Pole Star acquires start-up Vasanda to strengthen sustainability offering

The acquisition, which follows growth investment in Pole Star in April 2021, will provide a new single-point, end-to-end screening solution for the full spectrum of risks across sanctions, compliance and sustainability in the global commodities trade. Within seconds, customers will have a 360-degree view of regulatory and sustainability risk relating to any actively traded commodity.  

The new joint solution will enable pre-trade sustainability risk screening of vessels and transactions, using historical data alongside Vasanda’s unique real-time monitoring of empirical climate impact data, which include risks such as deforestation, soil erosion, and fires.

Vasanda also screens and validates environmental degradation, water productivity and human exploitation metrics that can be evident in certain commodity value chains. Combined with PurpleTRAC this solution will enable users to screen and monitor the sustainability risk for any transaction and shipment from source to destination 

“This exciting new partnership with Pole Star has come just at the right time for banks, lenders and companies engaged in the international trade finance supply chain,” said Philip Lilliefelth, acting CEO, Vasanda. “All around the globe, regulators and investors are intensely concerned about the environmental and social impact of the commodity industry.”

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EcoSphere screens for trade on a transaction level, for which Vasanda has built a risk profile for different commodities. Pole Star provides the critical intelligence about the vessel involved, and through its partnership with CarbonChain, enables customers to screen data for the vessel’s carbon emissions ratings, for a full assessment of climate impact and sustainability risk. This maximises maritime intelligence to provide prescient seaborne trade activity data. 

“Transparency is absolutely critical for companies in the management of their regulatory exposure, and their awareness of their environmental impact. This commitment and partnership enable companies to achieve exactly that and provides more visibility than ever before on the environmental and social impact of a maritime trade-based transaction,” explains Michael Jankowski, Chairman of the board, Pole Star.