investation

– Arbor also represents potential for increased revenue, said top Schibsted.

Then Schibsted Ecommerce & Distribution in February became lead owner in Swedish return startup Turnrthe company announced several investments in similar sustainability solutions.

Now they have secured a new investment in Canadian Arbor. The company has developed a solution that gives online stores and customers a complete picture of how sustainable a product really is.

The company uses artificial intelligence and data from its own online store systems to gather publicly and accessible sustainability-related information. According to the parties, this should make it possible to compare the footprints of individual products from different manufacturers.

Both brands and products are then ranked on a sustainability scale.

long process

Juan Carlos Lopez Calvet, technology manager at Schibsted Ecommerce & Distribution, heard about the company through a contact in Silicon Valley, and the process took a little longer than usual.

– We usually look for companies with good solutions in the Nordic, he said.

– However we conclude that this issue is global, and the data needed to offer information on sustainable choices is also scattered around the world.

Arbor was founded in 2020, but despite being a fairly young team, Calvet believes that the most important thing in the process is to assess their skills and the founders’ passion for the product.

– What convinced you in the end?

– We did some experiments with their technology, and got a good experience with how quickly they can develop a solution that works well and is user friendly.

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Alex Todorovic, founder of Arbor, is looking forward to this collaboration.

– That our new parts owners have ambitions on our behalf and the climate, and at least put energy and investment behind these ambitions, is very inspiring, he said.

– Potential for increased income

When online stores use Arbor, sustainability becomes a major part of the buying experience, says Cathrine Laksfoss, managing director of Schibsted Ecommerce & Distribution.

– It will be easier for consumers to make informed choices. When we also know that more and more consumers are willing to pay more for sustainably developed products, that means Arbor also represents potential for increased revenue, he said and continued:

– If we can contribute to the turnover of goods with lower value and margins being transferred to goods with higher value and margins, but also of longer duration, we both fulfill our ambition to be growth catalysts, while at the same time adding the right to more sustainable consumption .

Schibsted Ecommerce & Distribution has nothing to say about the size of the new investment. The company owns, among others, Helthjem, Morgenlevering and Distribution Innovation, and revenue in Schibsted’s home delivery service fell slightly in the first quarter.