About this policy

Signature Agri Investments B.V. (“Signature”) is an Africa-focused investment manager. Responsible investment is central to how we invest: we deploy institutional capital into agricultural and land-based systems in ways designed to build climate resilience, restore natural systems, and support the people and communities connected to the farms and enterprises we back.

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This document is a public summary of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) approach that Signature applies across the funds it manages, including The Regenerative Capital Fund (ReCa). It is supported by a full internal ESG & Impact Policy and an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), which set out our procedures in detail.

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Our approach

Signature’s investment approach is adaptation-first: our primary objective is to strengthen the resilience of agricultural systems to climate change, with the restoration of natural systems and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as material co-benefits. Our regenerative agriculture approach is organised around three impact areas — resilience, restoration, and reduction — following the IFC Regenerative

Agriculture Framework.

 

ESG considerations are integrated into every stage of the investment process, from screening through due diligence, investment decision-making, and portfolio management, rather than treated as a separate exercise.

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Standards we apply

Signature’s ESG and impact approach is anchored in internationally recognised standards, including:

• The IFC Regenerative Agriculture Framework, as our primary fund-level organisingstructure;

• The IFC Performance Standards (2012), as our primary environmental and social standard for portfolio-company conduct, due diligence, and action planning;

• The EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), under which ReCa is managed as an Article 9 fund with a sustainable investment objective;

• The Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM), with independent verification;

• The 2X Criteria for gender-lens investment; and

• Recognised climate and nature frameworks, including alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) on a phased basis.

• We also apply recognised impact-measurement frameworks, including the Green Climate Fund Integrated Results Management Framework and GIIN IRIS+, to measure and report the outcomes of our investments.

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What we will not finance

Signature maintains an Exclusion List that rules out activities incompatible with our standards. This includes, among others, activities that would cause deforestation or the conversion of natural ecosystems, the use of prohibited hazardous substances, exposure to controversial weapons, and other activities associated with severe environmental or social harm. Every prospective investment is screened against the Exclusion List before it can proceed.

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How we manage ESG risks and impacts

Signature manages ESG risks and impacts through its ESMS across the life of each investment:

• Screening and due diligence. Each investment is screened and categorised for environmental and social risk using a methodology aligned to the IFC Performance Standards, and assessed in detail during due diligence. This includes a Climate Risk Assessment Protocol evaluating each asset’s exposure and resilience to physical climate hazards, and a screen to prevent interventions that would shift environmental burdens elsewhere.

• “Do no significant harm”. For ReCa as an Article 9 fund, every investment must qualify as a sustainable investment: contributing to the fund’s objective, doing no significant harm to other environmental or social objectives, and meeting minimum social safeguards. Principal adverse impacts on sustainability factors are considered as part of this assessment.

• Action plans and monitoring. Where issues are identified, they are addressed through Environmental and Social Action Plans with time-bound conditions, monitored over the life of the investment. Impact and ESG data are monitored through portfolio reporting and independently verified.

• Grievances. A grievance mechanism, accessible to affected communities and workers, allows concerns to be raised and addressed, supported by incident-reporting procedures.

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Gender and social inclusion

Signature applies a gender lens across its investments, working to expand women’s participation and leadership in the enterprises and communities it supports, in alignment with the 2X Criteria. A survivor-centred approach to gender-based violence and harassment is embedded in our grievance and safeguarding procedures.

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Governance

Responsibility for ESG and impact is held at senior level within Signature. The ESG & Impact Officer leads ESG risk assessment, action-plan management, and portfolio monitoring, and is represented in investment decision-making. Material ESG concerns can prevent an investment from proceeding. Signature’s ESG & Impact Policy and ESMS are reviewed annually.

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Reporting and disclosure

Signature reports on the ESG and impact performance of its investments to its investors and, for ReCa, makes the sustainability-related disclosures required under the SFDR. These disclosures, together with our entity-level statements on the integration of sustainability risks (Article 3), the consideration of principal adverse impacts (Article 4), and remuneration (Article 5), are available on our website.