Circulor raises $25M Series B for green supply chain tracking

Circulor, a British startup that maps supply chains for greener production, raised $25 million in Series B funding.

Why it matters: Most companies don't have the slightest clue where their raw materials come from.

• As governments from the U.S. to the EU ramp up standards for everything from sustainability to forced labor, supply-chain tracking has become one of the few areas still drawing strong climate-tech investment in a down market.

Details: The Westly Group, a Silicon Valley venture fund, led the round.

• Other investors include HG Ventures, Volvo Cars Technology Fund, Systemiq Capital, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, Future Positive Capital, BHP Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and 24Haymarket.

What's happening: Circulor has seen big buy-in from major automakers and the German government, which is developing new battery standards.

• The company in April was named the "implementer" of the German government's effort to develop technical standards for EV batteries.
• It helps track anything from sustainable leather seats in new Jaguars to plastics sourced from TotalEnergies.

Zoom out: If this all sounds vaguely familiar, another tracking startup, ESG Book, announced its own eight-figure Series B last week.

• Supply chains are enormously complex, and a minuscule fraction of companies know where their products' materials come from.
• "Most companies think they know their supply chain," Ellen Carey, Circulor's vice president for global policy and public affairs, tells Axios. "I would say they don’t get half of it right."
• That lack of insight has made supply-chain tracking among the few seemingly reliable growth areas in climate tech.