Weekly Snippet November (14.11. – 20.11.)
Products and Service
Energy Impact Partners (EIP) closes $485 mn clean-energy fund
Energy Impact Partners raised $485 million for a new fund to invest in technologies that help reduce carbon emissions, including corporate capital from companies such as software giant Microsoft Corp., pipeline operator Williams Cos. and electric utility Duke Energy Corp. The Fund seeks to invest in climate technologies with outsized financial prospects, focusing on companies that have achieved early technical validation but have not yet reached full maturity at scale. Read more here.
Korea Development Bank (KDB) provides $100 mn loan facility to Africa Finance Corporation (AFC)
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the leading infrastructure solutions provider in Africa, announced this week the successful closing of a 5-year US$100 million loan facility from the Korea Development Bank (KDB). The liquidity will support AFC to deliver fast and sustainable solutions to close Africa’s infrastructure gap. Read more here.
MassMutual Ventures (MMV) launched new $100m climate tech fund
The MMV Climate Tech Fund will invest in 15 to 20 technology companies that focus on climate change. MMV will support the investee companies with their investment capabilities, access to founder networks and early-stage business expertise in order to enable scalable growth.
Indonesia Investment Authority will launch an electric vehicle fund of $2bn
The fund will be backed by China´s battery maker CATL and CMB International with the goal to invest in the EV value chain to capture a market that is expected to grow fast all around the world due to the increasing number of commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate Adaptive Infrastructure (CAI) raised over $1 bn for infrastructure fund
Climate Adaptive Infrastructure announced this week the successful close of its Climate Adaptive Infrastructure Fund LP raising more than $825 million in equity. In addition, alongside the Fund, CAI has an affiliated co-investment program of over $200 million. The Fund attracted an institutional set of global limited partners and targets sustainable infrastructure investments in the energy and environmental sectors. Read more here.
SE Ventures announces €500 million Fund II for fight climate change
SE Ventures announced this week a €500 million Fund II with a focus on climate and industrial technology. Backed by Schneider Electric, the fund will bring SE Ventures to €1 billion of committed capital. Fund II will begin deployment in January 2023, doubling down on SE Ventures’ track record of success as an accelerant for category-defining companies in climate-tech, industrial AI, mobility, prop-tech and cybersecurity. Read more here.
Regulations and Law
ESAs launch joint Call for Evidence on greenwashing
The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA – ESAs) published this week a Call for Evidence on greenwashing to gather input from stakeholders on how to understand the key features, drivers and risks associated with greenwashing and to collect examples of potential greenwashing practices. Read more here.
European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) approves reporting standards
EFRAG approved the updated version of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) which outline detailed requirements for the corporate reporting on a broad range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. The new standard is part of the CSRD which are expected to enter into force for the fiscal year 2024 with the first reporting due in 2025. Read more here.
ESG Data and Analytics
EY Global Alternative Fund Survey with ESG relevant insights published
The consideration of ESG in governance structures and within investment decisions is slowly increasing in the Alternative Fund industry. 57% of firms have a governance structure, and 53% have embedded ESG into their investment decision-making. While managers continue to evolve how they manage their corporate ESG, meeting investor ESG requirements is gaining significance. Read more here.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) launched a TCFD reporting solution for asset managers
ICE’s TCFD service leverages the company’s climate transition data and analytics, corporate entity data, as well as green bond data, to provide the data and information needed for the metrics and targets reporting required in the TCFD framework. The TCFD service is part of ICE’s Sustainable Finance service. Read more here.