Green investments
Green impact investments
Our green impact investments aim to contribute to combating climate change and increasing resource efficiency, for example, through the production of renewable energy, improved resource utilisation, and the development of future green technologies.
As of December 2023, the green impact investments amounted to DKK 884 million, and contracts have been signed for a total of DKK 1,316 million.
We have been investing in green impact since 2013, and today our portfolio consists of 24 investments spread across 21 fund investments and 3 investments in individual companies. Each of the 21 funds in the portfolio typically invests in 10-15 companies and projects, so collectively, the impact investments represent ownership stakes in more than 200 companies and projects worldwide. Below, you can read about the background for each impact investment, and on the world map, you can see how they are distributed globally.
Private equity – venture capital
Investing under the slogan ‘applying emerging technologies to traditional industries,’ G2VP focuses on relatively proven green solutions with limited technological risk within global industries such as transportation, logistics and energy. G2VP eliminates the early development phase of new technologies, which can take a long time to mature and require significant capital.
Impact
Cleantech solutions need to be scaled to industrial level as quickly as possible to contribute to combating climate change. G2VP’s focus on capital-efficient businesses and their extensive network among leading industrial firms supports this.
Investing at an early development stage in ‘category creators’ and potentially groundbreaking new green technologies. The time horizon for these investments is typically long, and they may require significant development capital, making the investments subject to considerable risks.
Impact
Addressing climate challenges requires entirely new solutions in addition to already known ones. New technologies have the potential to solve challenges more quickly and cost-effectively, and Capricorn’s investments contribute to this.
Identifying a range of green transitions and derived investment opportunities, the fund focuses on incremental solutions rather than riskier, innovative technologies. It is active in sectors such as consumer goods, industry and renewable energy.
Impact
The fund employs a systemic approach to identify ’overlooked’ green investment opportunities across the innovation chain, that are essential in the green transition, but are typically overlooked by many other investors.
Private Equity – Growth Capital and Buyout
Generation Investment Management was founded by Al Gore, David Blood and Peter Knight in 2004 with a mission to promote ‘Sustainable Capitalism.’ They were thus among the first asset managers to exclusively focus on green and sustainable investments. The fund invests in small and medium-sized companies with scaling potential that offer solutions in climate and resource efficiency based on proven technologies.
Impact
The fund provides capital for growth to businesses with green solutions, enabling them to improve existing products, launch new ones and expand into new markets. The manager adds value through an extensive network of investors, companies and experts in the green sector.
Invests in established agricultural and food companies with green products and services. The fund focuses on food processing and input factors for food production, such as seeds, fertilisers, feed and water.
Impact
Agricultural and food production is highly resource-intensive. Paine Schwartz Partners invests in companies that enhance the industry’s resource efficiency and reduces its climate footprint.
Investing in businesses with global scaling potential in their growth early stages, the fund focuses on business-to-business companies with physical products in industries such as industrial, energy, food and resource recycling.
Impact
Industrial companies contribute significantly to global carbon emissions. The fund invests in companies that contribute to making industrial processes cleaner and more efficient.
Providing capital to Capricorn’s existing investments in groundbreaking new green technologies, the fund invests in businesses that have completed the early development phase, mitigating the primary risks associated with technology development. However, it can still take a considerable amount of time before the solutions are fully developed and globally accessible, necessitating growth investments.
Impact
Cleantech solutions need to be scaled to industrial level as quickly as possible to contribute to combating climate change. Capricorn’s investments contribute to scaling transformative and sometimes capital-intensive businesses and solutions.
Real Assets
The fund invests in sustainably managed forests worldwide. The forests are predominantly sustainability-certified, e.g. with the FSC label, and alternatively, the manager actively works to have them certified. This enhances the potential for value creation and helps ensure that investments are made only in forests that are sustainably managed.
Impact
Forests play a crucial role in the fight against climate change, as trees convert CO2 and sunlight into biomass in trunks, branches and root systems. Wood used for furniture and building materials typically has a long lifespan, sequestering carbon in the wood for many years, and wood can replace carbon-intensive materials such as concrete and steel. Additionally, wood can substitute for fossil fuels in electricity and heat production.
The fund invests in the development and construction of renewable energy worldwide. The manager is a leading developer of offshore wind, experiencing rapid growth globally in recent years. With a fund size of approximately EUR 7 billion, Fund IV is the world’s largest fund solely dedicated to renewable energy.
Impact
25% of the total global carbon emissions come from electricity production. The electrification of society and the desire to combat climate change are expected to significantly increase the demand for green electricity in the coming years. Green electricity based on solar, wind and water is now competitive with electricity based on burning fossil fuels like coal and gas in large parts of the world.
The offshore wind market is growing rapidly, increasingly complementing onshore wind and solar markets. As a leading developer of offshore wind, the manager contributes to this growth and helps reduce production costs. Offshore wind is characterised by relatively stable production, since it often blows at sea, minimising the challenges of variable production from renewable energy.
This ’Fund of Funds’ invests in approximately 15 underlying green funds based on real assets such as renewable energy production, green real estate, sustainably managed forests, water infrastructure, and more. This approach achieves significant diversification across managers, technologies, sectors and geographies.
Impact
Sonen Capital was one of the first asset managers to focus on impact investments, contributing to the widespread adoption of this type of investment. Additionally, Sonen is among the leaders in measuring and reporting on impact.
The fund invests in large projects for renewable energy production from onshore wind and solar in OECD countries. Investments cover all project stages, from development to operational projects.
Impact
25% of the total global carbon emissions come from electricity production. The electrification of society and the desire to combat climate change are expected to significantly increase the demand for green electricity in the coming years. Green electricity based on solar, wind and water is now competitive with electricity based on burning fossil fuels like coal and gas in large parts of the world.
BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager, and it is crucial that BlackRock increasingly engages in the green transition, for example through the launch of products like the Global Renewable Power funds.
The manager is 100% dedicated to sustainable investments, and Impax offers both listed and unlisted investment products. Impax New Energy Fund III develops medium-sized facilities for renewable energy production in the EU. The European renewable energy market is fragmented, and Impax builds portfolios of smaller projects sold to large institutional investors.
Impact
Impax develops smaller projects for renewable energy production, typically too small for major managers and large funds. This increases the supply of renewable energy in Europe, resulting in fewer carbon emissions from electricity production based on fossil fuels.
The fund invests in green real assets within areas that are not yet in the spotlight of large institutional investors. The manager identifies investments where changed cost structures and new technologies enable significant impact and attractive returns, such as in solar energy, energy storage and electrification of ferries.
Impact
The capital infusion accelerates the deployment of new green, resource-efficient solutions today, and over time, the fund may contribute to attracting additional institutional investment capital to the selected investment areas.
The fund develops and constructs large greenhouses in North America (primarily in the USA) based on new technologies in LED lighting, nutrient supply and water. The greenhouses are leased to established vegetable producers growing crops such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers and berries.
Impact
Conventional land-based food production is significantly less resource-efficient than controlled-environment greenhouse production. The yield per square metre in greenhouses is typically 10 times higher than in fields, while typically using only one-tenth as much water.
Invests in Power-to-X facilities that use green electricity to produce green fuels for airplanes, ships and trucks as well as fertilizer for agriculture.
Impact
Focuses on solutions for ‘difficult’ sectors that cannot predominantly be electrified, requiring alternative solutions to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels.
Mission Related Investments
Merkur Andelskasse is Denmark’s leading values-based financial institution. As the first bank in Denmark, Merkur Andelskasse ceased financing new petrol and diesel cars in 2020.
Impact
All funds invested in Merkur Andelskasse can be loaned up to 6 times, showcasing significant potential for impact within Merkur Andelskasse’s business areas.
The funds have guaranteed a loan provided by Merkur Andelskasse to Kystfisker Kompagniet in Korsør, Denmark. Kystfisker Kompagniet purchases and processes local fish caught using gentle gear and tools such as nets, longlines, traps, hooks and bottom trawls.
Impact
The loan to Kystfisker Kompagniet enables local processing and sale of fish as an alternative to the traditional auction channel in North Jutland.
Investments have thus supported the sale of fresh, local fish, reduced the need for transportation, and improved the economic situation for local fishermen in Korsør.
CPH Village develops and constructs temporary student housing at student-friendly rents. The investment contributes to CPH Village’s goal of offering 2,500 student housing units in Copenhagen. CPH Village utilises centrally located areas that would otherwise be unused, and the buildings are constructed with sustainable materials such as wood. Additionally, CPH Village encourages students to lead a sustainable lifestyle by offering sharing initiatives for furniture and transportation, among other things.
Impact
There is a shortage of thousands of student residences in Danish university cities, especially in Copenhagen. CPH Village addresses this issue sustainably by utilising uninhabited areas and significantly reducing the carbon emissions associated with the construction and operation of student housing compared to traditional alternatives.
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