Sustainability

We Stand for Sustainable Investments
and Good Entrepreneurship

Sustainability

Sustainable
Corporate Management

The topic of ESG – Environmental Social Governance – is becoming increasingly important for the society, investors and regulators. We promote out of conviction social and environmental initiatives among our portfolio companies, thereby creating trust, values and a competitive advantage. Together for sustainable and successful entrepreneurship.

Responsible Investment Strategy

Beyond Capital Partners considers sustainability risks and value creation potential at every step of the investment process, from the selection of potential companies, due diligence and investment decision-making to all activities within the holding period and potential divestiture of one of our portfolio companies.

An essential part of our personal and professional understanding and values of doing good business and generating valuable returns is to participate in the sustainable development of our environment, our society and economy. In particular, but not conclusively, the following areas are close to our hearts:

Good Entrepreneurship – Continuous development and implementation of good practice principles, policies and risk frameworks to support our major value of good entrepreneurship
Climate Change Mitigation
Comprehensive and Valuable Education and Support
Diversity & Inclusion
Well-Being and Mental Health

Beyond Capital Partners
Responsible Investment Strategy

To act in accordance with our values, we committed ourselves to adopt and implement the UN-supported principles for responsible investing (PRI) and to promote the following SDGs (UN Sustainable Development Goals) by advising and supporting our portfolio companies on initiatives and measures, that positively influences the following goals:

Through this, we want to ensure that the 3rd party capital provided to us is invested sustainably and with the greatest possible prudence and has a positive impact on the environment and society through our investments.

Furthermore, Beyond Capital Partners is a signatory of PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment), a participant of UN Global Compact, an active supporter of Level 20 and a member of BVK (German Private Equity and Venture Capital Association e.V.).

Our three Beyond Capital Partners’ team members – Helena Hausen, Bianca Bertsch und Lena Bürger – are part of the non-profit organization Level 20. In addition, we support the initiative at senior management level. Christoph D. Kauter, CEO and founder of Beyond Capital Partners, acts as mediator. Beyond Capital Partners supports as sponsor Level 20’s mission to encourage greater female representation across the private equity industry with the goal of having 20% of senior positions in the industry held by women and with a particular focus on increasing the number of women in investment roles. Level 20 was founded in the UK in 2015 and currently has more than 4,000 members worldwide. In 2018, the initiative was also launched in Germany and has already gained more than 100 members.

What are the cornerstones of our ESG Risk Management?

Beyond Capital Partners recognises the importance of identifying, assessing and managing material sustainability risks as an integral part of its business. Our ESG policy provides a comprehensive framework for integrating sustainability risk management into investment decision making. Our ESG policy shows how sustainability aspects are embedded in all decision-making processes along the investment cycle and at the fund level of Beyond Capital Partners. In particular, with regard to corporate governance, strategy, risk management, key figures and targets. These requirements apply to all affiliated companies.

Thus, Beyond Capital Partners considers numerous sustainability risks, including resilience to climate change, pollution, biodiversity, carbon emissions, human rights in supply chains, health and safety, societal relations, cultural heritage, labor and employment practices, resource efficiency, etc.

Integration of Sustainability Risks into Investment Decision-Making Processes

Sustainability risks are taken into account at all stages of the investment process in relation to each individual investment opportunity. In addition to clear criteria that limit the selection of potential investment objects in the first step, the investment team is obliged to carry out an ESG due diligence review together with an external provider – using the ESG toolkit from Beyond Capital Partners. Here, a risk and value creation potential analysis for the relevant company is prepared on the basis of a double materiality analysis and taking into account physical and transformational risks of the corresponding sector (Find Industry Topics – SASB).

The results of the ESG risk analysis are incorporated as a central component in the decision-making basis for the examination of the investment project by the Investment Committee.

The aim is to ensure the greatest possible transparency of possible risks and value creation potentials in the area of sustainability and to initiate appropriate measures to minimise risks as early as possible.

Serious concerns about ESG principles and/or problems in areas that are considered unethical or inconsistent with acceptable ESG practices – if these cannot be addressed or are unlikely to be addressed – will result in termination of the investment process.

Governance

Key elements of Beyond Capital Partners’ ESG Governance:

ESG Responsibility

Beyond Capital Partner has made key staff members responsible/accountable for ESG issues. Overall ESG responsibility lies at Managing Partner level, ESG supervision and development resides with the Head of ESG.

ESG Training

Beyond Capital Partners provides ESG training to all members of the investment team. Furthermore, the Managing Partners and Head of ESG are required to regularly undergo further education and participate in industry-specific discussions and conferences as well as offers from the cooperation partners (PRI, Level20, etc.) to ensure that Beyond Capital Partners is always up to date and can pass this on to the investment teams.

ESG Policy

Beyond Capital Partners has developed a sophisticated ESG Policy which is being enhanced and checked at regular intervals for up-to-dateness, approved on a Managing Partner level and shared among all team members on a regular basis.

ESG Due Diligence

ESG due diligence (via third-party providers) is a mandatory part of each Investment Committee meeting.

ESG Reporting

Beyond Capital Partners, in accordance with the requirements of the SFDR, builds a comprehensive ESG performance indicator system for Beyond Capital Partners and all relevant portfolio companies in order to ensure continuous measurement and targeting of environmental and social goals.

ESG along the Investment Cycle*

Principal Adverse Impacts Statement (“PAI”)

The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) requires Beyond Capital Partners to make a “comply or explain” decision whether to consider the principal adverse impacts (“PAIs”) of its investment decisions on sustainability factors, in accordance with a specific regime outlined in SFDR. Beyond Capital Partners has opted not to comply with that regime, both generally and in relation to the Funds. Beyond Capital Partners will keep its decision not to comply with the PAI regime under regular review.

Beyond Capital Partners has carefully evaluated the requirements of the PAI regime in Article 4 of the SFDR, and in the draft Regulatory Technical Standards which were published in April 2020 (the “PAI regime”). Beyond Capital Partners is supportive of the policy aims of the PAI regime, to improve transparency to clients, investors and the market, as to how financial market participants integrate consideration of the adverse impacts of investment decisions on sustainability factors. However, Beyond Capital Partners is concerned about the lack of readily available data to comply with many of the reporting requirements of the PAI regime, as Beyond Capital Partners believes that companies and market data providers are not yet ready to make available all necessary data for the PAI regime.

Notwithstanding Beyond Capital Partners’ decision not to comply with the PAI regime, Beyond Capital Partners has implemented positive ESG-related initiatives and policies, as part of its overall commitment to ESG matters, as summarized above. For the avoidance of doubt, none of the information is intended to suggest that Beyond Capital Partners complies with the PAI regime.

Remuneration Policy

Beyond Capital Partners (along with its subsidiaries and controlled affiliates) has established a remuneration policy (the “Policy”) applicable to all Beyond Capital Partners entities. The Policy is developed, approved, implemented, and monitored by the Managing Partners. The Policy applies to all employees of Beyond Capital Partners, save for limited exceptions.

The Policy has been developed with the aim of supporting Beyond Capital Partners’ business strategy, corporate values, and long‐term interests, including by facilitating the identification, assessment and management of sustainability risks when determining individual remuneration packages. The key principles of the Policy include fostering appropriate risk culture (including with respect to the management of actual and potential conflicts of interest) and compliance with applicable law and regulation.

The performance management and rewards framework envisioned by the Policy has been designed to promote effective risk management, including in particular by:

Ensuring that assessment of performance takes full account of adherence to risk management requirements, covering all relevant types of current and future risks, including sustainability risks.
Implementing deferral arrangements using co‐investment and carried interest arrangements for senior personnel, facilitating alignment of interests between staff‐members and third-party investors. If the value of the relevant underlying investment portfolio should decrease (whether arising because of a sustainability risk or otherwise), the value of the employee’s holdings will be reduced accordingly.
Providing for reduction of variable remuneration awards – if applicable – to senior personnel in certain circumstances, such as in the event that the entity in which the relevant employee works suffers a significant failure of risk management or experiences a significant downturn in its financial performance (as determined in the sole discretion of Beyond Capital Partners), including in connection with a sustainability risk concerning an investment.