Frequently asked questions

When you use our service or visit our website, we may collect personal data that allows us to identify or contact you — for example, during onboarding, account management, or general communication. Our privacy statement sets out the categories of personal data we collect, the purposes for which we use it, the legal basis for processing, and the applicable retention periods.

No, investors cannot select specific companies. You will be invested in the entire portfolio of a fund. Diversification across multiple companies reduces single-company failure risk.

Top-tier climate funds are often closed to individual investors. They require institutional ticket sizes and only accept LPs they trust. Carbon Equity gets in because of:

• Deep networks. Our investment team has spent years building relationships with leading climate fund managers, and our backgrounds in PE, VC, and institutional investing give us credibility with the General Partners we partner with.
• A rigorous selection process. We screen the full universe of climate funds (700+) and only back the small fraction that meet our bar on returns and impact. Top managers value us as a serious, long-term partner, which opens doors to the next fund, and the next.
• Pooled capital. By aggregating commitments from our investor community, we meet the multi-million-euro minimums that top funds require, giving you access that would otherwise be out of reach.

It's important to only commit capital that you can set aside for the duration of the fund. If you are unable to meet a capital call, the consequences can be significant: you may face penalty interest on the outstanding amount, a penalty of up to 50% of your total obligations, or in the most severe case, forfeiture of your existing investment in the fund. We may also require you to compensate for any costs incurred as a result of the default. If you cannot meet the deadline, contact us as soon as possible and we will try to work with you to find a solution. Persistent failure to meet capital calls is rare and we always reach out before any such steps are taken. We encourage investors to plan their liquidity carefully before committing.

There are two parts to this: how we assess potential investments on impact, and how we measure the impact performance of our funds.

We assess potential investments using our proprietary climate due diligence framework. Fund managers are scored across five topics: climate ambition, climate expertise, intentionality, safeguards against opportunism, and most importantly their climate impact track record. Each fund is benchmarked against global best practice on 15 specific criteria.

For each portfolio company in a fund, we then assess its potential contribution to net zero by asking two questions. First, does the technology focus on a material greenhouse gas issue, meaning it appears in a key decarbonisation pathway (such as those defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency, Project Drawdown, or the European Union Taxonomy), or addresses a problem causing at least 50 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year? Second, is the technology net zero aligned, meaning it fits a net zero economy without creating material lock-in risks? Companies that pass both checks are classified as having substantial decarbonisation potential.

Our objective is for at least 70% of portfolio companies in each fund to have substantial decarbonisation potential. At present, all of our funds perform well above this target. This is the main metric we report on every quarter.

We also share the underlying impact reports from each fund manager directly with our investors, and full company profiles are available in your investor dashboard. We believe the companies themselves speak louder than our words, and we encourage you to see their impact for yourself.

We run a rigorous, multi-stage process to identify the small number of funds that meet our bar on both climate impact and financial returns. Each fund goes through four stages of due diligence:

• Quickscan. An initial assessment of how committed a fund is to impact, looking at its mandate, thesis, minimum impact threshold, track record, and intentionality.
• Climate due diligence. A deep assessment scoring the fund against global best practice on 15 specific criteria across ten topics.
• Financial due diligence. A deep dive into the fund's strategy, team, processes, and prior investments to ensure a satisfactory risk and return profile.
• Environmental, social, and governance assessment. A review of the fund manager's policies and performance, including alignment with the European Union's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

Funds that clear all four stages are presented to our Investment Committee, where approval requires a unanimous decision. Less than 5% of the funds we review make it through.

Carbon Equity is open to residents of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany across all our funds. We are actively working on expanding to additional countries, starting with France for Co-Investment Fund I.

Investors based outside these countries may still be able to invest on their own initiative, under what is known as reverse solicitation. We cannot actively market or offer our funds in these jurisdictions, but if you reach out to us yourself, we can discuss whether and how an investment may be possible. Eligibility depends on local rules and may require you to meet Accredited or Qualified Investor criteria.

Subsequent capital calls follow the same 21-day notification window. We also give you a longer-term view: your investor dashboard shows the expected schedule and size of upcoming calls, updated as the underlying funds confirm their drawdowns. Note that this is an estimate. While the exact timing depends on when the underlying funds invest, instalments are typically called semi-annually and sized at around 5-10 % of your total commitment.

Infrastructure investments are typically grouped into three categories based on where they sit on the risk and return spectrum. The category determines how mature the underlying projects are, how returns are generated, and how much climate impact the investment creates.

• Core. Invests mainly in stable, income-generating infrastructure that already exists. Risk and return are lower, with a target net internal rate of return of 4 to 6 percent, mostly delivered as cash yield. Because these projects are already built and operating, the climate impact is more limited.
• Core plus. Invests in projects at earlier stages of development or in upgrades to existing infrastructure. Risk and return sit in the low to moderate range, with a target net internal rate of return of 10 to 12 percent, of which 3 to 4 percent is cash yield. Climate impact is moderate.
• Value-add. Focuses on the development or repurposing of infrastructure projects and investments in developers themselves. Risk and return are moderate, with a target net internal rate of return of 12 to 14 percent and limited cash yield. Climate impact is higher, because the capital directly finances the development and construction of new climate technology projects that deliver concrete greenhouse gas savings.

Climate Infrastructure Fund I focuses on the value-add and core plus segment, where the combination of attractive returns and meaningful climate impact is strongest.

Fees are included in the capital calls. You do not receive separate invoices for fees during the life of the fund. The total expected fees over the fund's lifetime are disclosed in the fund documents, and your investor dashboard shows a continuous breakdown between capital invested and fees paid.