IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
Aligned Climate Capital
Climate Change
Decarbonization and Carbon Drawdown
EnergyFirm Overview
Aligned Climate Capital is a multi-strategy asset management firm focused exclusively on opportunities related to the clean energy transition and global decarbonization. We strive to be a fully-mission aligned investor focused on the just climate transition. Aligned invests in the people, companies, and real assets that are decarbonizing the global economy and its infrastructure. We believe this is an opportunity to generate strong financial returns, while also achieving meaningful environmental and social impact. Our team works at the intersection of finance, technology, and public policy. We believe that each of these disciplines is critical to understanding this market, seeing the trends, and investing successfully. Aligned’s investment strategies are informed by this ethos and guided by a vision that the success of our firm, our investors, our partners, and the planet are all Aligned.
Years of Operation: 5 – 9 years
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: 25% – 49%
Aligned invests in proven climate solutions to scale these markets sufficiently to achieve the $50 trillion of investment required to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement targets while also focusing on building a clean and affordable energy ecosystem for all and ensuring a just climate transition.
Aligned is dedicated to scaling proven climate solutions, such as clean energy, electric transport, efficient buildings, and sustainable land use. We believe most greenhouse gas emissions reductions will come from these demonstrated climate solutions over the coming years and are key areas to address environmental justice concerns. Our focus on building a clean and affordable energy economy for all intentionally results in a broader set of economic, environmental, and social impact. A just climate transition is important to Aligned because the people who are being harmed first and worst by the climate crisis are those who contribute least to its causes, and who are the least able to protect themselves against it. By focusing on real assets and proven solutions, Aligned can achieve greater climate impact faster, while materially help those who are the most vulnerable while supporting the green economy through the creation of green jobs and various workforce development programs.
- We are a multi-strategy investment firm that invests in the clean energy transition through both an infrastructure and a venture capital strategy. We believe investing capital within different asset classes, and across different fund strategies, gives us unique insights and capabilities in this market.
- We are public policy experts. Our senior management team has held executive positions in Federal and State government. We use this knowledge to create value in our investments by identifying new market opportunities, mitigating regulatory risks, and utilizing public finance.
- We are mission-driven and employ a rigorous ESG approach on all investments. Aligned has created its own ESG methodology, which it applies across the full investment lifecycle (investment strategy, origination, execution, and portfolio management). Our ESG methodology is quantitative, informed by SASB materiality, and indexed to the UN SDGs.
Investment Example
- V Street Solar is a 6.1MW community solar project in Washington, D.C. that provides monthly utility bill savings for more than 1,000 households across all 8 wards in the District. Covering seven warehouse rooftops on V Street NE, this project is estimated to save community solar subscribers $7.5 million on their electric bills over 20 years and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 110,000 metric tons - the same as taking 26,000 cars off the road for a year. V Street Solar is the largest community solar project in DC and approximately half of the beneficiaries are from Wards 5, 7, and 8, bringing the benefits of a clean energy future to underserved communities across DC through positive economic development. Aligned partnered with the DC Green Bank and Amalgamated Bank to help finance this project.
- Souther Farms is a 5.1MW solar system in rural Maine, and the first solar project in Maine to provide most (96%) of its solar energy to public schools in the state - the remaining 4% powers the Farmington Water District to help reduce their carbon footprint and offset their electric bills. The 14,040-panel array is expected to produce roughly 6,478,200 kilowatt hours of clean energy annually, offsetting more than 6,348,000 pounds of carbon pollution each year in rural America. Specifically, the schools that benefit from this solar project are Mt. Blue Regional School District (RSU9), Spruce Mountain School District (RSU73), Camden Rockport School District (MSAD28), Camden Hills Regional High School (Five Town CSD), and Hope Elementary School (Union 69).
- BoxPower (https://boxpower.io/) designs, installs, and operates solar plus storage microgrids in underserved, remote, and rural communities on behalf of utilities. Specifically, BoxPower’s microgrids are deployed by electric utilities to provide additional grid resiliency and remote power in parts of their service territory that are at risk of power disruptions due to wildfires, extreme weather events, and aging grid infrastructure. BoxPower’s systems allow these communities to maintain electricity service even in these circumstances.
Leadership and Team
Financial Performance
Impact Performance
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Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
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At Aligned, sustainability is core to our business. By integrating ESG considerations into our investment process, Aligned seeks to create lasting benefits for portfolio companies and the communities in which we live and work. Our ESG methodology is informed by our partnerships with leading impact investing organizations. At Aligned, ESG is viewed as a risk management tool to evaluate material non-financial risks and opportunities. ESG factors are a part of our investment analysis and approval system. To streamline our efforts, a bespoke ESG risk rating system was created for investment analysis. Separately, Aligned also has an impact management framework, which serves as a means to measure the positive impact of our investments. For example, only investments with potential for clear climate benefits and positive social impact are targeted. Also, all our investments are aligned to the UN SDGs at the target and/or indicator levels.
Aligned manages investment strategies that seek to generate strong risk-adjusted returns, while also mitigating and adapting to global climate change. At Aligned, we recognize that ESG issues can impact the long-term performance of our investment portfolios and consider these issues as a core component of our investment process. We believe that with the proper analysis and management, ESG investing can not only mitigate risks but also add value. At Aligned, ESG issues are considered in the early stages of investment origination and throughout the due diligence and acquisition phase. For deals we lead, an ESG clause and DEI clause is added to the deal documents to demonstrate values-alignment. Post-investment, we continue to monitor and manage ESG issues to ensure strong risk management and engagement with relevant stakeholders. All intrafirm social and environmental practices are outlined in our firm's ESG Policy and ESG Guidelines.
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
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24 West 40th Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10018, United States
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