This article is sponsored by Ram Tumuluri, Businessman, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
What is Clean Technology?
The term “Clean Technology“, came into its own in the 2005 and 2006 time frame, when mainstream institutional investors began allocating investment into venture funds in the environmental, alternative and renewable energy sectors, and adopted cleantech as a term of choice for the description of that asset class, lending credibility to the sector.
The origin of Cleantech
The term has its origins in the venture capital (VC) investment community, so it is quite different from the way it is defined when compared to many green businesses, which focus more on sustainability rather than profitability. Cleantech was popularized in large part through the work of Nick Parker and Keith Raab, founders of the Cleantech Venture Network (now Cleantech Group) from 2002 onwards beginning as a term to describe the “green and clean” technologies, especially including solar, biofuels, fuel cells, water remediation, and renewable power generation, that venture capital investors were turning to in increasing numbers as the next trend in technology investing after the collapse of the tech boom in 2001.
Cleantech Investments
The interest in the cleantech sector is making waves, and there is no shortage of opportunities available for those stepping into the market. For example, according to PwC, the deployment of artificial intelligence innovation in cleantech will provide US$5.2 trillion for the global economy by 2030. It also has the potential to reduce global CO2 emissions by up to 4 percent by that time. Investors who are looking to pad their portfolios with cleantech companies can find them listed on some of the major stock exchanges across the world. There are also mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that are specifically dedicated to cleantech companies.
