Emidat, a leader in environmental data solutions for the construction industry, has announced a €4 million (~$4.4 million) seed funding round led by General Catalyst. This funding aims to help Emidat transform the construction sector’s environmental impact, starting with innovative labeling for every building material.
As the EU prepares to implement mandatory standards for building product declarations, Emidat is developing the “operating system” for environmental data in construction.
Key to this system are Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), which provide data on a material’s environmental impact across its lifecycle stages—production, construction, operation, and potential for reuse, recovery, or recycling. By using EPDs, architects, developers, and contractors can make environmentally informed decisions about each material in a project.
The construction and real estate sectors account for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with over half stemming from “embodied carbon”—the emissions from the lifecycle of building materials. Even as buildings become more energy-efficient, embodied carbon’s impact continues to rise, having accounted for 11% (4.48 billion tonnes CO₂e) of global emissions in 2021.
Moreover, with an expected addition of 2.4 trillion square feet (230 billion m²) of new floor area worldwide over the next 40 years—equivalent to building a new New York City every month—this challenge is set to grow.
The current process of creating EPDs is costly, fragmented, and time-intensive, and the construction sector has been slow to adopt digital solutions. The European market for verified EPD certificates is estimated to be worth at least €5 billion annually, with the need to produce 25 times the number of EPDs published to date.
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“Buildings are central to our lives and economies, yet they contribute significantly to environmental harm,” said Lisa Oberaigner, CEO and co-founder of Emidat. “As 75% of the buildings we’ll use in 2050 are yet to be built, there’s a vast opportunity to reduce their environmental impact. With transparent and accessible environmental data, we can help decarbonize construction and create a sustainable built environment.”
To reach the EU’s net-zero target by 2050, the construction industry must rapidly reduce embodied carbon. Emidat’s platform provides the necessary data layer, integrating with existing workflows and accepting data via API, Excel, or BIM. Its database includes environmental data on over 150,000 construction products, accessible through API and user interface (UI).
The platform offers several benefits to material manufacturers:
• Streamlined EPD Creation: Emidat’s software simplifies the creation of EPDs, making the process faster, easier, and more affordable.
• Increased Transparency: Emidat’s centralized data repository facilitates access to and comparison of environmental information.
• Enhanced Sustainability: Manufacturers can showcase their commitment to sustainability and stand out from competitors.
Founded in 2023 by Lisa Oberaigner (CEO) and Florian Fesch (CTO), Emidat has quickly gained clients among top global construction suppliers, including three of the world’s largest concrete manufacturers.
Samuel Beyer, an investor at General Catalyst, commented, “Emidat offers a turnkey solution for decarbonizing the critical built environment, functioning as a collaborative platform where industry players can access and exchange material data. We believe this will accelerate industry transformation and enhance value chain efficiency.”
Working with leading building material manufacturers across Europe, Emidat serves companies in the concrete, insulation, steel, and facade sectors. Customers report a 70% reduction in both costs and time for generating EPDs, with the platform’s AI features also saving time in data collection and content generation. With support from General Catalyst, Emidat plans to expand its platform, accelerate product development, and grow its team.
