. The management teams are shaping the new alliance both operationally and as co-investors.

About VERSO

VERSO supports medium-sized companies holistically in their Sustainable Transformation with its software (SaaS) solution as well as with services for sustainability management. Consulting and training in the domains of ESG reporting, management and climate assessment make VERSO a comprehensive partner for corporate sustainability and ESG. Sustainability managers use VERSO to professionalize and digitalize their sustainability management or to bring even more efficiency into their existing processes, above all CSR reporting. VERSO also supports them on their way to becoming a climate-friendly company. VERSO was founded in 2010 by Andreas Maslo and Florian Holl in southern Germany. VERSO GmbH, based in Munich, is managed by the two founders together with Nuvia Maslo and Alexander Penitsch.

About sustainabill

With its Cloud Platform, sustainabill offers a comprehensive solution for managing sustainability and ESG risks in the supply chain. The company was founded in 2017 stemming from research at the renowned Wuppertal Institute, one of the world’s leading sustainability think tanks. The company was led by Christoph Wiesen and Klaus Wiesen, who are also co-founders of the company.

About Silvester Group

Silvester Group is the leading company for integrated stakeholder relations in Germany. Founded in 1986, the company is a pioneer in business and sustainability reporting with project experience from more than 2,150 client projects for companies across all industries. Silvester Group offers corporate, ESG and financial communications holistically from a single source: strategy, consulting, research and editorial. Design, brand and image. Investor Relations (IR), Public Relations (PR) & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Online, offline, social media, digital & film. The Managing Partners are Christina Rahtgens and Thilo Tern.

Press Contact

Nuvia Maslo
CCO/CMO VERSO GmbH
Email: presse@verso.de