Environment

Warburg Pincus established its ESG program in 2014 and is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI). The firm has calculated externally validated Scope 1, 2, and select Scope 3 emissions since 2019 in alignment with GHG Protocol standards, and has estimated portfolio emissions since 2020 in collaboration with ISS ESG. Warburg Pincus is a founding partner of Ownership Works, a member of the Sustainable Markets Initiative PE Taskforce, and joined the Initiative Climat International (iCI) network.

Co-ownership model inherently reduces vacation home construction impact by enabling 8 families to share one property instead of building 8 separate homes. Fully distributed remote-first company since founding reduces commute emissions. SEC filings show reduced sales/marketing spend of $1.6M (19%) in first half 2025 as company focused on profitability over growth.

Climeworks operates Mammoth, the world's largest direct air capture plant in Iceland, designed to remove 36,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. However, the plant captured only 105 tonnes total in 2024 and 119 tonnes in the first half of 2025—well below capacity. Critics note Climeworks' 2023 emissions (1,700 tonnes CO2) exceeded its total capture since 2021 (1,058 tonnes). Stanford researcher Mark Jacobson called DAC "a greenwashing technology."

Issued nearly one megaton of verified carbon credits through four carbon harvests since 2019, with over 500,000 credits from fourth harvest alone in April 2025. Microsoft purchased 100,000 credits total (40,000 in June 2024, 60,000 in April 2025) at $60-80 per ton. Carbon program shows 333% year-over-year growth in new acres. 75% of carbon credit profits go directly to farmers, with $12M+ earned by participants to date.

Named to TIME100 Climate 2025 list. After losing his family home in the LA wildfires, co-founded the Department of Angels non-profit with Snap co-founder Bobby Murphy in February 2025. Contributed $5M in immediate aid, advocated for climate-resilient rebuilding standards, insurance reform, and fire prevention policy at state level.

Driving force behind Stripe's Frontier fund — a $1B+ advanced market commitment to carbon removal running 2022–2030 alongside Google, Meta, and McKinsey. Stripe signed contracts to remove $600M worth of carbon in 2024. Reaffirmed climate commitments in 2025 despite the Trump administration's rollback of climate priorities, stating "We need to suck carbon out of the atmosphere."

Addition founder Lee Fixel and wife Lauren co-founded the Lauren and Lee Fixel Family Foundation. In 2025, the foundation supported the launch of the Food and Agriculture Research Mission (FARM) at Washington University in St. Louis—an initiative to address challenges in agricultural production, food distribution, and access to nutritious foods. Addition's portfolio also includes Zap Energy, a clean energy company developing shear-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion technology for commercial power generation without superconducting magnets.

Before its collapse, Bowery Farming pioneered sustainable indoor vertical farming, using 95% less water than traditional agriculture and zero pesticides while achieving year-round production. The company's $70M Georgia facility in Locust Grove represented one of the largest vertical farming operations in the US. The entire 200,000-square-foot farm headed to liquidation auction in 2025.

Form Energy developed iron-air batteries that can store electricity for up to 100 hours at one-tenth the cost of lithium-ion batteries. The technology uses reversible rusting of iron to store renewable energy, addressing solar and wind intermittency. Named a 2025 Earthshot Prize finalist in the "Fix Our Climate" category. Built its first commercial factory in Weirton, West Virginia on a former steel mill site, creating 450+ jobs.

Plenty's indoor vertical farming uses 1% of the land and up to 90% less water than traditional farms while achieving yields up to 350 times greater per acre. CEO Arama Kukutai stated the farm is "a model for the positive impact climate-agnostic agriculture can have, and proof that vertical farming can deliver the crop diversity, scaled and local production needed to future-proof the global food system." The company's pesticide-free produce eliminates need for preservatives by locating farms near consumers.

Netflix committed to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for its own operations by end of 2022 and for the broader production ecosystem by 2030. The company achieved its own operations net-zero on schedule and signed renewable energy agreements covering 100% of its US electricity consumption by 2024. Annual ESG reports document progress.

Spotify committed to net-zero emissions by 2030 and has published annual sustainability reports. The company's 2023 report showed a 43% reduction in market-based emissions since 2019. Spotify joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and has issued green bonds to fund sustainability initiatives across its operations.

Redwood Materials' battery recycling process uses 80% less energy, reduces CO₂ emissions by 70%, and requires 80% less water compared to traditional mining. A Stanford peer-reviewed study found Redwood's process could produce up to 80% fewer emissions than conventional supply chains. Operations are 100% electrically powered by renewable energy with zero waste to landfill. The company reclaims 95%+ of critical battery materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, and copper.

JB Straubel was named to TIME100 Climate 2024 for building Redwood Materials into the largest lithium-ion battery recycler in North America. Redwood's proprietary process recovers up to 95% of critical minerals—nickel, cobalt, and lithium—from spent EV batteries, creating a circular battery economy. Straubel told Stanford students in February 2024 he's "taken on an activist mantle" advocating for phasing out fossil fuels. Redwood secured a $2B DOE loan and broke ground on a $3.5B South Carolina facility.

General Atlantic raised $3.5 billion for its BeyondNetZero climate growth fund, targeting supply chain decarbonization, energy efficiency, and emissions management. In 2024, the fund acquired a majority stake in GRESB (ESG data provider for real assets) and invested in Ecore (circular economy, reclaiming 430M+ pounds of waste rubber annually). The fund also acquired Actis ($97B sustainable infrastructure investor) in October 2024. BeyondNetZero operates as an Article 9 Fund under EU SFDR and published its annual climate report in July 2025.

Sila Nanotechnologies opened the first gigawatt-hour-scale silicon anode manufacturing plant in the Western world in Moses Lake, Washington in 2024. The company's battery technology enables higher energy density with less material, supporting the transition to electric vehicles. Co-founder Gene Berdichevsky, who led development of Tesla's first lithium-ion battery system, has positioned Sila as a critical supplier for Mercedes-Benz (2022) and Panasonic (2023) to advance sustainable transportation.

ICONIQ Impact launched the Ocean Co-Lab on December 12, 2023, a $50 million collaborative philanthropy fund supporting 20 ocean-based climate projects. The initiative addresses climate mitigation through decarbonized shipping and offshore wind, carbon sequestration through ocean alkalinity enhancement, blue carbon preservation through mangrove and salt marsh protection, and coastal community resilience. Grantees include Pacific Environment, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and The Marine Tenure Facility.

TPG closed its Rise Climate fund at $7.3B, making it one of the largest climate-focused PE funds. The strategy targets clean energy, decarbonized transport, and sustainable agriculture. TPG reports its portfolio has averted 285 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. At COP28 in 2023, TPG launched a $2.5B Global South Initiative targeting climate investments in emerging markets. The firm has a dedicated five-person ESG team overseeing portfolio companies.

Shopify ran a Sustainability Fund investing ~$32M per year in carbon removal startups but in 2023 sold the fund's management to climate tech firm Watershed, transferring the commitments rather than maintaining them directly. Critics viewed this as deprioritizing sustainability alongside the company's broader retreat from social initiatives such as its Build Black and Build Native programs.

Committed Salesforce to net-zero. Planted 100 million trees initiative.

Apple carbon neutral by 2030 commitment.

Pledged $1.5 billion in climate investments and donations by 2030 in October 2021 to support COP26's 1.5°C goal. Formed Boundless Earth climate fund in 2022. Became largest shareholder of AGL, Australia's largest greenhouse gas emitter, to force changes. With wife Annie, pledged $1 billion in climate-conscious investments and $500 million to organizations including Beyond Zero Emissions, Climate Council, and Rewiring Australia. Atlassian committed to net-zero by 2040, accelerated from 2050.

MIT spin-off founded 2018 working to develop commercial fusion reactor for pollution-free energy without long-term nuclear waste. CEO Bob Mumgaard drives vision to combat climate change through technical innovation. In September 2021 demonstrated 20 tesla high-temperature superconducting magnet, world's largest by 100-1000x in performance. Raised $1.8B Series B from Temasek, Bill Gates, and Eni to build SPARC tokamak.

Founded 2015 with mission to "transform" construction through modular building and prefabrication, aiming to reduce waste and improve efficiency. Built factories in Phoenix and Tracy, CA for off-site construction. However, collapsed before achieving environmental goals. Cost overruns, logistics failures, and management issues led to $2B+ in losses. SoftBank Vision Fund was largest investor.

Stewart Butterfield and partner Jen Rubio donated $25 million to UNICEF in April 2021 to support equitable global COVID-19 vaccine distribution through the COVAX initiative. On Good Morning America, Butterfield challenged other tech leaders to donate, noting "UNICEF vaccinate[s] 45 percent of the world's children." Earlier, in 2015, Butterfield pledged personal Slack shares to Science World British Columbia to foster science literacy.

Melanie Perkins led Canva to become the first Australian company to sign The Climate Pledge, committing to net-zero by 2040. Canva achieved carbon neutral status for Australian operations in 2020 and global operations in 2021. The company became climate positive in 2023, powers its head office with 100% renewable energy, and was the first Australian participant in Frontier Climate to accelerate permanent carbon removal. Canva plants one tree for every print order, totaling nearly 3 million trees in 2021 alone.

GIC maintains investments in coal-reliant power utilities as part of its "transition" strategy rather than divesting from fossil fuels. In 2021, GIC invested in Duke Energy Indiana (DEI), a utility that relied largely on coal-fired power plants. GIC's stated position is that "blunt divestment" is not the answer, preferring to support companies transitioning away from coal. While DEI plans to retire coal by 2035, GIC continues to fund historically coal-dependent utilities during this extended transition period.

Committed to net-zero emissions by 2050 in September 2019, later accelerating the target to 2040. Co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes drives climate investment through $1.5 billion personal pledge plus $500 million to climate organizations. The company operates in context of Cannon-Brookes becoming largest shareholder of AGL, Australia's biggest emitter, to force green transition.