Greencode Ventures, the first green transition fund in Finland

Greencode Ventures: Venture capital fund with deep substance matter expertise to accelerate the green transition within this decade

Greencode Ventures is the Venture Capital (VC) investor focused on accelerating the green transition.  As the first green transition fund in Finland, Greencode Ventures specializes in rapidly scaling digital solutions that have a significant impact on decarbonization efforts.

Our mission is to drive the green transition by investing in early-phase digital-first start-ups that leverage capital light technologies. We prioritize impactful actions now rather than relying on potential future reductions alone. We recognize the pivotal role of start-ups with digital solutions in achieving a carbon-neutral future already today and are committed to supporting them with our expertise and experience. 

Founded by Kaisa Hietala and Terhi Vapola, Greencode team comprises seasoned investors, founders and industrial transformatists. Kaisa Hietala is a board member of some of the largest companies in the field of green transition, Exxon Mobil, Rio Tinto, Smurfit Kappa: “What makes us stand out is our roots in green industrial and energy transformation, with strong expertise in digital solutions for the green transition, coupled with successful investor and founder backgrounds.”

Terhi Vapola and Ines Bergmann-Nolting bring a wealth of climate tech investment experience. Terhi founded and headed Helen Ventures, the investment arm of a leading Finnish energy company Helen. Ines scaled up E.ON’s future energy portfolio and led Future Energy Ventures with €250 million of assets under management.

In addition to the investment and industrial transformation track record, the team includes two entrepreneurs in the sustainability sector: Manuel Heckmann, founder of emobility scaleup EcoG, and Karin Henriksson, founder of a global ESG SaaS solution WhistleB.

Notably, 1 % of all VC funding in Europe is raised by women-only founding teams, according to State of European Tech 2022. Greencode Ventures stands out as one of few female-led VCs, countering the low representation of female founding teams in the VC landscape.

Greencode Ventures operates as a pan-European VC from three greentech hubs: Finland, Germany and Sweden. Its core values are anchored in addressing the urgent challenge of climate change and seizing the business opportunities it presents. We aim to contribute by leveraging our experience and knowledge to accelerate the transition to a net-zero future.

Greencode Ventures is anchored by institutional investor Business Finland Venture Capital Ltd (BFVC), which has made its biggest ever commitment of € 25 million.

“We have a proven track record of investing, founding, and leading companies with substantial expertise in energy, transport, sustainability, and digital ecosystems. However, we recognize that we cannot accomplish this alone. We are grateful and excited for the interest from startups, co-investors, and LPs in joining our collective efforts. Together we can drive the change we wish to see in our world.” - Terhi Vapola, Founder of Greencode Ventures.

Challenge - Opportunity - How we want to contribute: 

Challenge - Climate change is the most significant challenge facing humanity. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC warns that we are not on track to limit global warming and that urgent action is required now. Currently, we have already experienced around 1.1°C of warming compared to pre-industrial levels. If we continue with the current trajectory, global warming could reach 3.2°C by 2100. To stay within the 1.5°C limit, we need to reduce emissions by at least 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. 

This decade is crucial for making progress towards both the 1.5°C and 2°C goals, and we must prioritize impactful actions now rather than relying on potential future reductions alone.

Opportunity - Addressing climate change presents a massive business opportunity and is a crucial part of the €9.2 trillion/year climate solution investments needed annually until 2050 to combat the climate crisis, according to McKinsey. Rapidly scaling digital solutions are already driving and shaping the green transition within this decade. 

How we want to contribute - Tackling climate change is a complex task that requires disrupting the status quo and creating sustainable pathways to prosper. We aim to leverage our extensive experience, deep expertise, and passion to accelerate the necessary changes for achieving net-zero emissions before it is too late. We want to make green the growth engine of our societies and set the standard for making successful businesses green. 

The Greencode Venture team: 

Kaisa Hietala: An industrial transformatist and a key player in the transformation of Neste into the world's largest and most profitable producer of renewable products. Recognized by Harvard Business Review as one of the "Top 20 Business Transformations of the Last Decade,". Kaisa understands the needs of large corporations in translating GHG reduction promises into meaningful change.  

Terhi Vapola, PhD: Founder Helen Ventures, the investment arm of a leading Finnish energy company Helen. Terhi brings substantial track in investment, exit strategies, operational leadership, and board expertise. Terhi possesses extensive knowledge of greentech, digitalization, internationalization, and business growth. 

Ines Bergmann-Nolting: Instrumental in the development, setup and scale up of E.ON’s Future Energy Ventures, with €250 million in assets under management. Ines has over 15 years of experience in venture capital, innovation and consulting knowhow in the energy sector.

Karin Henriksson: An entrepreneur with a background in founding, scaling and exiting the global software solution for whistleblowing, WhistleB. Karin has dedicated her career to the sustainability and business ethics sectors.

Manuel Heckmann: Serial founder and former COO of EcoG, the IoT Operating System for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Manuel has actively participated in the venture capital sector, including with Siemens Next47. 

“Never before have we had such an awareness of what we are doing to the planet, and never before have we had the power to do something about that… The future of humanity and indeed, all life on earth, now depends on us.” Sir David Attenborough.