Aktio joins Apave: a strategic acquisition to accelerate the low-carbon transition

Paris, March 18, 2025.

The Apave Group is an international group with more than 150 years of experience specializing in the control of technical, environmental, human and digital risks. It has 17,500 employees and achieved a turnover of 1.4 billion euros in 2024. Today, the group announced the acquisition of Aktio, an Asterion holding since the end of 2021.

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Founded in 2020, the start-up has quickly established itself as a key player in carbon accounting for more than 500 organizations and consulting firms, through a dual approach providing software and consulting services. Aktio now has around 40 experts dedicated to measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions.

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Thanks to the Saas platform developed by Aktio, its customers can :

• Measure their carbon footprint
• Defining low-carbon trajectories (e.g. SBTi)
• Implement decarbonization plans
• Ensure regulatory compliance (e.g. CSRD)
• Communicate and train on the low-carbon transition

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With this merger, Apave is positioning itself as a leader in sustainability consulting, offering concrete, operational services and cutting-edge, accessible ESG software.

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Above all, as part of the Apave group, the Aktio team has a tremendous window of opportunity to maximize its impact and disseminate its solution to an ever-increasing number of companies facing climate risk, regardless of regulatory changes and other political U-turns.

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Laurent Barbezieux, Alex Huyn and Thibault Faninger, the three co-founders of Aktio, say it best: “Aktio was launched in 2020 to give all organizations the means to act, both practically and collectively, to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. At a time when the risks and consequences of climate disruption are intensifying, it is more essential than ever to make the low-carbon transition a reality as quickly as possible. Joining the Apave group, a leading player in environmental consulting and auditing, is an exceptional opportunity for Aktio to accelerate, in order to equip, train and support the carbon accountants of tomorrow.”

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Incidentally, Apave's acquisition of Aktio is Asterion Ventures' very first exit, following its investment in 2021. “At the time, there was a great deal of excitement around carbon accounting software, and out of all these initiatives, we really fell in love with Aktio,” recalls Stéphane Bourbier, founding partner at Asterion. The reason? “We had a team of experts in front of us who were not only highly committed, and most importantly, who did not oversell some magical automated platform, but who instead understood the value of providing advice and support to establish credible low-carbon trajectories. The acquisition by Apave proves that they were right all along,” adds Stéphane.

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A diagnosis shared by Charles-Henry Choël, also a partner at Asterion, who sat on Aktio's board: "I'm delighted to see Aktio become part of the Apave Group: our core mission is to support the development and contribute to the breakthrough of promising start-ups, and I know that we're leaving them in good hands today. For several months, the teams and I considered two parallel scenarios: a new round of financing, or an acquisition. In the end, the acquisition by Apave, who will be integrating the Aktio team and investing in their platform, was the obvious choice, especially in a context of market consolidation. Such an alignment of planets could not have been achieved in just a few years".

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About Apave Group

Apave is an international group with more than 150 years of experience specializing in the management of technical, human, environmental and digital risks. An independent company with a turnover of €1.4 billion in 2024, Apave currently has 17,500 employees, 130 branches in France, 170 training sites in France and abroad and more than 20 equipment testing and qualification centers. Apave is operates internationally in nearly 60 countries. Inspection, certification, technical training, testing & measurement and consulting services: Apave supports private and public companies in France and abroad: nearly 500,000 customers already place their trust in the company. Find out more at www.apave.com.

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About Aktio

Founded in 2020 and backed by Asterion Ventures and 50 Partners Impact, Aktio is a leading player in the measurement and management of greenhouse gas emissions, publishing SaaS software, and supporting organizations in their decarbonization strategy. Its software complies with the main methodological standards for carbon accounting (Bilan Carbone®, GHG Protocol, ISO 14064, SBTi). Used by over 500 companies and local authorities, and a network of consulting partners, Aktio manages 30 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, or almost 10% of total annual emissions in France. More information on www.aktio.cc

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