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Global Association for ESG
20 Dec 2022
Growth equity firm General Atlantic announced the final close of the inaugural fund for its climate-focused venture BeyondNetZero, bringing the firm to approximately $3.5 billion in capital to invest in climate solutions.
Growth equity firm General Atlantic announced the final close of the inaugural fund for its climate-focused venture BeyondNetZero, bringing the firm to approximately $3.5 billion in capital to invest in climate solutions.
BeyondNetZero (BnZ), which was founded in 2021, aims to find and promote high-growth companies with the ability to effectively tackle climate change on a large scale. The project focuses on four main areas: resource conservation, energy efficiency, decarbonization of supply chains, industrial processes, and products, and emissions management, measurement, storage, and removal.
Earlier this year, General Atlantic appointed IHS Markit founder and former CEO Lance Uggla as CEO of BeyondNetZero.
Uggla said:
“In the next three years alone, 90% of the carbon abatement needed could come from technologies that are currently mature or in the early stages of adoption1 – which means there will be a very significant opportunity for growth equity to support and scale high-quality climate solutions in the years ahead.”
In order to co-invest in climate growth equity enterprises, the BeyondNetZero fund is set up as a companion fund to General Atlantic's core global growth equity programme. Each investment typically receives a 25% capital contribution from the core programme.
The fund has invested more than $800 million in five businesses to date, including the provider of business sustainability ratings EcoVadis, the vertical farming company 80 Acres Farms, the tech-enabled recycling platform RoadRunner, the waste reduction and supply chain efficiency software provider o9 Solutions, and the maker of off-grid home-focused solar energy products Sun King.
Bill Ford, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Atlantic, said:
“We believe strongly in the power of technology to accelerate the transition to net zero. We look forward to supporting passionate entrepreneurs who are delivering innovative climate solutions while creating durable growth businesses.”
(Source : ESG Today)
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