The transformation of production processes towards ecologically sustainable models is “the greatest revolution in the history of the industrial economy”, which not even the pandemic or the energy crisis has stopped. Nino Tronchetti Provera has been dealing with sustainability applied to industry for 30 years: since he dedicated his degree thesis to Luiss in 1992, to then deal with it at McKinsey. In 2007 he founded Ambienta, the largest European Private Equity company that invests in businesses with sustainable projects and products, which is preparing to invest 1.55 billion euros starting next January 1, thanks to the resources raised with the last fund (Ambienta IV) closed last July. «But we could have done 20 times more – explains Tronchetti Provera – and this is proof of how this is now the biggest global economic trend, which pervades all industrial sectors».
Investments of 1.55 billion are on the way
It is the largest of the funds launched in these 15 years by the company, which is now preparing to strengthen the machinery in view of the investments to be made, with new hires and the opening of new offices. And he launches an appeal to the many Italian and European companies that meet the criteria sought by Ambienta. Healthy companies, with great international growth potential and a portfolio of sustainable products. «The main drivers with which we measure the sustainability of our companies are the reduction of pollution and the improvement in the use of resources, two aspects which are transversal to all industrial sectors». All manufacturing sectors are therefore potentially affected. A significant opportunity, which comes precisely at a difficult time for Italian SMEs, even the healthiest and most dynamic ones, which have to deal with inflation, recession, rise in loan rates and transitional charges linked to out-of-control bills.
«We have shown that we know how to help small and medium-sized Italian companies in a healthy and industrial way – says Tronchetti Provera -. Even during the pandemic, our companies have grown more than the average for their respective sectors. Now, with the energy crisis, they too are feeling the effects of increases in production costs, but less so than traditional ones, because their products offer industry solutions to contain consumption and improve the use of resources».
The industrial approach of Ambienta
Last Wednesday, in London, the Roman entrepreneur received the first “ESG-Hall of Fame Award” conferred by Real Deals, the international media dedicated to Private Equity. «I think it is a recognition not only of the group’s results, but also of Ambienta’s strategy, which has an industrial approach to sustainability», observes Tronchetti Provera who, he is keen to point out, does not consider himself a man of finance: «I did business and industry all my life,” he says. Ambienta’s numbers prove it: with operating offices in Milan, London, Paris and Munich, to which new offices will soon be added in Northern Europe, it has 75 employees and manages assets worth over 3 billion euro (between Private Equity and Public Equity), although demand is much higher. In 15 years it has closed 58 operations, all concentrated in Europe (about half in Italy). The companies in the portfolio (whose turnover at the end of 2022 should reach 1.1 billion euros) work in 148 countries around the world and employ over 5 thousand people (of which 500 employed under the management of Ambienta), with 79 production plants on four continents. The investor front is also global: «About 15% are North American, 10% Asian, the rest are mainly European», explains Tronchetti Provera.
Ambienta is currently closing Fondo III, which has raised 635 million euros and has already invested 90% in the fourth year. “We close the investment period one year in advance – says Mauro Roversi, the company’s chief investment officer – demonstrating the interest in environmental issues on the part of investors, but also the effectiveness of our strategy”. A strategy based on two cornerstones. «We have a team of engineers which is the fulcrum around which our investments and the products we will launch in the future revolve – explains Nino Tronchetti Provera -. They are the ones who evaluate the performance and environmental impact of companies and their products. Our investment teams then work on the basis of these assessments».