SilverStreet Capital, the UK and Africa-based investment firm, has been named as the winner of two Environmental Finance awards – ‘Best Sustainability Reporting by an Asset or Fund Manager’ and ‘Environmental Fund of the Year, Africa’ for its Silverlands II fund.
The Sustainable Investment Awards are global and seek to recognise asset managers, analysts and data providers incorporating ESG across all asset classes – fixed income, listed and private equity, debt funds, multi asset funds, infrastructure funds and fund of funds. The submission was judged by over 40 investors and industry experts who scored each entry individually.
Silverlands II: Environmental Fund of the Year, Africa
In 2021, Silverlands II prevented an estimated 31 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted due to deforestation. This represents the equivalent to the annual emissions of eight average sized US coal-fired power stations.
To achieve this, the Fund focuses on raising the yields of smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Sub-Saharan Africa will experience increased poverty, environmental damage and land clearing as a result of the regions dramatically increasing population and the war in Ukraine. Smallholder farmers, who form around 60% of the region’s population, are key to facing these challenges.
By using improved seed, adapted to smallholder farming conditions, and training in conservation farming techniques smallholders can double their yields, which are very low when compared to global averages. This increases their income and provides nutrition where it is needed most.
“By fixing key agricultural value chains in Africa, Silverlands II has demonstrated that it is possible to scale businesses and tackle multiple key developmental challenges faced by Sub-Saharan Africa: poverty, malnutrition, and climate change”, says Gary Vaughan-Smith, CIO at SilverStreet.
Other outcomes Silverlands II has contributed to in 2021 include:
Saving 104,000 hectares of land from deforestation;
Increasing incomes of 165,000 farmers, 61% of whom are women; and
Producing the annual calorie requirements for 1.9 million people.
SilverStreet Capital is also raising a new fund to co-invest alongside Silverlands II. It will invest in all its current portfolio companies and pursue additional identified investments. The final close of this fund is anticipated in 2023.
SilverStreet Capital: Best Sustainability Reporting by an Asset or Fund Manager
SilverStreet additionally won the award for best sustainability reporting by a medium or small asset or fund manager.
“As the globe races to develop metrics to communicate ESG performance, we use principle- and evidence-based reporting to show which impact is material to each business,” says Julia Wakeling Bird, Head of Impact and ESG at SilverStreet.
SilverStreet’s reporting strategy focuses on three key areas:
Business-level independent annual ESG audits: Portfolio companies have been independently audited annually for a number of years on their compliance with SilverStreet’s ESG standards, including the IFC Performance Standards and the Funds’ own Responsible Investment Code.
Fund-level annual impact and ESG report: The report demonstrates strategic intent to achieve its Funds’ impact and ESG objectives and shows progress against these.
Business-level ESG reporting: Portfolio companies compile monthly ESG reports that are monitored by SilverStreet. This data enables businesses to monitor ESG risks and identify long-term ESG trends and opportunities.
SilverStreet’s annual reporting aims to summarise the funds’ impact strategy and performance. SilverStreet aligned its reporting with the Impact Management Project’s framework to add further dimensions to its impact reporting.
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