Merger of VERSO, sustainabill and the Silvester Group

VERSO, sustainabill and Silvester Group join forces to become leading European software and consulting provider for sustainability management and reporting

• Three pioneers in the field of sustainability management are joining forces to accelerate the sustainable transformation of SMEs and enable long-term business success.
• With over 2,500 sustainability and reporting projects, more than 200 customers and decades of experience, the merger will create the leading integrated software and consulting company for sustainability management and reporting.
• The newly formed company solves the massive regulatory ESG challenges for its customers, above all the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) and the LkSG (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz), with established software and services from a single source.

Munich/Hamburg/Cologne, June 1, 2023 – VERSO, sustainabill and the Silvester Group today announce their strategic merger. VERSO is one of the most experienced German providers of software and services for ESG management, the sustainabill cloud platform increases the transparency and sustainability of supply chains, while the 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 SMEs. With sustainability software, reporting and consulting, they offer a comprehensive solution that covers sustainability issues from the supply chain to the annual report from a single source. This helps companies to break down data silos between sustainability and finance departments, the logistics and purchasing departments and external suppliers along the supply chain. The newly formed company also provides support in climate accounting and climate strategy with the help of software and expertise.

More than 200 active customers are already benefiting from the holistic solution for all regulatory challenges and reporting obligations in the area of sustainability.

The newly formed company supports SMEs with increasingly complex ESG compliance

Medium-sized companies in particular face a variety of compliance and communication challenges in the area of sustainability. This includes the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which came into force and requires over 15,000 German companies to disclose the impact of sustainability aspects on their business activities and their own influence on the environment and society. The Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG), which is already in force, will also require all companies with more than 1,000 employees to comply with due diligence obligations at their own sites and in the supply chain from 2024. In addition, the sustainability requirements on the part of investors lead to additional complexity within the framework of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

“Sustainability is becoming increasingly complex and our newly formed company is the answer. We combine comprehensive sustainability expertise with leading technology. Not only complete sustainability reports are in demand, but also serious climate accounting and holistic sustainability strategies. The merger will enable us to 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,” says 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. And not just despite, but because of the increasing sustainability requirements. This is why we support the development of the sustainable corporate strategy and communicate the status and performance of ESG and financial performance actively and in a target group-oriented manner in annual and sustainability reports,” says Thilo Tern, Managing Director of the Silvester Group and Co-CEO of the new company. “With CSRD, it is clear that sustainability and financial reporting will grow together in the future. We are delighted to be able to support this convergence even more strongly and with integrated software in the newly formed company!”

“The sustainable supply chain is an irreplaceable building block in the sustainability orientation of companies. We can now deliver a holistic offering that meets all ESG requirements now and in the future. In doing so, we enable full compliance with regulatory challenges such as the Supply Chain Act, the CSRD or the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. We focus on transparency, as this allows management to measure progress and manage measures 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. The strategic partner is the German investment company NORD Holding, based in Hanover, which has been supporting the companies in the merger since November 2022. With over 50 years of history and assets under management of € 3.2 billion, NORD Holding is one of the leading capital partners in Germany. The management teams are shaping the new alliance both operationally and as co-shareholders.

About VERSO

VERSO supports medium-sized companies with its software (SaaS) solution and services for sustainability management holistically in their sustainable transformation. Consulting and training in ESG reporting, management and climate accounting make VERSO a comprehensive partner for corporate sustainability and ESG. Sustainability managers professionalize and digitalize their sustainability management with VERSO or bring even more efficiency to their existing processes, especially CSR reporting. In addition, VERSO 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 the sustainabill cloud platform, sustainabill offers a comprehensive solution for managing sustainability and ESG risks in the supply chain. The company was founded in 2017 based on research work at the renowned Wuppertal Institute, one of the world’s leading think tanks for sustainability. The company was managed by Christoph Wiesen and Klaus Wiesen, who are also co-founders of sustainabill.

About the Silvester Group

The Silvester Group is the leading company for integrated stakeholder relations in Germany. Founded in 1986, it is a pioneer in business and sustainability reporting with project experience from more than 2,150 customer projects for companies in all sectors. The Silvester Group offers corporate, ESG and financial communications from a single source: strategy, consulting, research and editing. 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)
nuvia.malo [at] verso.de