What Climate VCs Are Actually Looking for beyond 2025

Your Startup Checklist, Inspired by Article 9 Funds & and Why Angel Syndicates Still Lead at Pre-Seed

The climate tech funding landscape is maturing, fast. The easy money of 2021 is long gone, but something better is taking shape: smarter capital, deeper conviction, and a growing pool of investors focused on climate impact at scale.

At the heart of this shift are Article 9 Funds. A new breed of VC fund governed by the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). These "dark green" funds are laser-focused on measurable sustainability outcomes. If you're building a climate startup and raising in 2025, understanding what these investors are actually looking for can make or break your next round.

But don't worry - this isn't a regulation manual. It's a founder-first checklist based on what leading climate VCs are already funding, and how startup teams can set themselves up for success.

Table of Contents

• What Are Article 9 Funds & Why Should Founders Care?
• What's Changed Since 2022?
• Why Angel Syndicates Still Lead at Pre-Seed
• The 2025 Climate VC Checklist
• Case Study: How Konfidens Embedded ESG Before Seed
• Suggested Fundraising Flow
• FAQs
• Final Thoughts: Fundraising for Impact-Driven Growth

What Are Article 9 Funds & and Why Should Founders Care?

Article 9 Funds are a new class of regulated investment vehicles under the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). These funds are required to invest exclusively in ventures that make a measurable contribution to environmental or social goals.

In plain terms?

💬 They're the most serious climate investors in the market — and they're growing fast.

What Sets Article 9 Funds Apart?

They're not just impact-aligned, they're impact-mandated. That means:

✅ Every investment must deliver a sustainable outcome (not just ESG-aligned)
✅ No significant harm: companies must avoid causing damage elsewhere
✅ EU Taxonomy compliance: they must show how portfolio companies support EU climate targets
✅ Transparent public reporting: from pre-investment disclosures to annual impact reports
✅ Benchmarking against the Paris Agreement, where applicable

This isn't a marketing label. It's a regulatory standard with real consequences. And LPs, asset managers, and policymakers are taking it seriously.

What This Means for Startups

If you're raising capital and considering Article 9-aligned VCs (like Climentum, Planet A, Pale Blue Dot, Contrarian Ventures, Rubio Impact, or Planet First Partners), here's what to know:

• They're not dabbling, they're deploying real capital, especially in Europe

• They will ask tougher questions about your impact logic, emissions, and ESG

• They expect you to be building a business that scales and decarbonises - not just a great pitch

Startups that meet these standards are more likely to land meaningful rounds, build long-term LP trust, and future-proof themselves against incoming regulation.

TL;DR for Founders

Read more here: From LCAs to Forward-Looking Impact: A Guide for VCs.

What's Changed Since 2022?

In 2022, storytelling and strong conviction could carry a round. In 2025, that's no longer enough.

The 2021/2022 startups that struggle most often fall into two camps. 

• First, those operating in overcrowded or overly mature markets, where differentiation is weak and margin pressure is high. Even strong operators can find it hard to raise follow-on capital if their model feels like a commodity rather than a category-definer.
• Second, those with unclear or unquantified climate impact. Where the link to avoided emissions is vague, indirect, or hard to model.

Today's climate VCs increasingly expect a tangible emissions reduction pathway, not just a broad alignment with sustainability goals. For founders, the message is simple: to stand out, you need to show not just that your solution works - but that it matters, and that it scales.

Climate VCs, especially Article 9 funds, now demand more evidence, more discipline, and more alignment.

Here's what's shifted:

1. Validated Tech > Visionary Slides

VCs are still backing bold ideas. Albeit only if they're grounded in de-risked hardware or validated software. Or more broadly: Investing is becoming increasingly atom- and science-based, with funds giving consequential LCAs and emission reduction pontentials a veto-right.

Moonshots are fine, but for VCs you need more than a master thesis and a dream.

Exceptions exist, especially in underhyped sectors (like industrial biotech or materials), but even there, early pilots speak louder than promises.

2. Impact = Numbers, Not Narratives

Expect investors to ask for:

• Projected >100,000 or 1 million or 100 million tCO₂e avoided per year within 10 years

• Consequential Lifecycle assessments, not just product-level claims

• Theory of change, how and why a desired change is expected to happen
  
  

• Alignment with real-world levers: scope 3, climate-risk, electrification

"We're tackling climate change" isn't a pitch, it's a starting point.

3. Capital Efficiency Is Back

Even in hardtech, you'll need to show:

• A clear FOAK funding plan (first-of-a-kind deployments)

• Blended capital options (grants, non-dilutive, partnerships)

• Smart staging: What can you achieve with €1M vs €5M?

We move atoms" isn't a free pass anymore. It's a CapEx challenge you need to solve.

4. ESG Readiness Starts at Seed

Investors want to see signs that you:

• Track and manage operational and value chain emissions

• Understand double materiality (risk to and from your company)

• Engage stakeholders and are building toward CSRD-style transparency

ESG isn't a compliance box: it's an investor confidence signal.

A full guide can be found here: Unlocking ESG Value for Startups and Venture Capital: A Practical Guide

5. VCs Are Hedging Against Policy Volatility

With shifting political winds across Europe and the U.S., VCs are looking for startups that can scale in both policy-up and policy-down environments.

That means fewer bets on regulation-dependent business models, and more interest in companies that unlock carbon reduction through unit economics, not subsidies alone.

And What About Angel Syndicates?

Angel syndicates play a different, albeit critical, role. They:

• Aren't bound by Article 9 mandates or institutional compliance

• Often invest earlier, with less data and more belief

• Back founders in underfunded verticals or geographies

• Can be flexible on governance, impact logic, and TRL levels

But make no mistake:

Many angels are seasoned operators and LPs. Underestimate them and you'll lose them.

In many cases, syndicates will get you off the ground, while VCs pick you up for scale. Use this to your advantage and build accordingly.

The 2025 Climate VC Checklist

What leading Article 9-aligned VCs are screening for in early-stage deals:

1. Your Tech Is Ready for the Real World

✔️ TRL 7+ (prototype/pilot tested)
🚫 TRL 3–5? Consider a grant round or angel support first

Use the phrase: "We've completed our pilot with [X] and are now raising to scale."

2. You Can Quantify Avoided Emissions

✔️ Aim for >100,000 tCO₂e per year within a decade
✔️ Include lifecycle impact or emission reduction potential
🚫 Don't rely on external forces to define your impact

Use a methodology like Project Frame to build your assumptions, it's free and credible.

3. You're Capital-Efficient (Even in Hardtech)

✔️ Break your CapEx into stages
✔️ Show leverage (e.g. grants, soft loans, partners)
🚫 "We'll need €5M upfront" won't fly without serious traction

Be ready to answer: What would you do with €1M, €3M, and €5M?

4. You Understand ESG and Governance

✔️ Complete a basic ESG questionnaire for startups
✔️ Prepare a back of the envelope double materiality matrix
🚫 Don't say "we're too early for ESG" — they'll walk
🚫 The SDGs are three letters too, but they honestly don't matter here

Founder tip: Even at Seed, they expect you to know your three letters. This is about data manegement, risk management (think double materiality, climate risk), stakeholder engagement eventually leading to CSRD-style reporting.

5. You're Policy-Aware

✔️ Know how your solution fits into EU Green Deal, CBAM, or CSRD
✔️ Mention relevant taxonomy-aligned sectors (e.g. building materials, circular economy)
🚫 If you don't know where you sit in the EU framework, investors won't spend time figuring it out for you

Bonus: tie your pitch to the EU Taxonomy. It helps investors report on their own mandates.

Case Study: How Konfidens Embedded ESG Before Seed

Getting a system in place from an early stage made it much easier to internalise ESG reporting as a core activity for the company as we're growing.
Aleksander Erichsen, CEO, Konfidens

Mental health SaaS startup Konfidens wanted to raise their pre-seed round, but knew that sustainability would be a future must-have. Working with myself, they:

• Measured their carbon footprint using the free SME Climate Hub tool

• Chose credible offset projects with low barriers to entry

• Added an ESG clause to reflect ethical, flexible governance

• Used accounting data to report and reduce emissions with transparency

By embedding ESG early, they avoided bigger changes later and built credibility with future VCs.

Why Angel Syndicates Still Lead at Pre-Seed

While Article 9 Funds dominate the Seed and Series A landscape, they're rarely the first cheque in.

That role still belongs to angel syndicates. Professional believers who:

• Take more risk on lower TRL, early traction startups

• Invest with mission and personal interest in climate impact

• Bring expertise and networks beyond just capital

Syndicates help unlock capital for hardware moonshots and distribute risk among many.
Yoann Berno, Climate Insiders

And the best part? You can often get:

• Access to climate-specific investor groups

• Faster feedback and shorter timelines

• More flexibility around governance terms

🧠 Pro tip: Use angel rounds to de-risk yourself for Article 9 VCs later. Nail your pilot, tighten your pitch, and build your impact logic.

Suggested Fundraising Flow (2025 Edition)

Final Thoughts: Fundraising for Impact-Driven Growth

Climate tech founders are building in an era of sharper capital and higher expectations. That's a good thing.

If you're early, start with angels who share your conviction. If you're ready, align with Article 9 VC expectations and use this checklist to fine-tune your pitch.

You don't need perfection. You need evidence, intent, and alignment. Start with impact logic, show capital efficiency, and bring policy awareness to the table.

The future belongs to startups that are fundable and future-proofed.

Need Help Getting VC-Ready?

If you're a climate tech founder navigating ESG, emissions modeling, or investor expectations, I can help. I support startups in building credible, data-driven sustainability strategies — from carbon accounting to Article 9 alignment.

Get in touch to see how we can work together.