the plans of the fund that hunts for sustainable companies – Corriere.it

«Environmental sustainability is the greatest revolution in the history of the economy. It will change the competitive dynamics. There will be companies – says Nino Tronchetti Provera – that will conquer market shares and others that will lose them. Convinced of this turning point, we created the Ambienta fund. We have a database of around 5,200 medium-sized, European, private companies active in all the sectors we would like to deal with. And we are convinced that they will have better growth rates and profitability than other companies. We look to the future, not to the balance sheets of the last three years». Ambienta’s asset management has become almost a textbook case. The group boasts a holistic approach to the issue of sustainability understood as a transversal element to the various sectors and overcomes the limited conception that has led to concentrate investments only on the emissions of polluting gases or the energy transition. This vision allows him to analyze the economy as a whole, being able to invest in realities where sustainability is also a competitive advantage. It is no coincidence that the first hire was an engineer, Fabio Ranghino, now a partner and head of strategy. A paraphrase that Tronchetti likes a lot is the difference between what and how. «For us the important thing is the what – he says -. This company is able to provide products and services that can reduce pollution, no matter how it is administered. Now the focus is on how, ie on management. Basically there is an ESG trend that looks at whether a company is managed in a civilized way, without distinction of gender, religion and skin color, in which deserving people can grow and there is good governance. But that doesn’t change competitiveness. With a provocation I could control the best ESG company by building bombs.

The profile

Nino Tronchetti is an entrepreneur outside the traditional schemes. He is able to see future developments and anticipate social phenomena. And he has shown it from the beginning. In 1992 he graduated from Luiss choosing a singular theme, at that time, for his thesis. The title was: «Environmental compatibility, a constraint and an opportunity for the development of companies». At the time, these topics were far from the business world. Even if some industrialists had already understood the evolution. «Raul Gardini was the entrepreneur I most admired. A third of my thesis is based on visions of him. He had understood where the world was going, he probably did it too soon ». The thesis idea worked. Not only on the academics of the faculty (who graduated him cum laude) but above all on McKinsey. «I wanted to impress them – says Nino Tronchetti -. The consulting firm only bet on graduates with disruptive ideas. At the time the Italian office was led by Rolando Polli. There were Mario Greco, Vittorio Colao, Giorgio Rossi Cairo and Aldo Bisio. I proposed to Polli to found the environmental practice. Italy was, with Holland, the first in McKinsey to deal with it. It didn’t go well. There was no demand from businesses.” And so in 1997 Nino left McKinsey. He then worked for Camfin-Pirelli and in the Telecom group, in Finsiel and Olivetti. But the desire to be the protagonist of one’s professional destiny increased. In those years, together with Polli and Daniele Ferrero, he acquired Venchi. «It was a simple pastry shop in Cuneo. Today it has a thousand employees». However, the environment remained his entrepreneurial obsession.

The turning point

The big step came in 2007, when Ambienta was founded. «It was then that, also thanks to the support of my wife, I launched the fund with Polli». Here we need to open a small parenthesis. Polli was a manager who made the environment and innovation the two pillars of his professional life. Born in 1940, Bocconi, master at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, he was the true forerunner of environmental sustainability. But let’s go back to Tronchetti. Married, three daughters (Virginia, Camilla and Allegra), he was born and raised in Rome but has almost always worked in Milan. He doesn’t have the typical seriousness of a Lombard but not even the skepticism of a Roman because he matured at the McKinsey school. He loves his work. Now Ambienta is an asset manager focused on investments related to sustainability and efficiency for pollution control. In the field of private equity, 65 investments were completed, 87 factories with turnover in almost 150 countries around the world, with 5,000 employees and over one billion in turnover. «80% of the private equity market in Europe are funds that sell to other funds – continues Tronchetti – because it is very difficult to convince an entrepreneur to sell his company. We have always entered the majority in companies where the industrialist has understood the possibility of becoming global». The group currently has assets under management of over three billion. «We are the only international asset manager based in Milan. We are also present in London, Paris and Munich».

Reasons for growth

But how was this growth possible? «There are macro-numbers that explain what is happening. I was born in 1968, at the time there were 3.5 billion men and the economy was worth two trillion, today there are 8 billion human beings and the global gross domestic product is reaching one hundred trillion. We cannot think of making the economy grow at this speed without changing the business model». But what are the sectors in which the group invests the most? «Water, digital and circular economy, let’s think only of Previero which produces the best machines that recycle plastic». Ambienta in Italy is also building one of the largest water pump infrastructures for agriculture, industry and residential by bringing together two historic companies such as Caprari and Calpeda. During Covid, it also invested in Namirial, the number one company in software solutions that allow organizational processes to be digitized in a secure way. “There is an American leader – continues Tronchetti – who is Docusign, we can build the European champion”. Spaggiari was also acquired, number one in the development of the digitization of school activities. But this schematization is reductive with respect to the complex of assets.

Investments and the future

Ambienta, for example, invested in Oskar Nolte (later resold to the family office of the Peter Möhrle family) which produces solvent-free paints, focusing on water-based chemistry. In this way he conquered the Ikea world: because he uses a less polluting technique and costs less. Furthermore, the group had Safim in its portfolio, which manufactures valves capable of reducing tractor consumption and thanks to this technology it has become the supplier of John Deere. Another important moment is the food. “We have created the largest European group of natural flavors and colors for food and beverages, aggregating twelve companies.” In England, the idea of ​​assembling a system of companies that develop and distribute LED products started. 20% of electricity is used to make light and this technology reduces consumption by about 50%. Finally, Ambienta Credit was launched in recent months. It is a natural evolution of the strategy developed years ago and will be able to benefit from all the synergies deriving from the know-how and experience gained in the field. The company, led by Ran Landmann, will focus on “environmental excellence”. Companies not for sale but which the group knows well and can therefore finance. «Modernity has failed. We need to build a new humanism otherwise the planet will not be saved», said Albert Einstein. The first signs are finally starting to show.

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