European specialist growth investor Verdane announced today that it has raised €700 million (USD$758 million at the final close of its Verdane Idun II fund, targeting investments in businesses within the structural growth trend of decarbonization.

The total is more than double its previous Idun I fund, with both funds dedicated to enhancing decarbonization efforts by European companies. The Idun II fund is classified as an Article 9 fund under the EU’s SFDR regulation.

Verdane’s Idun funds generally invest between €20 and €100 million into sustainable businesses. All investments made from Idun II pass strict sustainability criteria to measure their positive environmental impact, such as a carbon avoidance target of a minimum of 5,000 tons of CO2 avoided per €1 million invested, the firm said, adding that its criteria allow investments only in businesses positioned to succeed in a sustainable economy. Since 2003, Verdane has backed 42 sustainable businesses via its funds, and over the past 12 months has backed 16 European businesses with €600 million in capital.

Bjarne Kveim Lie, founder and Managing Partner of Verdane, said:

“With Idun II, we seek to demonstrate that it is possible to generate world-class returns for investors while making a meaningful contribution to the decarbonization of our economy. As structural growth investors, we are convinced that the quest to decarbonize is a generational megatrend. Our goal is to be the preferred growth partner to the companies best positioned to take advantage of that trend, and to help them reach their full potential.”

The majority of Idun II commitments come from non-profit organizations and investors. Idun II includes commitments from leading investors, including Nysnø Climate Investments, Norway’s state climate investment fund; Banque de Luxembourg; the European Investment Fund; MN, a provider of fiduciary management services for Dutch industry pension funds; Finnish capital investments company Tesi and Carbon Equity, which enables private and professional investors to invest in a diversified portfolio of international climate funds. The fund was fully allocated within five months.

The fund closing follows the announcement by Verdane earlier this year of a series of new appointments to bolster its decarbonization team.

Lie said:

“Our decarbonization team at Verdane is now one of the largest in Europe, with 13 dedicated investment professionals. They are supported by an in-house operations team 35 strong, and benefit from the entire organization’s deep networks and experience helping scale sustainable European growth companies over the last two decades. This enables us to not only dive deep into the structural growth trend of decarbonization, but also to support our companies with on the ground presence across core Northern European markets to support companies in their growth.”