Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Markus Adler, Code Gaia: Sustainability reporting requirements are coming for many companies starting in 2024. By 2030 at the latest, they will affect almost all companies and self-employed individuals. At Code Gaia, we simplify sustainability management for companies through software – essentially sustainability-as-a-service. Our customers can load all relevant data into the Code Gaia portal and create their first sustainability report in just four hours. Our automation processes prevent Excel chaos, as various data sources, such as incoming invoices and smart questionnaires, are integrated directly by the software. This saves a lot of time. Of course, we support our customers through these first steps with our individual sustainability experts – from creating the personalized sustainability dashboard to defining desired sustainability goals, the reporting or analysis scope, and the reporting period.
Companies then receive their sustainability status quo clearly in a dashboard and prepared according to recognized standards in key figures, so they also match their stakeholders’ requirements. Through the dashboard, sustainability reports can also be downloaded with one click – for example as fact sheets or ESG reports. We also offer an optimization solution that is integrated directly in the tool and data-driven – without expensive daily rates.
Munich Startup: But that already exists!
Markus Adler: Yes, other providers also have solutions to centralize data for sustainability reports and create ESG reporting from it. However, Code Gaia’s software also works with artificial intelligence that simplifies processes, starts earlier than other solutions in data collection, and takes a lot of detailed work off the shoulders of the people involved.
Own experiences with sustainability reports lead to founding
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Markus Adler: The idea for Code Gaia emerged during my time in the banking sector and my first venture. I had to write sustainability reports myself at that time and witnessed how complicated, time-consuming, and comprehensive complete data collection can be. My co-founder Niklas Schönstein, however, was convinced that we could also automate these processes very well. With Till Kudrun as our third co-founder, we launched Code Gaia in 2020 – then still under the name Spenoki. At that time, it was still unclear how extensive the reporting requirement would become and how high the resulting demand for our solution could be.
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Markus Adler: For us, it was a crucial point to link the companies’ need for sustainability reports with our vision, as experts only saw the expected demand but not the vision behind Code Gaia. We believe it is our task to preserve nature for future generations and that we have a lever we can actively deploy for this purpose.
I can only encourage other founders to clearly tie the product to a vision and take criticism of it seriously. At the same time, they should never lose faith in the team and the business model. We managed to link product and vision together. This allowed us to convince business angels in our pre-seed round and were financially secure through additional revenue from pilot customers.
First point of contact for SMEs
Munich Startup: Where do you want to stand in a year, where in five years?
Markus Adler: In the coming year, many companies will be required to report their ESG efforts for the first time. Here we want to be the first point of contact for SMEs. In five years, we will be the leading ESG management and reporting solution for SMEs in Europe. By then, we want to help 2,500 SMEs make their sustainability management processes more economical so that the saved costs can be invested in implementing measures for a livable future. This vision motivates me anew every day.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Markus Adler: Just recently, Munich was named Germany’s new startup capital – and rightly so. We notice the startup spirit at (almost) every corner in Munich. This is not least due to the strong universities and the programs and platforms that promote startup development. A great network of founders, supporters, and investors has emerged that enables valuable exchange among founding teams. In addition, there are important development centers for international tech companies such as Google. Mutual support is at the top for Munich founders and can be experienced anew every day in our headquarters at the incubator Werk1 at Ostbahnhof.
Munich Startup: Hidden champion or shooting star?
Markus Adler: Both. With Code Gaia, we developed the right product at the right time – no question about it. Our software will significantly relieve many companies in terms of sustainability in the coming years. At the same time, we are also a hidden champion: because many companies haven’t yet grasped how much sustainability reports and ESG reporting will influence them in the future. However, we are here to support companies.
