Paine Schwartz Partners has a longstanding record of integrating sustainability and DEI&B
considerations at both the firm and portfolio company level.
We are committed to addressing real, imminent challenges in the global food and agribusiness sector by championing companies that deliver innovative and meaningful solutions that support:
Productivity and
Sustainability
Sustainability
Investing in businesses which enhance agricultural productivity while limiting resource consumption
Health and
Wellness
Wellness
Investing in businesses which provide access to healthier, more nutritious, safer food
Paine Schwartz Partners Sustainability Policy
PAINE SCHWARTZ PARTNERS SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
Since 2018, we have been publishing our Annual Sustainability and Social Responsibility Report. This Report details the robust framework we have created for embedding material ESG topics into our investment strategies and the Sustainability and DE&I goals we have set at our portfolio companies.
We are committed to transparency in sustainability and DE&I reporting and are guided in our reporting metrics and benchmarking standards by some of the investment industry’s most significant international frameworks.
A Commitment to Responsible Investment And Transparency
Paine Schwartz Partners has been a proud signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since April 2019. Supported by the United Nations, PRI establishes a cohesive set of investment principles for ESG integration, transparency, and stewardship that contribute to developing a more sustainable global financial system.
Paine Schwartz Partners’ ESG Policy includes alignment with the considerations put forth by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). We have conducted a gap analysis for formal alignment with TCFD.
Paine Schwartz Partners uses the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) guidance for the Food & Beverage Industry to identify material ESG focus areas.
As an Early Adopter of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Paine Schwartz Partners will start making disclosures aligned with the TNFD Recommendations in our corporate reporting, which will now include an assessment of our nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities.
As a member of the ESG Data Convergence Initiative (EDCI), Paine Schwartz Partners seeks to drive convergence around a standardized set of ESG metrics and mechanisms for comparative reporting in the private equity industry.
SUSTAINABILITY Integration from Sourcing to Exit
1. Sourcing
Paine Schwartz believes that sustainability – in all its forms including environmental, human, and corporate – underpins the global food and agribusiness sector. Paine Schwartz adopts a thesis-driven approach to investing that includes careful consideration of these factors. Due diligence and screening processes are conducted alongside a third-party expert to properly assess any potentially material sustainability risks and value creation opportunities.
2. Monitoring
Following the investment, our team monitors all portfolio companies to track progress while partnering closely with management teams to support initiatives and implement a strong corporate responsibility culture within the company.
3. Enhancement
In addition to monitoring and reporting on year-over-year portfolio company environmental and social metrics, Paine Schwartz also consolidates that data into actionable items, to drive sustainability achievements for companies. Our objective is to support companies over the hold period to create measurable changes in terms of sustainability in ways that are also consistent with driving returns.
4. Exit
Paine Schwartz seeks to ensure that potential material sustainability issues are proactively evaluated prior to exit and that significant value enhancement opportunities are identified for the road ahead.
Investing in Global Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal set of 17 objectives, targets, and indicators designed as a blueprint to achieve a better, more sustainable future for all.
PAINE SCHWARTZ PARTNERS SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
Learn more about the alignment between our portfolio companies and the SDGs
Alignment with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Throughout our portfolio, each of our investments has elements addressing and providing valuable solutions for significant challenges throughout the global food chain.
2
Zero
Hunger
Hunger
End hunger, achieve food security
and improved nutrition, and promote
sustainable agriculture.
and improved nutrition, and promote
sustainable agriculture.
8
Decent work
and economic
growth
and economic
growth
12
Responsible
consumption
and production
consumption
and production
13
Climate
action
action
15
Life on land
As investors in food and agribusiness, we invest in people:
the people who make our business, the people who power our portfolio companies and the people our products and services influence.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Initiative
At Paine Schwartz Partners, we are committed to attracting and retaining best-in-class talent, welcoming diverse perspectives, and celebrating transparency. We believe this cultivates an inclusive and respectful work environment where employees bring their true selves to work every day.
We believe fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging improves collaboration and decision-making, nurtures a sense of shared environment, and ultimately results in better investment outcomes.
To further strengthen its commitment to DE&I, Paine Schwartz Partners proudly became a signatory of ILPA’s Diversity in Action Initiative in March 2022.
In 2023, Paine Schwartz Partners joined the Women’s Awareness Initiative, a program committed to bridging the gender diversity gap in the asset management industry.
Commitment to the Community
“No Obstacles – A Race for the Warriors” 2023 Race Successfully Raised Over $735,000
In October 2023, Paine Schwartz Partners hosted our second annual “No Obstacles – A Race for the Warriors” event to benefit Hope For The Warriors® (HOPE), a national nonprofit that provides resources and services to veterans and military families.
This 5K/10K race took place on Governors Island and featured an obstacle course designed and operated by Spartan Races. We appreciate our event sponsors, all 279 racers and 27 volunteers who came out to join us (despite the rain!), as well as those who supported our event from afar.
Our event raised over $735,000, the largest single event for Hope For The Warriors®, and topped our 2022 event by over $200,000. We look forward to continuing this new annual event in Fall 2024 and hope that you’ll be able to join us. In the meantime, you can learn more about Hope For The Warriors® and the programs and services they offer by visiting their website.
TRANSPARENCY OF SUSTAINABILITY RISK POLICIES
PAINE SCHWARTZ PARTNERS (“PSP”) has a record of integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (“ESG”) considerations at both the firm and portfolio company-level. Sustainability risks are integrated into the investment decision-making process through the application of PSP’s ESG Policy and related procedures.
PSP is a proud signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment, the global leading proponent of incorporating ESG factors in investment decisions and processes. As a signatory, PSP commits to taking active ownership of ESG integration into its policies and practices, reporting on activities and advancements within the firm and portfolio-level, and promoting conscientious investment practices throughout the investment management industry. Together with other PRI signatories, PSP continues to adapt our investment activities to the changing imperatives impacting our companies, our communities, and our climate.
More information on PSP’s policies on the integration of sustainability risks in investment decision‐making process can be found on this website page.
TRANSPARENCY OF ADVERSE SUSTAINABILITY IMPACTS AT ENTITY LEVEL
PSP does not consider adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors as specifically set out in Regulation 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector dated 27 November 2019 (“SFDR”). PSP has chosen not to do so for the present time as it considers that its existing ESG policies and procedures are appropriate, proportional and tailored to the investment strategies of the funds managed by PSP.
PSP continues to monitor closely regulatory developments with respect to the SFDR and other applicable ESG-focused laws and regulations, including the implementation of related and secondary legislation and regulatory guidance and will, where required or otherwise appropriate, make changes to existing policies and procedures.
TRANSPARENCY OF UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS ALIGNMENT
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aspirational in nature. The analysis involved in determining whether and how certain initiatives may contribute to the SDGs is inherently subjective and dependent on a number of factors. There can be no assurance that reasonable parties will agree on a decision as to whether certain projects or investments contribute to a particular SDG. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on PSP’s application of the SDGs, as such application is subject to change at any time and in PSP’s sole discretion.
DISCLAIMER
While Paine Schwartz seeks to integrate certain ESG factors into its investment process in accordance with its ESG Policy and subject to its fiduciary duty and any applicable legal, regulatory or contractual requirements, there is no guarantee that Paine Schwartz’s ESG Policy will be successfully implemented or that its investments create a positive ESG outcomes. In addition, applying ESG factors to investment decisions is qualitative and subjective by nature, and there is no guarantee that the criteria utilized by Paine Schwartz or any judgment exercised by Paine Schwartz reflects the beliefs or values of any particular investor. There are significant differences in interpretations of what material ESG characteristics mean by region, industry and issue, and these interpretations are rapidly evolving. While Paine Schwartz intends to include ESG as a component of its investment process, as described herein, there can be no assurance that Paine Schwartz’s ESG initiatives, policies, and procedures as described herein will be applied to a particular investment. Third-party logos and vendor information included herein are provided for illustrative purposes only. Inclusion of such logos does not imply affiliation with or endorsement by such organizations or businesses. There is no guarantee that Paine Schwartz or any of its funds will work with any of the organizations or businesses whose logos are included herein in the future.
