Declan McEvilly, Co-Founder of OnePlanetCapital, discusses efficiency investing and what makes early-stage climate technology investable on Episode 32 of Scaling Green Tech, a podcast by Adopter.

McEvilly argues that climate technology should be reframed as efficiency investing, on the basis that the technologies worth backing make an end user measurably more efficient, with carbon reduction following as a consequence. He contrasts this with what OnePlanetCapital call voluntary contribution businesses, meaning companies that ask a consumer or corporate to pay a premium for a sustainable option, a category that has struggled through higher interest rates and a cost of living crisis. The fund screens every opportunity against three carbon tests and requires each portfolio company to agree on a measurable KPI before investment is completed. Across six years and around 60 investments, McEvilly reports on portfolio trends and performance.

This episode is relevant for pre-seed and seed climate technology founders preparing an EIS or SEIS raise, angel and retail investors evaluating climate funds, and B2B marketers working on investor-facing messaging and pitch deck narrative for deep tech companies.

Guest profile

Declan McEvilly is Co-Founder of OnePlanetCapital. He has worked in venture capital and private markets for close to 15 years, focused on helping private companies fundraise and grow. He co-founded OnePlanetCapital six years ago after identifying a gap in UK private market investment schemes, which at the time offered investors little climate-focused exposure. As Sales Director, McEvilly manages OnePlanetCapital's relationships with financial advisers, intermediaries and investors.

OnePlanetCapital is a specialist climate technology investor backing UK businesses from seed to pre-Series A. The fund invests under the Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme across energy, transport, construction, packaging, and waste and recycling. It has made around 60 investments. The fund was originally the OnePlanetCapital Sustainable EIS Fund and now operates as the Climate Change EIS Fund.

Company website: https://www.oneplanet.capital/

Find Declan McEvilly on LinkedIn.

Topics covered

• Explaining a climate VC fund to a five-year-old

• OnePlanetCapital's investment thesis and the three carbon scopes

• Reframing climate technology as efficiency investing

• Repositioning a fund from sustainable to climate technology

• Three value drivers for retail climate investors

• Hardware versus SaaS in climate portfolios

• Runway, burn rate, and why startups actually fail

• UK startup infrastructure and the scale-up cliff edge

• Raising in the US and the valuation trap

• What makes a good pitch: problem, solution, traction

• Content, thought leadership, and selling trust

• Climate adaptation and grid transition as growth sub-sectors