Goldman Sachs Asset Management has raised about $1.6bn for its first private equity fund – Horizon Environment & Climate Solutions I – to make direct investments in companies for positive climate impact.

The fund is the first in a series that will invest globally in growth-oriented companies focusing on environmental and climate transition solutions. It will deploy capital across five themes: clean energy, sustainable transportation, waste and materials, sustainable food and agriculture, and ecosystem services.

It will be run by the sustainable investing group, which Goldman Sachs set up in 2020.

“Goldman Sachs has been investing in transformative environmental and climate solutions since 2005,” said Ken Pontarelli, head of sustainable investing for private markets. “Since then, we have witnessed major changes in the technologies that enable more efficient and sustainable business practices, and the appetite from users to adopt them.”

The fund will come under Article 9 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and will report on the impact in each portfolio company. It has already committed nearly $1bn across 12 portfolio companies in North America and Europe.

The fundraise is part of a wider effort at Goldman Sachs to increase its focus on sustainable investing. The firm has a 10-year goal of reaching $750bn in sustainable finance activity by 2030, of which $300bn has already been achieved.