Italian private equity firm Ambienta specialises in investments that capture long-term environmental growth trends.

Founded in 2008, the firm manages €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion), with three funds following an investment strategy focusing on environmental impact and ESG.

Having exited over 60% of its investments, generating a 30% IRR, Ambienta says it has demonstrated that investing in companies fuelled by environmental trends while rigorously applying its proprietary ESG in Action methodology can generate both top-tier financial performance and solid, measurable environmental returns.

Ambienta has developed a proprietary methodology, the Environmental Impact Analysis, to quantify environmental impact. In 2019, Ambienta expanded this remit to address climate change, requiring all new portfolio companies to run a carbon footprint strategy to better position themselves against climate-related risks.

Ambienta aims to reach a target of climate neutrality in its managed portfolios by the end of 2020, becoming net-positive early in the decade.

Recently, Ambienta hired PwC to audit the implementation of its ESG in Action programme, ensuring appropriate ESG integration at general practitioner and portfolio level.

The asset manager also invests in businesses whose products or services address the themes of Resource Efficiency or Pollution Control. By doing so, Ambienta says it is able to invest through economic cycles and temporary downturns.

The company's five-member Sustainability & Strategy team maps and researches such investment opportunities, which ensures Ambienta targets relevant SMEs.

Its approach to environmental and sustainability themed investments is intended to encompass the entire spectrum of natural resources. This holistic approach, which Ambienta says captures 10 out of 15 possibly investable UN Sustainable Development Goals, and 85 out of 110 possibly investable sub-goals, targets investment opportunities with a positive environmental impact across diverse and wide-ranging sectors. EF