Does venture-backed innovation support carbon neutrality?

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to answer three questions: (1) Which countries invest more capital in green firms? (2) What kind of industries do venture capitals (VCs) invest in? (3) Do VCs invest more capital in green firms?Design/methodology/approachFirst, the authors provide summary statistics of the key variables for green and non-green firms. Then the authors use figures to plot the growth of green firms over time. Next, the authors use descriptive data to study VC-invested firms for the top 10 countries and industries for all firms, green firms and non-green firms. Finally, the authors compare the VC investors' characteristics and investment behavior between green and non-green firms.FindingsThis study documents that venture-backed investments in clean technologies have increased dramatically in the number of deals and in the total amount of dollar volume over time. This paper provides evidence that VC firms invest more in green firms in each deal than in non-green firms. The United States and European countries play an important role in funding clean technologies across countries, and this study’s results suggest that VC investors play a considerable role in shaping the development of green finance.Originality/valueThis paper makes the first attempt to investigate the role of VCs in clean technologies to support carbon neutrality, providing initial evidence on venture capitalists' investment efforts towards carbon neutrality. The paper also has practical implications for start-up firms that raise capital and venture capitalists who finance green start-ups.