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Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

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MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

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Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic

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Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Now worth $200 million, Sarah Jessica Parker credits being ‘one of eight kids that struggled financially’ for her hunger, ambition, and work ethic
CommentaryESG Investing

We are tech founders and investors who pivoted to (profitable) impact investing. Now we’re sharing the secret to our success–and encouraging others to copy it

By
Niklas Adalberth
Niklas Adalberth
,
Funda Sezgi
Funda Sezgi
,
Sara Kappelmark
Sara Kappelmark
,
Jenny Keisu
Jenny Keisu
,
Philipp Schröder
Philipp Schröder
,
Hans Otterling
Hans Otterling
,
Carl Manneh
Carl Manneh
,
Linnea Kornehed Falck
Linnea Kornehed Falck
,
Willard Ahdritz
Willard Ahdritz
,
Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss
Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss
,
Sofie Wahlforss-Quidenus
Sofie Wahlforss-Quidenus
,
Susana Campbell
Susana Campbell
,
Björn Öste
Björn Öste
,
Jane Walerud
Jane Walerud
,
Janneke Niessen
Janneke Niessen
,
Fredrik Jung-Abbou
Fredrik Jung-Abbou
,
Fabian Heilemann
Fabian Heilemann
,
Ash Pournouri
Ash Pournouri
,
Rapelang Rabana
Rapelang Rabana
, and
Agate Freimane
Agate Freimane
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Niklas Adalberth
Niklas Adalberth
,
Funda Sezgi
Funda Sezgi
,
Sara Kappelmark
Sara Kappelmark
,
Jenny Keisu
Jenny Keisu
,
Philipp Schröder
Philipp Schröder
,
Hans Otterling
Hans Otterling
,
Carl Manneh
Carl Manneh
,
Linnea Kornehed Falck
Linnea Kornehed Falck
,
Willard Ahdritz
Willard Ahdritz
,
Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss
Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss
,
Sofie Wahlforss-Quidenus
Sofie Wahlforss-Quidenus
,
Susana Campbell
Susana Campbell
,
Björn Öste
Björn Öste
,
Jane Walerud
Jane Walerud
,
Janneke Niessen
Janneke Niessen
,
Fredrik Jung-Abbou
Fredrik Jung-Abbou
,
Fabian Heilemann
Fabian Heilemann
,
Ash Pournouri
Ash Pournouri
,
Rapelang Rabana
Rapelang Rabana
, and
Agate Freimane
Agate Freimane
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 1, 2023, 6:40 AM ET
Over the past two decades, the Arctic has lost about a third of its winter sea ice volume.
Over the past two decades, the Arctic has lost about a third of its winter sea ice volume.Kerem Yucel—AFP/ Getty Images
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To our fellow tech and startup investors,

The world is on fire, both figuratively and literally.

Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, for years considered the world’s most important climate goal, now seems like only a distant possibility. The world is heating up, causing sea levels to rise and land to dry out. The planet is losing 7.4 million more acres of trees every year to forest fires compared with 2001. That’s a huge and devastating leap in just over 20 years.

Technology has brought enormous wealth and enlightenment to humankind. However, the negative effects of the tech boom are also becoming clear in hindsight: increased polarization and misinformation through social media, unsustainable consumption made possible through near-frictionless credit and lending platforms, and addictive mobile apps that damage our attention spans and ability to absorb complex information. Depending on your perspective, the world being built by venture-capital-fueled Big Tech can look more like a dystopia than a utopia.

It doesn’t have to be this way. As investors, we wield enormous power and influence to shape the world that future generations will inherit from us. With intentionality and commitment, we can make a real difference. Investments in technologies for decarbonization, electrification, clean energy, healthcare, and education have the potential to improve billions of lives. By supporting entrepreneurs in emerging markets, we can drive sustainable economic growth and job creation where it is most needed. 

We also know for a fact that these are billion-dollar business opportunities. At Norrsken, we’ve been investing under a strict impact framework for over half a decade. We’ve invested in nearly 100 companies addressing big global challenges like clean energy, sustainable food production, and inequality. Investments in high-impact companies such as Northvolt, Einride, and 1komma5 are on track to deliver high returns. Our first Accelerator cohort of early-stage impact startups has gone on to raise nearly 10x in capital in the two years since our initial investment.

This hasn’t been some impossible challenge, quite the opposite! We work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a guiding light. We only invest in companies that can demonstrate measurable impact relating to at least one of the UN goals, and in business models that ensure the level of impact will scale alongside revenue and profitability as they grow. 

We’re far from alone in this. Roughly a third of the signatories of this open letter are Norrsken investors, a third represent companies that Norrsken has invested in, and a third represent wholly distinct founders or investors. 

Organizations like Katapult, Fifty Years, AENU, Breakthrough Energy, 2150, Astanor, and World Fund, to name just a few, are playing a crucial role in shifting the attention of global capital towards impact. Y Combinator, the world’s biggest and most influential startup accelerator, recently posted a call for applications from climate tech startups. According to the Global Impact Investing Network, global impact investments surpassed $1 trillion for the first time in 2021. 

But it’s a groundswell–and we need a revolution. Data from the OECD shows a $4.2 trillion funding gap to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 

We think it’s time to make impact investing the new normal. This is a call to investors worldwide to implement impact frameworks and commit to ensuring that your money is invested into companies that generate not just financial returns, but a positive global impact alongside it.

Need help getting started? All of our documentation–how we define and measure impact, and how we evaluate companies before investing in them–is publicly available. We encourage any firm to copy it. 

It works. It’ll change the world. And it will deliver returns. So why aren’t you doing it already? 

Niklas Adalberth, founder, Norrsken Foundation

Funda Sezgi and Sara Kappelmark, co-CEOs, Norrsken Foundation

Jenny Keisu, founder, X-Shore

Philipp Schröder, co-founder 1Komma5

Hans Otterling, partner Northzone & founding partner, Norrsken22

Carl Manneh, co-founder Mojang 

Linnea Kornehed Falck, co-founder Einride

Willard Ahdritz, founder, Kobalt Music 

Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss, co-founder Soundcloud, Dance 

Sofie Wahlforss-Quidenus, founder Omni:us

Susana Campbell, investor and board member, Northvolt, H2 Green Steel

Björn Öste, co-founder Oatly

Jane Walerud, co-founder Paebbl, investor Walerud Ventures

Janneke Niessen, co-founder, CapitalT VC

Fredrik Jung-Abbou, co-founder KRY, investor Norrsken Accelerator

Fabian Heilemann, founder and CEO AENU

Ash Pournouri, co-founder and investor, Norrsken Accelerator

Rapelang Rabana, founder Rekindle Learning

Agate Freimane, general partner, Norrsken VC

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

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About the Authors
By Niklas Adalberth
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By Funda Sezgi
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By Sara Kappelmark
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By Jenny Keisu
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By Philipp Schröder
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By Hans Otterling
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By Carl Manneh
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By Linnea Kornehed Falck
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