Conservation
Climate Finance | January 26, 2023
Voluntary carbon markets face a reckoning over credit quality and environmental impact
ImpactAlpha, Jan. 25 – Are carbon markets a key pillar of climate finance, or an empty exercise in double-counting and greenwashing? After soaring …
Photo by Living Carbon.
Low-carbon transition | January 20, 2023
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Nature-based biotech
ImpactAlpha, January 20 — Forests, oceans and soils play a crucial role in absorbing greenhouse gas emissions – and they could use some …
Photo by Terra Global.
Dealflow | January 17, 2023
Anew Climate commits $640 million to Terra Global for nature-based carbon offsets in emerging markets
ImpactAlpha, January 17 — Oakland-based Anew is the product of TPG Rise’s rollup last year of Element Markets and Bluesource (for background, see …
Conservation | January 4, 2023
Conservation fund Terratai launches to invest in biodiversity startups in Indonesia
ImpactAlpha, January 4 – Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse countries on earth. Deforestation, overexploitation of natural resources, climate change and other …
Photo by Maitheli Maitra on Unsplash
Dealflow | December 12, 2022
Varaha scores $4 million to help smallholder farmers create nature-based carbon credits
ImpactAlpha, December 12 — Gurugram-based Varaha has raised $4 million in a seed financing round backed by Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital and …
Climate Finance | November 18, 2022
Deal spotlight: Empowering – and paying – communities to protect nature
ImpactAlpha, November 18 – The issue of loss and damages was a sticking point as negotiators hammered out a final agreement at the COP27 …
Photo credit: IFAD
Frontier and Growth Markets | November 16, 2022
Katapult’s Africa accelerator zeros in on food security
ImpactAlpha, November 16 – Insect farming in Ghana. Aquaculture in Kenya. Land restoration in Morocco. Seven of the nine startups in the Norway-based impact …
Photo by AMP Robotics.
Climate and Clean Tech | November 8, 2022
Climate funds deploy capital to waste-tech
ImpactAlpha, November 8 — Nearly two billion tons of waste have been dumped in the air, oceans, soils and waterways this year. The …
Photo by Vishwasa Navada K on Unsplash
Dealflow | November 4, 2022
ImpactAlpha Deal Spotlight: Nature-based solutions
ImpactAlpha, November 4 — Demand is surging for high-quality nature-based carbon offsets, and developers are scrambling to supply them. Houston-based ZeroSix, formed by …
Photo by OnImpact.
Conservation | October 20, 2022
New Forests’ African Forestry Impact Platform secures $200 million from development finance institutions
ImpactAlpha, October 20 — Nearly 10 million acres of forests in Africa, one of Earth’s most important carbon sinks and soil, are disappearing …
Climate Finance | September 27, 2022
AXA’s €500 million initiative to invest in reforestation and land conservation
ImpactAlpha, September 27 – AXA has launched a €500 million ($482 million) Natural Capital Strategy that will make equity investments and offer project financing …
Photo: Cédric Frixon, Pixabay
Impact Investing | September 25, 2022
Barbados debt-for-nature swap unlocks $50 million for marine conservation and ‘blue economy’
ImpactAlpha, Sept. 25 – Barbados is the latest nation to restructure its high-priced debt to free up funds for conservation. The Caribbean island …
Photo by Jingming Pan on Unsplash
Climate Finance | September 22, 2022
A safe, low-carbon way to store your gold: Leave it in the ground
What’s the most eco-friendly way to mine gold? Not to mine it. Nature’s Vault, a blockchain-based finance company headquartered in Singapore, is buying …
Dealflow | September 8, 2022
Misfits Market acquires Imperfect Foods to consolidate the food-waste reduction market
ImpactAlpha, September 8 — Even amid the downturn in venture funding this year, significant raises for companies in food waste management and upcycling …
A firefighter tries to contain a fire in southwestern France | Photo by Reuters.
Climate and Clean Tech | August 30, 2022
Dryad secures €10.5 million for ‘ultra-early’ wildfire detection
ImpactAlpha, August 30 — Extreme heat waves, exacerbated by drought, set many parts of Europe ablaze this summer. Hotter temperatures are pushing severe …
A healthy mangrove ecosystem
Climate Finance | August 18, 2022
IFC partners with Aspiration in $10 million fund to lift quality of carbon credits
ImpactAlpha, August 18 – Forest projects that don’t remove carbon. Protection for forests that aren’t threatened. The low quality of many of the credits …
Photo by Afresh.
Agrifood Tech | August 9, 2022
Afresh rakes in $115 million to help grocers reduce food waste
ImpactAlpha, August 9 — The San Francisco-based company developed an AI-based system to help grocery store owners manage fresh food inventory and sales …
Elephants in the Congo Basin
Climate Finance | August 1, 2022
Can’t we just pay the Democratic Republic of Congo to keep its oil in the ground?
ImpactAlpha, August 1 – The biggest failure of nature conservation and restoration efforts “are the unrewarded provision of public goods and services,” the U.N. …
Climate Finance | July 27, 2022
American Forest Foundation’s $10 million green bond connects forest owners to carbon markets
ImpactAlpha, July 27 – Nearly 40% of forestland in the U.S. is family owned. The American Forest Foundation wants to incentivize such smallholder forest …
Conservation | July 18, 2022
Pegasus Capital Advisors raises $170 million for Global Fund for Coral Reefs
ImpactAlpha, July 18 – Impact investor Pegasus is aiming to raise $625 million in blended financing to protect critically-threatened coral reefs and vulnerable coastal …
Photo by O3World.
Impact Tech | June 16, 2022
Strella Biotechnology secures $8 million to reduce produce waste
ImpactAlpha, June 16 — Investments in “demand planning,” to better understand the perishability of food products, for example, are on the upswing, ReFED’s …
Photo by ESG Enterprise.
Climate Finance | June 13, 2022
Fashion Climate Fund secures $40 million to decarbonize the apparel supply chain
ImpactAlpha, June 13 — The global apparel and footwear industry is responsible for 2.1 billion tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to the emissions …
Photo by Rheaply.
Climate and Clean Tech | June 8, 2022
Black-led Rheaply secures $20 million to help companies reduce waste and limit emissions
ImpactAlpha, June 8 — Chicago-based Rheaply has raised $20 million in a financing round led by Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. …
Illustration by Cornelia Li/The Counter.
Regeneration | May 16, 2022
AXA, Unilever and Tikehau Capital seed regenerative agriculture fund with €300 million
ImpactAlpha, May 16 — Paris-based Tikehau Capital and AXA and U.K.-based Unilever are joining forces to launch a regenerative agriculture fund, which seeks …
Photo credit: Global Conservation.
Climate and Clean Tech | May 9, 2022
Pachama scores $55 million to verify forest-based carbon credits
ImpactAlpha, May 9 — Pachama, which uses satellite imaging and artificial intelligence to monitor carbon stored in forests, has raised $55 million in …
Photo credit: Loveyourclothes.com
Dealflow | May 5, 2022
Decarbonization Partners backs alt-leather producer MycoWorks
ImpactAlpha, May 5 — BlackRock and Singapore’s Temasek launched Decarbonization Partners last year with a combined $600 million commitment. Its first investment: MycoWorks, …
Photo credit: RideTandem.
Good Jobs | May 4, 2022
RideTandem scores $2.2 million to alleviate ‘transport poverty’ for blue-collar workers
ImpactAlpha, May 4 — Public transportation is increasingly inaccessible for low-income workers in the U.K., particularly in rural areas. “Half of the lowest-earning …
Photo credit: La Mano del Mono
Impact Voices | April 21, 2022
Investing in the planet by investing in the people who know it best
ImpactAlpha, April 21 – The theme of this year’s Earth Day is “Invest in our planet.” We’ve all heard the argument: governments, NGOs, …
Photo credit: Terradepth.
Oceans | April 13, 2022
Terradepth scores $20 million to map the earth’s oceans
ImpactAlpha, April 13 — Austin-based Terradepth is building a map of the oceans to help governments, businesses and research organizations mitigate climate risk. …
Photo credit: Opinio Juris.
SDGs | April 4, 2022
WaterEquity secures $153 million for water and sanitation impact
ImpactAlpha, April 4 — A subsidiary of Matt Damon’s Water.org, WaterEquity backs microfinance institutions along with micro-utilities, toilet manufacturers and water kiosks to …
Photo credit: BFNP.
Innovative Finance | March 29, 2022
World Bank raises $150 million ‘Rhino Bond’ for conservation in South Africa
ImpactAlpha, March 29 — Proceeds from the five-year bond will support conservation projects to increase the population of endangered black rhinos. Investors will …
Photo credit: DS Smith.
Impact Tech | March 23, 2022
TemperPack raises $140 million to insulate cold chains
ImpactAlpha, March 23 — Richmond, Va.-based TemperPack makes sustainable thermal insulation packaging for transporting perishable goods and medicine. The company’s ClimaCell recyclable thermal …
Photo credit: Joseph Barrientos/Unsplash.
Climate Finance | March 22, 2022
Canada’s Planetary Technologies scores $7.8 million for ocean carbon capture
ImpactAlpha, March 22 — Nova Scotia-based Planetary Technologies adds alkalinity to the ocean to resist acidification and enhance the seas’ natural ability to sequester …
Photo credit: Airdrop.
Climate Finance | March 21, 2022
Kimmeridge deploys $200 million for nature-based carbon offsets
ImpactAlpha, March 21 — New York- and Denver-based asset manager Kimmeridge is investing up to $200 million to launch a platform for nature-based …
Ben Christensen, founder and CEO of Cambium Carbon. Photo credit: Cambium Carbon.
Regeneration | March 21, 2022
Cambium Carbon snags $3.2 million to recycle wood waste for carbon sequestration
ImpactAlpha, March 21 — Approximately 36 millions trees fall in U.S. cities each year and are sent to landfills, representing more than $26 …
Photo by Dmitry Bukhantsov on Unsplash
Climate Finance | March 3, 2022
NCX secures $50 million to expand its market for forest-based carbon offsets
ImpactAlpha, March 3 — NCX, formerly known as SilviaTerra, connects landowners who commit to not cutting down their trees with corporations looking to …
Photo credit: Corne de Weert.
Agrifood Tech | February 15, 2022
Protix raises €50 million to expand insect farming business globally
ImpactAlpha, February 15 — Protix, launched in 2009, uses organic waste to feed black soldier fly larvae, which are then processed into ingredients …
Photo credit: GLF.
Dealflow | February 9, 2022
KKR Global Impact backs Resource Environmental Solutions for restoration and infrastructure
ImpactAlpha, February 9 — Bellaire, Texas-based Resource Environmental Solutions develops green infrastructure, including stormwater management and restoration projects for wildlife habitat, wetlands and …
The Swedish steel company SSAB last year said it delivered the first fossil-fuel free steel.
Corporate Impact | February 7, 2022
Simple economics driving carbon prices: Soaring demand, limited supply
ImpactAlpha, Feb. 7 – The crossover has arrived for carbon, the commodity that will increasingly drive the global economy. The rising prices around …
Photo credit: World Orgs.
Climate Finance | January 10, 2022
Roadrunner raises $70 million from General Atlantic to manage waste and recycling
ImpactAlpha, January 10 — Roadrunner Recycling’s technology can predict waste generation and size companies’ storage and recycling needs. The Pittsburgh-based company claims to …
Photo credit: Ambercycle.
Impact Investing | January 5, 2022
Ambercycle scores $21.6 million to recycle textile waste
ImpactAlpha, January 5 — More than half of all garments are thrown out within a year. L.A.-based Ambercycle converts end-of-life textile waste into …
Photo credit: TIPA.
Climate Finance | January 4, 2022
Tipa raises $70 million for compostable plastic packaging
ImpactAlpha, January 4 — The global market for waste management could reach more than $700 billion by 2030. Helping get the ball rolling …
Photo credit: Global Recycling.
Climate Finance | December 20, 2021
UBQ Materials raises $170 million to produce thermoplastics from waste
ImpactAlpha, December 20 — Nearly three-quarters of the more than 2 billion tons of municipal solid waste produced each year ends up in …
A renewable natural gas plant | Photo credit: Shutterstock.
Climate Finance | December 15, 2021
Generate backs Amp Americas to convert dairy waste into renewable natural gas
ImpactAlpha, December 15 — Chicago-based Amp Americas builds and manages anaerobic digesters to convert dairy waste into renewable natural gas, while reducing emissions …
Photo: courtesy U-Konserve.
Climate Finance | December 8, 2021
Circulate Capital backs three U.S. biotech and recycling startups
ImpactAlpha, December 8 — Singapore-based Circulate Capital’s Disrupt fund made its first investments in Arzeda, a Seattle-based biotech company that develops healthy and …