The Venture Climate Alliance (VCA) – an organization of 23 venture capital firms, was officially launched this week to foster bold climate actions that eliminate corporates’ carbon emissions.
The Venture Climate Alliance consists of prominent climate impact-focused VC firms like Energy Impact Partners, Prelude Ventures, Capricorn Investment Group, DCVC, Tiger Global, Galvanize Climate Solutions, S2G Ventures, Union Square Ventures, World Fund, 2150 and more. The firms involved in the alliance have combined assets of $62.3 billion.
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The initiative aims to support early-stage climate tech startups that cut emissions from Scopes 1, 2 and 3 and sustainably scale at a pace that will help corporates reach net zero.
To achieve its mission, the VCA follows four commitments: commit; recruit; assist; and track. To commit to the VCA, a VC must first conduct an internal greenhouse gas inventory of its Scope 1-3 emissions, and commit to achieving net zero or negative emissions by 2030. The VC has to share common best practices for collecting, interpreting and reporting climate impact data.
The second step is for the VC to provide the tools and support to the recruited companies in its portfolio to reach net zero by 2050 or sooner. The VCA will assist a portfolio company, once it has set a net zero target, to achieve this goal. It plans to fulfill its role as an adviser and shareholder and provide support in managing various external impacts like policy developments.
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VCA will also track and share its, and its portfolio’s, progress toward net-zero. VCA clarifies that “detailed company-by-company emissions data” may not always be provided, it says that a third-party entity will determine how the firm’s goal is progressing.
As the world is investing in the next generation of emissions reduction approaches, net zero actions and commitments from venture capital firms are critical. As they try to manage climate-related risks, ensuring participation in climate tech startups providing decarbonization solutions is a transformative step for them.
