Pawprint Looks to Rebuild Sustainability Mission Under Incoming CEO

Edinburgh-based climate action platform secures new leadership after assets acquired out of liquidation by former managing director Emily Hillier

Pawprint, the Edinburgh-based employee sustainability platform that combines behavioural science with carbon data to drive corporate climate action, is entering a critical new phase after its assets were acquired out of liquidation by former managing director Emily Hillier. The deal, overseen by liquidator Shona Campbell of Henderson Loggie, hands the reins of the certified B Corporation to a leader already steeped in the company’s operations and mission, while founder Christian Arno transitions to the role of non-executive chair.

The move offers a lifeline for a business that had, in recent years, built a credible presence in the UK’s growing corporate sustainability technology market. Since its founding in 2019, more than 50,000 individuals have logged climate-friendly actions through the Pawprint app, and the platform has counted several prominent UK businesses among its clients, including Royal London, Vitality and Nando’s. At its peak, the company employed a team of around 28 people and had attracted over 2,000 investors through multiple crowdfunding campaigns on Crowdcube.

Hillier, who served as managing director before acquiring the assets, will now take on the title of chief executive. In a statement, she expressed confidence in the platform’s future. “Pawprint has always stood for empowering people to take meaningful climate action, and that purpose remains as important as ever,” she said. “I’m excited to lead the next chapter, working closely with our customers to build on the strong foundations already in place. There is huge potential ahead, and I’m committed to ensuring the platform and the company continues to deliver value, innovation and impact.”

The appointment marks a notable shift for a company that was, until recently, closely associated with the entrepreneurial energy of its founder. Arno, an Oxford-educated serial entrepreneur, launched Pawprint after successfully building and exiting Lingo24, a translation technology firm he grew to more than 200 employees and over £10m in annual revenue. The idea for a climate-focused venture came, as Arno has previously recounted, after friends opened a zero-waste shop in Edinburgh, prompting a period of reflection on personal environmental responsibility. A pointed conversation with his father provided the final push.

To build the platform, Arno assembled a team that included former executives from Skyscanner and Wood Mackenzie, alongside advisory support from Professor Mike Berners-Lee, the Lancaster University carbon data expert widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities on carbon footprinting. Berners-Lee’s methodology underpins the scientific credibility of the Pawprint platform, which enables individuals to measure, track and reduce their personal carbon footprints across home, work and lifestyle categories.

Early fundraising efforts demonstrated strong market appetite for the proposition. The company’s first Crowdcube campaign in April 2020 hit its £100,000 target within six hours and eventually overfunded by more than 300 per cent. A second round in late 2020 beat its £400,000 target in under a week, attracting backing from notable angel investors including early supporters of Tesla, Amazon and Spotify. BrewDog founder James Watt and Hugh Little of Aberdeen Asset Management also invested. By November 2021, a further Crowdcube round exceeded its £700,000 goal, bringing in more than 230 investors in just two weeks. Across its funding history, the company raised approximately $2.95m in total, according to data from Tracxn, with institutional backing from investors including AMT Venture Capital and 8 Dimension Ventures alongside angel investors and its community of crowdfund supporters.

The Pawprint for Business product, which became the company’s primary commercial offering, was designed to help employers engage their workforces on sustainability. Clients including BrewDog, Tesco Bank, abrdn, Peter Vardy and Royal London used the platform to measure Scope 3 employee emissions, launch internal climate challenges and provide staff with tools to track and reduce their individual carbon impact. The company was highlighted by the UK Government as a Climate Leader during COP26 in Glasgow and was the only small or medium-sized enterprise invited to speak at the FTSE’s Race To Zero event. In 2021, the company also achieved certified B Corporation status, scoring 93.5 on the B Impact Assessment, well above the median score of 50.9 for ordinary businesses.

Yet the path from mission-driven startup to commercially sustainable enterprise proved difficult. Despite the impressive client roster and strong community support, Pawprint ultimately entered liquidation. The corporate entity, We Are Pawprint Limited, incorporated in May 2019, now carries a liquidation status on the Companies House register, with Henderson Loggie managing the formal process from its offices in Dundee. The company had created more than 50 skilled roles in sustainability during its existence and contributed meaningfully to Scotland’s wider tech ecosystem, but translating purpose into profit at sufficient scale proved elusive.

Campbell, the appointed liquidator, struck a measured tone about the outcome. “A route has been secured which allows the platform and customer relationships to continue under new ownership,” she said. “Our role now is to manage the formalities of the liquidation while supporting a smooth transition. Emily’s commitment offers a constructive outcome for stakeholders and a positive future for the technology.”

Arno, for his part, has expressed satisfaction with the arrangement. “Seeing the Pawprint platform move into the hands of someone who knows the business, believes deeply in its mission and is committed to its future is incredibly heartening,” he said. “Emily’s decision to take the reins provides a positive way forward for customers and partners who have supported us from the beginning. I’m proud of what the team has built and delighted that the platform and proposition will continue to evolve under Emily’s leadership.”

The transition arrives at a moment when corporate demand for sustainability engagement tools remains robust, even as the broader climate technology sector faces a more sober funding environment. Regulatory pressure on businesses to report Scope 3 emissions, including those linked to employee commuting and remote working, continues to intensify across Europe. For Pawprint, the challenge under Hillier’s leadership will be to convert the platform’s proven engagement model and established client relationships into a commercially resilient operation, something that eluded the company during its first chapter.

Whether the acquisition from liquidation represents a fresh start or merely a stay of execution will depend on Hillier’s ability to stabilise operations, retain existing customers and demonstrate a path to sustainable revenue. What is not in question is the platform’s underlying proposition. In a corporate landscape where employee engagement on climate issues has shifted from a nice-to-have to a strategic priority, Pawprint occupies a space that few competitors have managed to fill with the same combination of scientific rigour and behavioural insight.

For the more than 2,000 crowdfund investors who backed the original vision, the outcome is bittersweet. Their stakes in the original entity are unlikely to retain value through the liquidation process. But the survival of the platform itself, and its mission to make climate action accessible, measurable and, in the company’s own words, a bit fun, offers at least a partial vindication of the idea that brought them on board.

Pawprint now faces the task of proving that a second act, leaner and perhaps wiser, can deliver on the promise that first captured the imagination of thousands.