Emerald began as the venture capital arm of Sustainable Asset Management, creator of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, with operations in Europe and North America. We launched our first €100 million sustainability fund, managing assets across global markets. Emerald was officially independent of SAM in 2007.
The financial crisis shook the VC market. Backed by a strong track record in risk mitigation and securing co-investments from trusted partners, Emerald navigated the turbulence, safeguarding investments and positioning for renewed growth.
Emerald earned a Swiss government mandate to manage the Technology Fund, now a CHF 350M cleantech debt guarantee program for SMEs. It stands as a global model for governments seeking to build vibrant homegrown cleantech innovation ecosystems.
In a VC landscape of fixed-term funds, Emerald launched the first flex-term fund, meeting our corporate partners’ desire for open-ended relationships and removing the constraints of artificial deadlines on promising industrial innovations.
We secured our first external corporate VC management mandate with Nabtesco Technology Ventures, leveraging our expertise to drive strategic investments and innovation in alignment with the corporate’s long-term sustainability goals.
We established our first Asia office in Singapore and launched our dedicated Water Fund, focusing on alleviating growing stress in managing the world’s most valuable resource. The next few years would see a series of specialist funds emerge focused exclusively on specific challenges in industrial sustainability.
Emerald introduced a dedicated Energy Fund, channeling capital into the technologies powering the global clean-energy transformation in order to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.
We launched a dedicated packaging fund, addressing a major source of global waste and seizing the growing opportunity to replace plastic with sustainable alternatives, meeting rising demand for solutions that protect the environment.
Emerald won mandates to manage Sasol Ventures and SIG InnoVentures, expanding our role in corporate VC management and strengthening our position as a trusted partner for strategic, sustainable investment leadership worldwide.
Emerald took on a new CVC mandate with Idemitsu, further embedding Emerald in Japan’s sustainable transformation. At home, Emerald achieved FINMA regulation—affirming our credibility and strengthening appeal to investors and partners.
Celebrating 25 years, Emerald leads industrial sustainability innovation. With global specialist funds, corporate and government partners, and decades of expertise, we are advancing our mission to build a cleaner, smarter, and more resilient future.
This milestone belongs to all who have been part of the journey — from long-time collaborators to new partners, clients, and supporters.
Your belief in our mission has powered 25 years of progress in sustainable innovation.
Thank you for being part of the journey.
