SDG Impact

What SDG Impact does

SDG Impact Japan Inc. is a Tokyo-based private investment management firm founded in 2021 that operates four sustainability-focused fund strategies: the award-winning NextGen ESG Japan strategy for listed equities; a Sustainable Tech strategy in partnership with New Zealand's Icehouse Ventures; the AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund for agri-food tech; and a Decarbonization strategy managed through its 100%-owned subsidiary SIJ Climate LLC. With 11–50 employees, the firm serves institutional investors seeking ESG-aligned products that pair financial returns with measurable sustainability outcomes, while also providing capital and market-scaling support to sustainable-technology startups across Japan, Asia-Pacific, and emerging markets. Portfolio companies include Nilo (plastic waste), Zincovery (recycled metals), Mint Innovation (e-waste), and Varaha (biochar carbon removal).

The firm's core technology is its proprietary NextGen ESG methodology, which embeds material ESG factors directly into investment valuation models via an Integrated Value Driver approach that traces emissions, labor practices, and other ESG factors through supply chains. Impact monitoring is aligned to UNDP's SDG Impact Standards for funds, and the firm operates the Government of Japan's Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) to generate carbon credits from sustainable infrastructure projects in emerging markets, including waste-to-energy, landfill gas, and forestry programs. Two Moldova JCM projects received formal No Objection Decisions in February 2026, expected to reduce more than 10,000 tCO2 annually. The NextGen ESG strategy received a BlueMark Gold Rating in 2025.

Revenue mechanics follow a multi-strategy asset manager model: management fees across listed-equity, venture, and infrastructure vehicles, supplemented by performance fees on the NextGen ESG strategy and a small transactional stream from decopon, a joint venture with Recika Inc. that tokenizes household carbon credits on blockchain for the Japanese consumer market. Distribution relies on direct engagement with institutional investors and a partnership network spanning Icehouse Ventures, AgFunder, MUFG Bank, Sojitz Corporation, J-Power, Nomura Securities, Unison Capital, and Fuyo General Lease. No pricing or AUM figures are publicly disclosed.

Name

SDG Impact

Legal name

SDG Impact Japan Inc.

Website

https://sdgimpactjapan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SDG Impact Japan is a Tokyo-based private investment manager founded in 2021 operating four sustainability-focused fund strategies—NextGen ESG listed equities, Sustainable Tech, AgriFood Tech, and Decarbonization—serving institutional investors and circular-economy startups across Japan and emerging markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Investment Management

NAICS

Open-End Investment Funds (525910), Open-End Investment Funds (52591)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

ESG Integration / Responsible Investment Funds (Broad ESG) (FSANAJAL), Sustainable Private Markets (Impact PE/VC, Private Credit, Infrastructure) (FSAAALAG), Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG)

Keywords

• ESG investment management
• Sustainable finance advisory
• Impact investing funds
• Circular economy investments
• Decarbonization infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management - NextGen ESG Strategy: Award-winning NextGen ESG Japan offering creating real ESG outcomes and financial returns through engagement-centric strategy with listed equities, targeting 36-60 month investment horizon.
2. Venture Capital - Sustainable Tech: Early stage and growth stage sustainable tech investments in partnership with Icehouse Ventures, focusing on circular economy opportunities in New Zealand.
3. Venture Capital - AgriFood Tech: Early stage AgriFood tech investments through AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund in partnership with AgFunder, investing in food and agriculture related startups.
4. Decarbonization Infrastructure Fund: Infrastructure focused decarbonization fund investing in sustainable infrastructure projects in emerging markets such as renewable energy and energy efficiency. Managed by SIJ Climate LLC, an FSA accredited investment manager.
5. Carbon Credit Generation: decopon inc., a joint venture between SDG Impact Japan and Recika Inc., generates carbon credits from households using panted blockchain technology and shares environmental attributes with individuals. Service offered in Japan only.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SDG Impact Japan is an investment and advisory firm that manages four fund strategies: the NextGen ESG Japan Strategy for listed equities, a Sustainable Tech Strategy (with Icehouse Ventures), an AgriFood Tech Strategy (the AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund), and a Decarbonization Strategy (managed by subsidiary SIJ Climate LLC). The firm invests from early-stage startups through listed companies and supplements its capital strategies with decopon, a blockchain-based carbon credit platform for Japanese households. All strategies use the proprietary NextGen ESG methodology and UN-backed impact monitoring aligned to UNDP SDG Impact Standards for funds.

Product overview

SDG Impact Japan is a focused investment team managing multiple fund strategies positioned to contribute to and benefit from sustainability and the circular economy. The company operates four core investment strategies: (1) the award-winning NextGen ESG Japan Strategy for listed equities using proprietary ESG methodology, (2) the Sustainable Tech Strategy in partnership with Icehouse Ventures for New Zealand circular economy ventures, (3) the AgriFood Tech Strategy in partnership with AgFunder for food and agriculture startups, and (4) the Decarbonization Strategy through its subsidiary SIJ Climate LLC for emerging market infrastructure. Additional offerings include decopon, a blockchain-based carbon credit platform for Japanese individuals. The company invests along a continuum from early-stage startups to listed companies, with portfolio companies including Nilo, Zincovery, and Mint Innovation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NextGen ESG Japan: Award-winning ESG fund strategy for listed equities using proprietary ESG methodology for real ESG outcomes and financial returns.
• Sustainable Tech Strategy
• AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund
• SIJ Climate

Products and services

• NextGen ESG Japan Strategy Award-winning ESG investment strategy for listed Japanese equities that applies the proprietary NextGen ESG methodology and an engagement-centric approach (in-person meetings, site visits, sector expertise) over a 36-60 month horizon to deliver real ESG outcomes alongside financial returns for institutional investors.
• Sustainable Tech Strategy Early-stage and growth-stage sustainable technology investment strategy operated in partnership with Icehouse Ventures, investing in high-growth circular economy opportunities in New Zealand including clean energy solutions, alternatives to plastics, and e-waste processing, with portfolio scaling support into Japan and Asia.
• AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund (AgriFood Tech Strategy) Early-stage agri-food technology investment fund operated in partnership with AgFunder, investing in food and agriculture startups addressing decarbonization, food loss reduction, soil restoration, and food security, with SDG Impact Japan serving as impact advisor.
• Decarbonization Strategy Infrastructure-focused decarbonization fund investing in sustainable infrastructure projects in emerging markets (renewable energy and energy efficiency), aligned with the Paris Agreement and Japan's Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), and managed by FSA-accredited subsidiary SIJ Climate LLC.
• decopon Blockchain-based carbon credit platform that generates carbon credits from Japanese households and shares environmental attributes with individuals using patent-pending blockchain technology; operated as a joint venture (decopon inc.) between SDG Impact Japan and Recika Inc.

Quantifiable outcome

• NextGen ESG Japan fund is outperforming the market and winning awards
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Vana and Nomura SecuritiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2025SDG Impact Japan, Vana and Nomura Securities joined force to implement Forestry JCM program.
• Ren EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 August 2025SDG Impact Japan and Ren Energy announced joint venture, Ren Japan.
• J-PowercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2024Establishment of a joint venture with J-Power to invest into Indonesian hydropower company.
• Sojitz CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2024Capital and business tie-up with Sojitz Corporation to partner on global warming solutions and low-carbon businesses.
• LTS Co., Ltd. and ME-Lab Japan Co., Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 May 2024RIMM Japan: Announcement of business partnership with LTS Co., Ltd. and ME-Lab Japan Co., Ltd. for joint research to develop climate hybrid risk indicators accelerating GX management support using AI.
• sustainacraftminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 February 2024sustainacraft and SIJ partnered for high-quality nature-based carbon credit fund.
• Unison CapitalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 January 2023Strategic alliance with Unison Capital to spur investment and scale innovation in Asia-Pacific.
• Icehouse VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with New Zealand early stage venture fund to launch sustainable technology strategy investing in high-growth circular economy opportunities in New Zealand. SDG Impact Japan aims to scale these companies in Japan and around the world. Strategy designed in accordance with UNDP's new SDG Impact Standards for funds.
• AgFundercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Silicon Valley venture capital firm specializing in agri-food tech worldwide to launch AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund. SDG Impact Japan serves as impact advisor and leverages AgFunder's extensive network to identify startups with high-impact agri-food technologies contributing to food sustainability.
• Government of Japan (JCM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking with the Government of Japan's Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) to accelerate investment in sustainable infrastructure projects in emerging markets. The JCM helps accelerate investment and contributes towards Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target for Japan and investors.
• Recika Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partnerdecopon inc. is a joint venture between SDG Impact Japan Inc. and Recika Inc., the blockchain technology company specialized in tokening the non-digital assets. It aims to promote decarbonization action for individuals by generating carbon credits from households.
• SIJ Climate LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner100% subsidiary of SDG Impact Japan managing decarbonization strategy. FSA accredited investment manager for sustainable infrastructure projects in emerging markets.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Generation Investment Management: Founded by David Altschuler and Jeff Wool, Generation is a globally recognized sustainable investment manager combining public equities and private investments with rigorous ESG methodology. Most directly comparable to SDG Impact Japan's integrated listed-equity and private-market sustainable investing platform.
• Lightrock: Lightrock is a global impact investment firm backing purpose-driven businesses across climate, health, food, and financial inclusion. It operates across both growth equity and venture stages globally — directly comparable to SDG Impact Japan's multi-strategy, multi-stage impact approach.
• Bridges Fund Management: UK-based impact investment manager with multiple strategies across private equity, venture, and sustainable infrastructure. Similar focus on measurable impact outcomes and partnerships with corporates, directly mirroring SDG Impact Japan's institutional impact investing model.
• TPG Rise: TPG's dedicated impact investing platform spans TPG Rise Climate, Rise Fund, and Rise Africa, deploying capital across venture, growth, and infrastructure. Highly comparable breadth of sustainable-themed strategies and LP base as SDG Impact Japan.
• Closed Loop Partners: US-based circular economy investment platform with multiple strategies spanning venture, growth, and infrastructure. Directly comparable to SDG Impact Japan's emphasis on the "Three Rs" (Recycle, Recapture, Reuse) and circular economy thesis.
• S2G Ventures: S2G is a leading AgriFood and ocean tech venture investor with multi-stage strategies. Direct peer for SDG Impact Japan's AgriFood tech strategy (AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund) given overlapping investment thesis and LP base in sustainability-focused food systems.
• Breakthrough Energy Ventures: Bill Gates-backed early-stage climate tech VC investing across decarbonization, energy, and infrastructure. Direct peer for SDG Impact Japan's Sustainable Tech and Decarbonization strategies, particularly given both firms' focus on emerging-market climate infrastructure.

Emerging players

• AgFunder: Silicon Valley-based AgriFood tech VC and SDG Impact Japan's explicit co-investment partner in the AgFunder SIJ Impact Fund. Listed as a peer because it shares AgriFood investment thesis globally and is a key relationship that also functions as a competing capital allocator in the same vertical.

Others

• Nomura Asset Management: One of Japan's largest asset managers, with growing ESG product suite and a partnership with SDG Impact Japan (via Nomura Securities) on the Forestry JCM program. Included as an adjacent peer because Nomura represents both a potential institutional LP and the dominant domestic competitive incumbent in Japanese ESG asset management.

Broad incumbents

• KKR Global Impact: KKR's Global Impact strategy invests across climate, sustainability, and inclusive growth themes. A much larger incumbent peer demonstrating both the demand for integrated impact platforms and the competitive benchmark SDG Impact Japan must clear to scale AUM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sdg-impact-japan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SDG Impact