Third Nature Investments

In our latest Q&A, we spotlight the unique expertise and domain expertise of Alante Capital, featuring an interview with Managing Partner, Karla Mora! Check out the conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eWurNtnT Just as the industrial food system has long been defined by harmful practices and unsustainable models, the fashion and apparel industry faces similar systemic challenges. From resource-intensive production to widespread waste and pollution, the sector’s environmental and social impact is immense. While a growing number of innovators are working to disrupt these entrenched systems, the capital needed to scale their solutions remains scarce. Since 2017, Alante Capital has been at the forefront of addressing this gap, backing entrepreneurs who are reimagining the future of fashion. Their portfolio spans critical areas such as textile recycling, next-generation materials, and circular business models—supporting companies like Circ?, which is pioneering textile-to-textile recycling, returning clothes to the raw materials from which they were made. We first connected with the Alante team through our evaluation of Sway, an innovative seaweed-based plastics company where they played an active investment role. Their approach aligns with our belief that finance can be a catalyst for systemic change, making them a natural partner in our shared mission. In our Q&A, Karla shares more about Alante’s investment thesis, their systems approach to transforming the fashion, home goods, and outdoor industries, and how their portfolio companies are tackling some of the sector’s biggest challenges. #VentureCapital #SustainableFashion #CircularEconomy #ImpactInvesting #SystemsChange

Many thanks to Jason W. Ingle at Third Nature for the kind highlight of our fund, Trailhead Capital! If you'd like to know more about why we're focused on the Regenerative Ag industry in the first place, how we think about our investments and the early-stage landscape, plus some of our cool PortCos, have a quick read at the below! Regenerative Agriculture is something I feel genuinely passionate about -- for the sake of my own health and our environment's... ?? Definitely a topic that I encourage friends & peers to start looking into if you haven't already, and I am happy to chat about it whenever you'd like! Written by yours truly ?? , and my awesome colleague Nick Schroer, CFA. ??

Very excited to publish the first Q&A in our series featuring the insights of Third Nature's best-in-class fund managers! Too often, food and agriculture operate in silos—you could attend a food conference without hearing a word about farming or an ag conference where food is barely mentioned. This disconnect has obscured the root causes of systemic dysfunction in our industrialized food system. At Third Nature Investments, we believe in breaking down these silos and investing across the full value chain to drive systemic change. That’s why we’re proud to partner with Trailhead Capital, a venture firm that shares this systems-level perspective and is actively investing in solutions that regenerate our land, restore biodiversity, and improve human health. We recently sat down with Sarah Hovde and Nick Schroer, CFA to dig into Trailhead’s investment thesis, their boots-on-the-ground approach, and why they believe regenerative agriculture is the biggest opportunity of our time. Read the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eATCd6kg #RegenerativeAg #ImpactInvesting #VentureCapital #SystemsChange

Impact investors love to talk about “systems change.” But here’s the truth: you can’t change what you don’t see. Early in my career, I focused exclusively on food systems investing. My firm, Closed Loop Capital, backed innovators up and down the food value chain, experiencing great successes, including the historic Beyond Meat IPO. But over time, I realized something: food doesn’t exist in isolation. It’s deeply intertwined with water, biodiversity, energy, and climate. And by staying hyper-focused on food, we were missing critical leverage points for true transformation. This is a pattern we’re seeing play out today in climate investing. More capital is flowing into climate solutions than ever before—but investors are still working in silos. Climate tech investors, nature-based investors, food investors, and ocean investors often aren’t collaborating, much less aligning their strategies. That’s why Third Nature Investments takes a different approach. We invest with an earth systems lens—seeing how industries, economies, and ecosystems interact, so we can drive change at a deeper level. And to do this, we surround ourselves with the smartest, most specialized fund managers in the field. In the coming weeks, we’ll be featuring exclusive Q&As with Trailhead Capital, Alante Capital, and Desert Bloom Foods—each tackling a different piece of the puzzle with deep thematic expertise. Their work is a critical part of our systems-based investing strategy, and I’m excited to share their insights. Stay tuned! https://lnkd.in/eNubg5Nk #systemschange #systemicinvesting #earthsystems #venturecapital

?? Our February newsletter is out today – check it out here (and subscribe if you haven’t already): https://lnkd.in/gaF8gSbv In this month's issue, Founder and Managing Partner, Jason W. Ingle, unpacks the recent setbacks we've seen in the #NetZeroBankingAlliance (#NZBA), including JPMorgan being the latest major bank to withdraw from the group, following exits from Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo. He offers the following considerations: ?? It’s important to recognize that these alliances, while ambitious, often serve more as symbolic gestures than binding commitments – so we need not resort to immediate hand wringing. ?? Some banks that have exited the NZBA have pledged to continue funding clean energy projects—just outside the framework of this particular alliance, including supporting the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ). ?? Not all U.S. banks have abandoned the NZBA. Institutions like Amalgamated Bank, Climate First Bank, and Areti Bank remain in the NZBA, alongside a significant number of international banks that continue to push forward toward net-zero goals. ?? These banks wield significant influence, but they do not single-handedly determine our planet’s future. Climate action requires collective effort—across businesses, nonprofits, communities, families, and individuals. There’s plenty that other actors can and should continue to do to meaningfully address the climate crisis. Read it below and let us know your thoughts.

Listen up! ?? Copia's CEO, Kimberly Trouville Smith is on Shift & Thrive Podcast this week. Check it out below!

Tackling the plastic crisis requires all solutions on deck. In our latest blog (a follow-up to our last post), we dive into the most promising innovations leading the charge. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eTfMwuXj We highlight work being done across the plastic lifecycle: ?? *Advanced recycling* is scaling up recovery and reducing waste. Leaders like Rob Kaplan at Circulate Capital are financing circular economy solutions in high-growth markets, ensuring plastic waste is managed responsibly rather than exported to developing nations. ?? *Reuse & refill* models are eliminating single-use plastics at the source. Companies like Algramo and Loop are pioneering systems that make reuse scalable—whether through in-store refill stations, at-home refills, or returnable packaging models. ?? Bioplastics — particularly seaweed-based materials — offer a regenerative alternative to fossil fuel-based plastics. The TOM FORD Plastic Innovation Prize powered by Lonely Whale accelerated breakthrough solutions, with winners like Sway leading the charge in developing seaweed-based, home-compostable packaging. Meanwhile, companies like EcoEnclose are lifting up the entire field of sustainable packaging, including rigorously assessing the environmental impact of bioplastic feedstocks to ensure we move beyond petroleum-based plastics responsibly. No single solution will solve this crisis alone. But together, they’re reshaping the entire plastic lifecycle.

At Third Nature Investments, tackling the plastic crisis is one of our top priorities. Why? Because it’s everywhere — from oceans to city streets, even in our bodies (through micro and nanoplastics). And with over 400 million tons of new plastic produced annually, less than 10% recycled, and plastic use projected to triple by 2060, the urgency couldn’t be clearer. In my latest blog, I share a snapshot of how governments, policymakers, and litigation are working to address the crisis. From California’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil to new statewide strategies aiming to phase out single-use plastics, there’s reason to feel hopeful—even if progress is slower than we’d like. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eDcYAfTj Let’s keep this conversation going—plastic is ripe for disruption. And watch out for Part Two on some of the most promising innovations emerging to combat the plastic crisis..!

January newsletter is out! Check your inbox or read it here: https://lnkd.in/giYEWKCi In this month's issue, we have: ??? A recap of our founder Jason W. Ingle's recent appearance on the Upside & Impact podcast with Elysabeth Alfano ?? A round-up of what the Third Nature team has been reading ?? Updates from around our portfolio (CC: Sway, The Jackfruit Company, Keel Labs) Happy reading, and don’t forget to hit the “subscribe” button on Substack if you haven’t already! VegTech Invest #impactinvesting #systemicinvesting #systemschange #foodsystems #podcast

My latest Third Nature Investments blog is out today, entitled “Power-Hungry: How Big Tech's AI Boom Jeopardizes Climate Goals.” Check it out ?? https://lnkd.in/ek-Kgbze Amidst all the hype around the possibilities of AI, another narrative is playing out: ? Microsoft, despite pledging to be carbon-negative by 2030, saw its emissions jump nearly 30% between 2020 and 2023. ? Google reported that its greenhouse gas emissions had increased by 48% since 2019. ? According to Goldman Sachs, a ChatGPT query uses 10 times more electricity than a Google search, and data center power demands are projected to rise by 160% by 2030 due to AI. No one denies the extraordinary potential of AI. It could revolutionize medicine, education, and science in ways we can’t yet imagine. But in the blog, I explore how this potential shouldn’t come at an unchecked cost to our environment. The climate sacrifices we’re making to power this technological leap demand a more thoughtful approach — one that balances progress with planetary health.