Circular Economy

Alante Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in climate tech, deep tech, AI and enterprise software companies focused on modernizing the fashion, home and outdoor industries. They back innovation that reduces carbon emissions and brings circularity to these consumer industries that collectively represent a $4 trillion market. Founded by Karla and Leslie, Alante was created to enable investors, entrepreneurs and business leaders to come together and reimagine the future of industry while finding solutions to pressing global problems and addressing climate change. They work across the entire value chain with a diversified approach, investing in technologies that transform how products are designed, made, sold, used and recovered. Alante addresses critical challenges in often-overlooked yet ubiquitous industries where overconsumption has resulted in staggering waste, opaque supply chains have enabled forced labor and hazardous conditions, and record-low prices have increased environmental and social costs exponentially. They believe in achieving transformative impact without compromising returns, helping companies integrate solutions that make industry lifecycles safer, cleaner, more efficient and more sustainable.

Better Ventures is an early-stage impact venture capital firm investing in founders building solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. The firm backs companies across climate, health, circular economy, PropTech, and sustainable consumer sectors, with a focus on scalable technologies that deliver measurable impact. Operating with an “impact + return” philosophy, Better Ventures supports entrepreneurs not just with capital, but with access to a curated network of operators, angels, and advisors. The firm positions founders as the drivers of change, helping them scale companies that generate both financial returns and meaningful environmental and social outcomes.

Capricorn Investment Group is a sustainable investment platform that has been serving families, foundations, and institutional investors for over 25 years. The firm provides comprehensive Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) services and impact investment solutions aimed at solving environmental and social issues while building sustainable wealth for clients. With $14-19 billion in assets under management and 46 employees across offices in New York City and Palo Alto, Capricorn has established itself as a leader in sustainable investing. The company was founded in 2000 with the belief that sustainable investment practices can enhance risk-adjusted returns while demonstrating the investment potential in breakthrough commercial solutions to the world's most pressing problems.

Closed Loop Partners is a leading investment firm dedicated to accelerating the transition to a circular economy. The firm innovates, invests, and operates to build the circular economy, focusing on optimizing supply chains, advancing natural resource efficiency, and driving economic value. With over a decade of experience, Closed Loop Partners has kept over $7.5 billion worth of materials in circulation through their investments and engaged with more than 50 corporations across the firm. The firm is comprised of three key business segments: Closed Loop Capital Management (their investment group managing venture capital, private equity, and catalytic capital & private credit strategies), the Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy (an innovation center helping businesses solve material challenges), and Closed Loop Builders (an operating group that incubates, builds, and scales circular economy infrastructure and solutions across the U.S.). Based in New York, their team includes former industry CEOs, CFOs, senior executives of government agencies, and fund managers with an average of 20+ years of operational and investment experience.

Colesco Capital is a sustainability-led private credit specialist that bridges the gap between institutional capital and businesses driving economic and social progress. Founded in 2020 as a spin-out from Rabobank, the firm combines decades of credit investing expertise with a differentiated sustainable investment approach that prioritizes flexibility, transparency and impact. With 3 offices, 20+ professionals, and 25+ average years of experience among senior partners, Colesco focuses on European mid-market companies. The firm operates two main strategies: Mid-Market Direct Lending for ambitious companies contributing to a sustainable future transition, and Circularity & Climate Direct Lending to bridge funding gaps in circular innovation. In 2024, Colesco achieved a major milestone by raising over EUR 800 million in its first platform close, with cornerstone investors including APG and Rabobank.

Fashion for Good operates as a platform for collaborative innovation that unites the fashion ecosystem to transform and build a regenerative industry. They focus on fostering collaboration and facilitating connections to bring innovative solutions to the forefront, with particular emphasis on next-generation materials, tier 2 decarbonization, footwear circularity, textile waste, and transparency and traceability. Their mission centers on creating a comprehensive platform that enables innovation scouting, collaborative validation, and commercialization and scaling of sustainable fashion solutions. They operate by continuously tracking emerging innovative solutions, facilitating joint testing between brands, innovators and suppliers to validate performance and impact, and co-creating commercial models that address key scaling barriers. Fashion for Good has established itself as a significant force in the sustainable fashion ecosystem, having scouted over 3,500 innovators and supported 187 of them through their innovation pipeline. Their platform approach has generated substantial impact with over €2.31 billion in capital committed and 421 implementation cases, demonstrating their ability to bridge the gap between innovation and market adoption in the fashion industry.

The MacArthur Foundation is a private philanthropic foundation focused on advancing a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world through grantmaking, impact investments, fellowships, and institutional support. The foundation funds creative individuals, nonprofit organizations, research institutions, and mission-driven initiatives working across climate solutions, democracy, journalism, criminal justice reform, technology and society, global security, and community development. Known globally for the MacArthur Fellows Program, often referred to as the “Genius Grants,” the foundation combines long-term systems thinking with bold investments designed to address complex social and environmental challenges.

Regeneration.VC is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage Consumer ClimateTech startups focused on driving the circular economy through sustainable innovation in materials, consumer products, and carbon solutions. The firm specifically targets climate-focused companies that are working to transform unsustainable consumption models and create regenerative value chains. Their mission is to regenerate consumer industry value chains to meet planetary boundaries, recognizing that humanity currently consumes nearly twice what Earth can replenish and that 7 of the 9 planetary boundaries have been transgressed. They operate with a theory of change centered on transforming the "take-make-waste" consumption model that drives climate change and biodiversity loss by investing in solutions that enable circular and regenerative approaches. Regeneration.VC matters in the impact ecosystem because they take a rigorous, data-driven approach to measuring circularity and regenerative impact through their CRISP protocol, developed in partnership with Circle Economy Foundation. The fund brings together a multi-disciplined team of investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, and corporate leaders, with strategic advisor Leonardo DiCaprio, positioning them as a significant player in scaling breakthrough technologies that can deliver outsized net environmental benefits.

SJF Ventures is a venture capital firm established in 1999 that invests in high-growth companies creating a healthier, smarter and cleaner future. Originally formed as the Sustainable Jobs Fund, the firm focuses on catalyzing the development of highly successful businesses driving lasting, positive changes while creating quality jobs in low-income communities through sustainable industries. With over 25 years of experience, SJF has partnered with 93 portfolio companies that have created 18,217 total jobs and mitigated over 3 million metric tons of CO2. The firm invests across six sectors to address climate change and drive equitable opportunities, taking a cross-sector approach that recognizes environmental and social impacts are intersectional. SJF believes the biggest challenges aren't confined to single sectors, so neither is their investment strategy.

Superorganism is the first venture capital firm dedicated exclusively to biodiversity. The firm invests in pre-seed and seed-stage startups developing technologies and business models that protect, restore, and regenerate nature while creating scalable commercial outcomes. Based in San Francisco and New York, Superorganism backs founders tackling biodiversity loss, climate resilience, conservation technology, regenerative agriculture, ocean health, circular economy solutions, and nature-positive innovation. Its investment strategy focuses on three core themes: addressing drivers of species extinction, advancing climate and biodiversity solutions simultaneously, and enabling breakthrough technologies that improve conservation outcomes. Through its mentor network of leading entrepreneurs, scientists, conservationists, and investors, Superorganism helps founders build companies that create an abundant future for both people and nature.