Plus Robeco’s global climate survey, Impact Deal’s accelerator programme, ImpactAssets50 database, and Catella’s energy-positive residential fund
Investors have committed over €270bn to net-zero aligned funds since 2015, according to the latest report by Phenix Capital Group.
The ‘Deep dive into net-zero aligned funds’ report analyses funds committed to various net-zero initiatives, including UN PRI, TCFD Supporters, Climate Action 100+, and many others.
Of the 2050+ funds listed in Phenix Impact Database, 561 are net-zero aligned. Climate is the leading sector with more historical capital commitments and current fundraising targets, followed by renewable energy.
Historically, net-zero aligned funds are primarily in public equity (large caps), followed by infrastructure and private equity, with current fundraising targets focused first on private equity, followed by infrastructure and public equity.
According to the report, SDG 13, Climate Action, us the SGD most targeted by net-zero funds, attracting more than €182 billion in historical capital commitments.
The report also includes interviews with relevant industry players. Manulife Investment Management and Tikehau Capital Partners.
Robeco publishes annual Global Climate Survey
Robeco has published its 2022 Global Climate Survey, which reveals an increased appetite for impact and thematic investing among investors, with more investors expected to enter the sector over the next few years.
Now in its second year, the survey was undertaken by CoreData Research and was based on the responses of 300 institutional and wholesale investors in EMEA, North America and Asia-Pacific.
t found a growing trend among these investors in impact investing, with 61% employing this strategy and 25% seeing it as a high or core priority. A further 25% said they would consider impact investing over the next two to three years. Sustainability-related thematic investing is also high on the agenda with 70% of those surveyed currently implementing this strategy.
The report notes that European investors are leading the charge in both impact investing and sustainability-related thematic investing.
Net zero carbon emissions, reducing global waste, halting deforestation and protecting biodiversity are highlighted as the most critical environmental engagement themes that investors will focus on in the next two to three years.
Impact Deal seeking social enterprises to join accelerator programme
Impact Deal, a data-driven acceleration programme, is looking for social enterprises to join their accelerator programme which will provide them with access to data, training and mentorship.
The programme, which will run until December, is led by Fondazione CRT, culture, technology and innovation hub OGR Torino, and Microsoft, who are also looking for companies and institutions to join their Data Club. The club’s members will receive skills training to boost their own data strategies and will be asked to share this data with the social enterprises on the program to accelerate their growth and their measurable impact on society.
The programme has been designed and developed in collaboration with TOP-IX, The Data Science for Social Good Center, Ashoka, Impact Hub and The Data Appeal Company and will be based in the OGR Tech hub in Turin in Italy.
It is open to both profit and non-profit enterprises in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Online applications are open until the 3 April.
ImpactAssets50 annual database published
Clean technology, alternative energy and climate change takes first place as the leading investment focus for fund managers in the 11th edition of ImpactAssets50, the annual free database of fund managers delivering social and environmental impact.
Of the 143 fund managers who made this year’s cut, 61 invest in clean technology, alternative energy and climate change, 58 in small and medium business development and 49 in diversity, equity and inclusion. Among the most underrepresented sectors is water and sanitation with 14 funds, fair trade with seven funds and media, technology and mobile with just three funds investing in this sector.
In 2021, clean technology, alternative energy and climate change and small and medium business development were in joint lead position.
As well as recognising fund managers with a minimum three-year track record and $25m (€22.8m) in assets under management, the database includes a category for emerging impact managers, highlighting the managers ‘to watch’ and an emeritus category, launched last year, in recognition of established fund managers who have featured on the database for a minimum of five years.
Catella launches energy-positive residential impact fund
Berlin-based Catella Residential Investment Management (CRIM) has launched what it claims is the world’s first ever ‘energy positive’ residential impact fund to invest in buildings across cities in France, that produce more energy than the tenants of the buildings consume.
The Catella Elithis Energy Positive Fund will invest an initial €500m in residential tower blocks designed and constructed by French sustainable engineering and real estate development group Elithis. The first buildings to be invested by the fund are in the cities of Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, and Nancy. A further 20-25 additional sites have been identified in cities including Mulhouse, Brest, and in the suburbs of Paris.
The aim of the fund is to achieve operational carbon neutrality and reduce living costs for its tenants by eliminating domestic energy bills.
Impact Investor reported last year, that CRIM had started working with Elithis and had already acquired its first two buildings in Saint-Etienne and Dijon through its Catella European Residential Fund III.
