IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
Arborview Capital LLC
Climate Change
Energy
Food Systems and AgricultureFirm Overview
Arborview Capital was founded in 2008 with the recognition that sustainability was becoming central to consumer and business decision-making. For over a decade, Arborview has partnered with high-quality management teams building leading businesses in emerging sustainability-driven markets. We seek opportunities for value creation through sustainability, driving returns to all stakeholders — investors, employees, customers, suppliers — and the environment.
Years of Operation: 10 years or more
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: 25% – 49%
Arborview’s investments are driven by the belief that sustainability is a compelling, rapidly expanding opportunity and that growth equity capital provides the best risk-adjusted returns to investors where success is measured both by financial returns and by the positive social and environment impacts shared by a company's stakeholders.
Since our founding, Arborview’s investment strategy has been built on three essential elements. First, seek out businesses where demand for cleaner or more sustainable alternatives provides an opportunity for strong growth. Second, acquire a meaningful stake in the business at a reasonable valuation and work closely with management to deploy this capital to build infrastructure and processes to support scalability and rapid growth. Third, work collaboratively with management to drive business growth and position the company as an attractive enterprise that can create significant value for all stakeholders. Our knowledge of the broader industry trends in our core impact areas – energy, water, materials, and food and agriculture – is critical to ensuring the proper positioning and market strategy as well as the most likely long-term path towards success for each business.
Arborview’s growth equity mandate provides flexibility to pursue an ownership stake from 10-49%. Our typical hold period is longer than average due to our focus on MOIC, which allows us to act in the best interest of the investor and the company. We have a focused investment strategy – by investing in fewer companies, we can engage more closely with each management team. We have rigorous impact measurement and management processes, and our funds are GIIRS and iPar rated. Each of our portfolio companies takes the B Impact Assessment annually to assess the impact of their operations, and Arborview became B Corp certified in 2024 to hold ourselves to the same standards as our companies. We are active in the impact investing ecosystem, including as a founding and steering committee member of Impact Capital Managers, a host for a MIINT career trek, and a speaker on impact career development panels.
Investment Example
Colorado-based Alpen High Performance Products is a leading US designer and manufacturer of high energy efficiency windows, doors and insulated glass products. Since our initial investment, we have supported the Company in developing new product offerings and consolidating manufacturing operations. Arborview recruited a new CEO, COO, CFO, and independent director, which has been critical as new building efficiency policies have driven demand for upgrades. Arborview worked with the Alpen team to develop impact metrics that measure thermal loss savings associated with product deployment. Our investment helped catalyze additional capital investment in the form of a $6M DOE grant as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, which was met with $12M in matching private capital. The award has enabled Alpen to invest in automated production of their insulated glass units and serves as validation of their technology as a driver of energy efficiency across the built environment.
Leadership and Team
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Karl Khoury – Co-Founder and Partner More Info
Karl is a founder of Arborview Capital, co-heads the investment team and co-manages the operations of the firm. Prior to co-founding Arborview Capital, he had twelve years of experience identifying, consummating and managing private equity investments with Columbia Capital, a sector-focused venture capital firm with over $2 billion under management. During that time, he invested in 13 companies with a primary focus on enterprise and communications software, security, and managed IT services. Prior to Columbia Capital, Karl worked at J.P. Morgan & Co. in New York and San Francisco where he specialized in corporate finance and capital markets for technology and communications clients. |
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Joe Lipscomb – Co-Founder and Partner More Info
Joe is a founder of Arborview Capital, co-heads the investment team and co-manages the operations of the firm. Prior to co-founding Arborview Capital, he had nine years experience identifying, consummating and managing private equity investments, first as a managing director at The Carlyle Group and then with the Global Environment Fund. He has a long track record of working closely with high quality management teams to build successful, leading companies in high growth sectors. Prior to that, Joe had a nine year career at BT Alex Brown and First Boston, providing financing and advisory services to growth companies. |
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Carolyn Farley – Partner More Info
arolyn is a Partner of Arborview Capital, leads sourcing and evaluation of new investment opportunities, and works with our current portfolio founders. Carolyn has over a decade of experience investing in and supporting entrepreneurs to build high-growth companies that provide measurable value to society and to the environment. After launching her career at Goldman Sachs, Carolyn spent two years as an operator with an early-stage education company before returning to investing in a venture role, where she led five new investments and the firm’s first portfolio company exit. Prior to Arborview, she helped to build the Energy Access strategy and portfolio for the Omidyar Network, a family office that has deployed more than $1.5 billion into impact investments. |
Financial Performance
Impact Performance
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Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
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Arborview’s mandate is to invest exclusively into high-growth, mission-oriented companies that make a positive social and environmental impact and generate best-in-class financial returns. Our portfolio companies (and their missions) include Perch Energy (access to clean, renewable energy), Copper Cow (sustainable beverage production), Soupergirl (nutritious plant-based meals, sustainable food production), Kite Hill (plant-based dairy), Alpen (sustainable building materials, energy efficiency), TemperPack (sustainable and recyclable packaging), Soli Organic (sustainable food production, water conservation, land conservation) Rachio (water conservation), and Pakal Technologies (energy efficient semiconductors for electric power conversion). We will only pursue investments into companies that are impact-focused at the product level, in addition to the operational level.
When evaluating a new investment opportunity, Arborview works through an impact checklist alongside a financial diligence checklist to assess a company’s intrafirm social/environmental sustainability practices. Some of the items covered on this include: mission statement with positive social/environmental impact, corporate governance and aboard that consistently evaluates the company’s positive impact, the use of KPI’s to track impact performance, financial and impact performance shared with employees, impact performance shared with the public, employee ownership, employee compensation including a company-wide bonus plan, employee benefits (including healthcare, retirement plans, dental, disability, life insurance, parental leave, skills-based training, etc.), diversity of employees, board and shareholders, % of employees and suppliers that reside in low-income communities, charitable giving practices, tracking and reporting GHGs, energy and water consumption and savings, and third party social or environmental certifications.
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
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14 Ridge Square, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20016 USA
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