ESG and Sustainability
The rise of ESG factors in investment decision making will have a dramatic impact on returns and opportunities in the 21st century. A recent survey by LGT Capital Partners and Mercer showed that 57% of respondents believe that incorporating ESG standards into investment decisions will raise returns. Just 9% argued they reduce returns on investment.
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Revaia, Europe’s largest female-founded venture capital firm, has successfully raised €150 million ($160 million) for its second fund, Revaia Growth II. The funding was secured from sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional investors across Europe, with support from existing partners like Bpifrance and new backers such as mutual insurer Carac and the European Investment Fund.
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More Stories on ESG and Sustainability
Venture Capital: Brookfield To Invest $500M In New Plants Based On Carbon Recycler LanzaTech’s Technology
LanzaTech, a carbon recycling startup that transforms waste carbon into materials such as sustainable fuels, fabrics, packaging, and other products that people use in their daily lives, has entered a $500 million funding partnership with Brookfield Renewable and its institutional partners.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Two New ESG-Focused ETFs From OneAscent
OneAscent promotes investments that make a positive impact and bless humanity through values-based investing. The asset manager has launched the OneAscent International Equity ETF (OAIM US) and OneAscent Emerging Markets ETF (OAEM US), both listed on NYSE Arca, and coming to market with $50 million and $20m in initial assets, respectively. The funds target companies making a positive impact on society.
Venture Capital: French Cultivated Meat Startup Gourmey Lands €48M For Foie Gras Facility
Paris-based cultivated foie gras startup Gourmey raised 48 million euros ($48 million) to construct a 46,000-square-foot plant to produce lab-grown foie gras, and later for the production of other kinds of cultivated poultry meat. Earlybird Venture Capital led the round which also saw participation by Keen Venture Partners, Omnes, Discovery Ventures, Thia Ventures, Future Five, and Fidji Simo.
Alternative Investments/ESG: BNP Paribas Launches Biodiversity Focused ETF In Europe
The BNP Paribas Easy ESG Eurozone Biodiversity Leaders PAB UCITS ETF, which offers investors exposure to companies with a lower potential impact on biodiversity than their peers, listed since 29 September on Euronext Paris and Deutsche Börse Xetra exchanges.
Alternative Investments/ESG: New CSOP ETF Listing On SGX Invests In Low Carbon Companies In The APAC Region
CSOP Asset Management has listed the CSOP CGS-CIMB FTSE Asia Pacific Low Carbon Index ETF on the SGX. The ETF is tradable in both SGD and USD currencies and offers investors the opportunities presented by low carbon transition in the APAC region with excellent diversification and tradability at a minimal investment of only USD 1.
Alternative Investments/ESG: New WisdomTree ETF Addresses Decarbonization Innovation In Auto Sector
WisdomTree has launched the WisdomTree Global Automotive Innovators UCITS ETF to provide investors with exposure to the theme of innovation in transportation covering the twin objectives of evolving mobility needs and the decarbonization of a sector that accounts for around 12% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Venture Capital: African Fintech Numida Nabs $12.3M Round Led By Serena William’s VC Firm
Numida, a Ugandan fintech which seeks to grow African small businesses through access to digital and unsecured working capital, has raised $12.3 million in a equity-cum-debt funding. Serena Williams’ venture fund Serena Ventures, led a $7.3 million portion of equity funding with participation from Breega, 4Di Capital, Launch Africa, Soma Capital, Y Combinator, and MFS Africa. Lendable Asset Management funded the rest of $5 million as debt.
Venture Capital: LIVIN Farms, A Provider Of Bugs On Subscription, Raises €6M Series A
LIVIN Farms, an industrial technology provider in the alternative protein industry, has developed HIVE PRO, a fully automated process that allows waste management companies and large scale food producers to convert organic waste and by-products into revenue earning proteins, fats, and fertilisers using insect larvae. The company raised a EUR 6 Million Series A round led by venture investor Peter Luersse.
Artificial Intelligence: Clearview Nabs Patent For Technology That Creates Bias-Free Algorithms
Clearview AI announced its win of the “Scalable Training Data Preparation Pipeline And Efficient Distributed Trainer For Deep Neural Networks In Facial Recognition” patent (U.S. Patent No. 11,443,553) issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patented technology is able to create highly accurate, bias-free facial recognition algorithms from publicly available information.
Alternative Investments/ESG: The Newday Sustainable Development Equity ETF
Newday offers portfolios addressing the world’s most pressing environmental and social issues including climate action, ocean health, clean water, diversity, equity and inclusion, wildlife conservation and animal welfare, and stakeholder capitalism. It manages its portfolios in alignment with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (pictured above) to affect positive change. Earlier this month, it launched the Newday Sustainable Development Equity ETF (SDGS).
Venture Capital: ffVC Steps In To Fill Funding Void, Launches Fund For Ukrainian Startups
ff Venture Capital, or ffVC, an early-stage venture firm focused on global opportunities, launched the ff Blue & Yellow Heritage Fund, the first US venture capital fund exclusively for Ukrainian founders and startups. Of the targeted amount of $50 million the new fund has already received commitments for $30mm from institutional, family offices and corporate investors.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Sprott Files For An Energy Transition Materials ETF
Sprott Funds filed Tuesday to launch the Sprott Energy Transition Materials ETF, an ETF that would invest in securities of companies engaged in activities relating to energy transition materials.
Alternative Investments/ESG: A New ETF From iShares Targets Water Sustainability
The iShares MSCI Water Management Multisector ETF (NASDAQ: IWTR), a new ETF from iShares launched on Thursday, focuses on water sustainability and invests across the globe given that 41% of the world is in areas facing high or very high levels of water shortage.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund Norges Bank Places Nine More Companies on ESG Blacklist
Norges Bank is Norway’s central bank and also manages its $ 1.2 trillion Government Pension Fund Global. As a part of its governance procedures, the pension funds Council on Ethics periodically reviews the portfolio to identify companies that would qualify for exclusion under its strict climate guidelines. Based on recommendations from this council, Norges Bank has placed another nine companies on its exclusion list for investment.
Alternative Investments/ESG: The New Carbon Collective Climate Solutions US Equity ETF
The Carbon Collective Climate Solutions U.S. Equity ETF (NASDAQ: CCSO) from Carbon Collective Investing invests in about 200 companies in sectors such as clean energy, electrified transportation, efficient buildings, circular economy, sustainable food, and industrial electrification. The companies maybe of any market capitalisation but must be dedicated to solving climate change.
Artificial Intelligence: Whale Safe, An AI-Enabled System, Warns Ships To Slow Down
The Marine Mammal Center and The Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory have announced a collaboration to bring Whale Safe, a technology-based mapping and analysis system to help prevent whale-ship collisions in the San Francisco Bay Area region.
Artificial Intelligence: AI To Prevent Endangered Eagle Species From Flying Into German Wind Turbines
Only about 130 breeding pairs of the lesser spotted eagle are known to be surviving. This species of eagle is known to ride thermal currents that prevail over past German flatlands that will soon see vast wind farms in the country’s rush to replace increasingly doubtful supplies of Russian gas, coal-based power and nuclear energy.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Strive Takes On US Corporate Boards Via New ETF
Strive Asset Management has launched the Strive ETF 500 (NYSE: STRV), a fund that provides diversified large-cap exposure to established U.S. corporations and mandates the fund manager to engage with corporates on behalf of investors.
Digital Assets: Lumos Digital Mining Flags Off Solar-Powered Mining Of Bitcoin Down Under
Lumos Digital Mining has inaugurated its solar powered 5 MW bitcoin data mining centre in the steel city of Whyalla, South Australia. It will be operated for the mining of bitcoins, a process which requires extensive competition of power to solve complex mathematics problems. Crypto mining has been roundly criticised in recent times for its rapacious use of energy, said to exceed annually the consumption of a medium-sized nation such as Argentina.
Digital Assets: Michael Saylor Takes Up The Cudgels For Bitcoin On Energy And Climate Change
A report published last week by the U.S. Office of Science and Technology Policy claimed that electricity usage from digital assets was contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) has issued a blog post titled “Bitcoin Mining and the Environment,” presumably in response to the White House report, and drew attention to his riposte on Twitter.
Venture Capital: TeraWatt Raises Over $1B To Scale Charging Networks For Electrified Fleets
TeraWatt Infrastructure has raised over $ 1 billion of institutional funds scale up its network of fleet-focused charging centres and operations. The company’s mission is to accelerate the decarbonisation of transport with a proprietary platform that combines an EV charging-focused property portfolio, asset financing capabilities, project development, and charging and energy management expertise.
Alternative Investments/ESG: New ETF For Exposure To Global Compliance Carbon Markets
Carbon Fund Advisors has launched the Carbon Strategy ETF (NYSE:KARB) designed for investors to obtain exposure to the global compliance carbon markets that comprise emissions trading systems established by various authorities for deriving a price on greenhouse gas emissions. These markets have surged from $ 220 billion in $ 2018 to $ 899 billion in 2021.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Thematic ETF From Global X Targets Disruptive Materials
Global X ETFs has launched the Global X Disruptive Materials UCITS ETF, which will invest in companies with operations linked to any of the following ten disruptive materials categories: Carbon fiber, cobalt, copper, graphene & graphite, lithium, manganese, nickel, platinum & palladium, rare earth elements, and zinc.
Alternative Investments/ESG: Invesco Launches ETFs For Exposure To Wind Energy And Hydrogen
Invesco has launched the Invesco Wind Energy UCITS ETF and Invesco Hydrogen Economy UCITS ETF in advancement of the thesis that the sharp rise in fossil-sourced energy costs adds to the rationale for renewable energy, even beyond environmental concerns.