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Exclusive: New $217M fund for sustainable packaging

Alan Neuhauser
Illustration of a cardboard box full of money.

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Emerald Technology Ventures is launching a €200 million (~$217 million) venture fund focused on the sustainable packaging supply chain.

Why it matters: The fund is putting big money into a narrow but deep vertical — one that can have an outsize impact on waste and can cause particular headaches for consumers.

The details: The Emerald Sustainable Packaging Innovation Fund counts Beiersdorf, Chevron, Henkel and Waste Management as limited partners.

  • Emerald Technology Ventures is based in Zurich, but the packaging fund is registered in Ireland.
  • The firm expects to invest €8–10 million (~$8.7-10.8 million) per portfolio company, a spokesperson tells Axios.
  • MetGen, a Finnish startup developing bio-based materials, and Phase Change Solutions, a U.S. maker of "phase-change materials," "largely fit the criteria for the type of startup we will be targeting," the spokesperson says.

The bottom line: "In packaging, the value of a broad spectrum of engagement is critical because the value circle is complex — there are significant upstream and downstream dependencies," fund partner Neil Cameron tells Axios. "By design, the Emerald Sustainable Packaging Innovation Fund includes as partners the raw materials providers, converters, FMCG players and waste handlers.”

  • FMCG meaning "fast-moving consumer goods," such as candy, toiletries and over-the-counter medications.
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