Just Climate Invests $25M in GreenLight Biosciences

GreenLight Biosciences, a top biosolutions company with a focus on sustainable agriculture, has closed its Series C round successfully, raising a substantial $25 million from Just Climate, a climate investment company. The capital will be used by GreenLight to scale its innovative RNA-based agricultural solutions, which are designed to enhance crop productivity while conserving biodiversity.

Established in 2008 and headquartered in Medford, Massachusetts, GreenLight Biosciences has emerged as a leader in the business of RNA-based crop protection and agricultural sustainability. The firm is focused on the creation of environmentally sustainable substitutes for traditional chemical-based pesticides, including solutions for beekeepers and farmers. GreenLight's pipeline features insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides, all created to improve agricultural resistance and reduce harm to the environment.

This new investment follows a significant milestone for GreenLight Biosciences—the release of Calantha, the globe's first registered RNA-based crop protection spray. Specifically designed for potato farmers, Calantha is being touted as a more sustainable, safer alternative to chemical pesticides. Unlike traditional treatments, which can negatively affect soil health, water supplies, and pollinators, Calantha is designed to attack pests without affecting beneficial insects or the overall environment.

With the recently acquired capital, GreenLight Biosciences hopes to expedite the commercialization of Calantha so that farmers all over the world have access to this revolutionary technology. The firm also intends to utilize the funds to progress further with its diversified product pipeline. Among its most awaited developments is Norroa, a new solution intended for beekeepers to shield their colonies from varroa mites—parasites that have destroyed honeybee populations all over the world. With the important role of bees in pollination and food security worldwide, Norroa is an important step towards solving the problem of declining pollinator health.

One such innovative product in GreenLight's pipeline is Fortivance, a system aimed at optimizing the performance of current farming treatments. By maximizing the output of traditional pesticides and fertilizers, Fortivance potentially shortens the environmental impact of farming and boosts yields. These products fit into the company's overarching vision of creating sustainable, nature-based solutions that are good for farmers and for the environment.

In addition to product development, GreenLight Biosciences' international growth will be funded by Just Climate, with primary markets including Brazil and other countries in Latin America. These areas of the world have large agricultural sectors with serious issues with soil erosion, pesticide misuse, and climate change-associated crop vulnerability. GreenLight is planning to enter these markets with its environmentally friendly RNA-based solutions so that farmers can have alternative solutions that increase productivity without adding to environmental damage.

GreenLight Biosciences CEO Dr. Andrey Zarur said that the importance of this strategic investment cannot be overstated with the increasing acknowledgement of RNA-based solutions as the driving force of change in sustainable agriculture. The support from Just Climate and other investors is the confirmation of the company's purpose of changing farming and the most urgent environmental challenges, he said. With the freshly secured financing, GreenLight stands to enhance the scale of its commercial operations, increase research and development activities, and further impact global food systems.

Just Climate's investment also highlights the growing appetite for sustainable agriculture among climate-oriented investors. Established in 2021 and led by Al Gore's Generation Investment Management, Just Climate aims to invest in projects and companies that work within hard-to-abate industries, specifically those capable of creating immense environmental change. By investing in businesses such as GreenLight Biosciences, Just Climate wants to speed up the shift towards a more resilient and sustainable world economy.

Eduardo Mufarej, who leads Just Climate's Natural Climate Solutions strategy and serves as co-Chief Investment Officer, was optimistic that GreenLight could make a significant impact in the agricultural space. He noted that the firm's creative strategy for crop protection and pollinator conservation is exactly what Just Climate aims to invest in: scalable, high-impact solutions. Mufarej commended GreenLight Biosciences for working on some of the most significant issues in agriculture, such as loss of biodiversity, pesticide resistance, and environmental degradation caused by traditional farming methods.

As demand for sustainable farming solutions around the world keeps increasing, investments such as these are vital in stimulating innovation in the industry. Conventional methods of farming, which depend on chemical-based pest and disease management, have over time been a source of environmental degradation, soil erosion, and declining pollinator species. GreenLight Biosciences' RNA technologies present a solution to this problem by enabling effective pest control without the unwanted side effects that come with synthetic chemicals.

With heightened regulatory attention on chemical pesticides and intensified consumer demand for sustainable food production, GreenLight's solutions are perfectly timed to address the changing requirements of farmers, agribusinesses, and governments. Science-based sustainability is the hallmark of the company's approach and makes it a front runner in the new field of biological crop protection where biotechnology is used to improve food security without harming natural systems.

The Just Climate $25 million investment is not simply about money—it's an endorsement of a vision for the future where farming is productive and green. And as GreenLight Biosciences grows its influence and sharpens its technologies, the company leads the way in a new age of environmentally friendly farming where technology and environmental responsibility walk together.