Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced carbon emissions (182,921 metric tons in 2019 to 125,785 metric tons in 2020)
• Generated net renewable energy (74,054,249 kWh in 2019 to 43,205,101 kWh in 2020)
• Improved water use efficiency (260,695,440 liters in 2019 to 7,015,156,652 liters in 2020; note that this increase is explained in the report as including water reused, recycled, and saved)
• Waste processed (342,961 metric tons)
• Land improved (53,791 hectares)

Social Achievements

• Increased jobs (82 FTE in 2019 to 951 FTE in 2020)
• Partnered with certified Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) suppliers
• Awarded Environmental Finance’s Green Bond Project of the Year (2019)

Governance Achievements

• Legal Benefit Corporation
• Certified B Corp
• Recognized as one of the “Best for the World” companies (2019)

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Accurate measurement of impact
• Climate change impacts on supply chains
• Potential for growing competition from large players with lower cost of capital
• Increased operating costs due to increased cost of carbon and/or other policy interventions
• Increased disruption due to frequency of extreme weather events

Mitigation Strategies

• Developing more nuanced metrics for social equity
• Inviting third-party assessments of our assets
• Long-term contracts to mitigate risk
• Investing in technology disruptors to create new markets
• Adapting to stricter regulations and enhanced efficiencies
• Optimizing energy mix

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Partnerships with certified GFSI suppliers

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme precipitation
• Wildfires
• Storms
• Extreme heat
• Water stress
• Sea level rise
• Soil degradation

Transition Risks

• Stricter regulation
• Increased cost of energy inputs
• Growing competition
• Policy changes
• Technological advancements

Opportunities

• Increased demand for renewables
• Increased pricing for recycled water and renewable energy
• Investment in infrastructure to manage climate events

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: SASB, TCFD, GRESB, GFSI, Leading Harvest

Certifications: B Corp

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 2, Zero Hunger
• Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation
• Goal 7, Affordable and Clean Energy
• Goal 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production

Equilibrium's strategies align with these SDGs through various targets related to food production, water quality, renewable energy, resource efficiency, and waste management.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Renewable natural gas
• Recycled water
• Soil amendments
• Sustainably produced leafy greens

Awards & Recognition

• Environmental Finance’s Green Bond Project of the Year (2019)
• Best for the World (2019)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Social Sustainability

Social Achievements

• Implementing a cross-platform Living Wage metric exceeding third-party determined earnings required to meet a family’s basic needs.
• Initiatives at operating partners like Houwelings Group (increased productivity through motivated workforce), Blackwood Blends (diversity and inclusion in waste management, creating soil amendments), and Finka (programs to reduce absenteeism and turnover, improve worker morale, and create career paths).

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Difficulty in quantifying social impacts and embedding them in investment strategies.
• Messy process of reporting on social metrics that are demonstrably additive.
• Tough trade-offs between sustainability goals (e.g., higher wages increasing short-term operating costs).

Mitigation Strategies

• Developing a Sustainability Framework 2.1 to support reporting, including Benefit Corporation and B Corp designations, internal productivity metrics, and asset-level return calculations.
• Focusing on material metrics, setting targets, and drawing clear links to long-term, risk-adjusted returns.
• Utilizing Equilibrium's ability to drive scale and value to balance social and environmental outcomes.

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SASB Human Capital Framework, GIIN’s IRIS Catalog of Metrics

Certifications: Benefit Corporation, B Corp, Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 8 (Decent Work)
• Goal 6 (Clean Water)
• Goal 7 (Affordable Energy)
• Goal 2 (Zero Hunger)

Qualitative statements of alignment with SDGs around decent work, clean water, affordable energy, and healthy food.

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Renewable Energy
• Water Conservation
• Job Creation
• Supply Chain Resilience
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Exited two RNG assets that together avoided 83.5K metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2022
• Commissioned LED lighting installations and energy-efficient fan retrofits at two greenhouses to increase energy efficiency
• Installed a high-pressure misting system installation to cost-effectively cool the greenhouse, improving the climate for workers and plants

Social Achievements

• Created jobs in Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) and Carbon Transition Infrastructure (CTI) sectors
• 71% of CEFF’s reporting assets in the U.S. pay a living wage

Governance Achievements

• Achieved a B Corp certification score of 156 out of 200, placing in the top 10% of over 7,000 B Corps worldwide
• Net Zero Commitment across all operations by 2050

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Data collection and analysis from diverse assets
• Standardizing sustainability disclosure across assets and for investors
• Extreme weather events impacting operations (drought, high winds)
• Scope 3 emissions from business travel and products/services
• Labor shortages, particularly unskilled labor in greenhouses
• Shifting entire industries to support low-carbon transition

Mitigation Strategies

• Streamlining data collection by integrating requests for sustainability and financial data simultaneously
• Using the U.S. Environmentally-Extended Input-Output (USEEIO) model for Scope 3 emissions estimation
• Utilizing IFRS standards for sustainability disclosure
• Employing the TCFD framework to analyze climate risks and opportunities
• Working with investors to develop collective shareholder requests
• Finding ways to increase efficiency in natural resources and renewable energy generation
• Tracking and monitoring the number of hourly and salaried workers and finding ways to ensure the well-being of guest workers

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Extreme weather (drought, high winds)

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes, market shifts

Opportunities

• Opportunities within the CEF Funds

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD, SASB, IFRS

Certifications: Certified B Corp

Third-party Assurance: Global Impact Investing Rating System (2012), B Lab (2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Private Equity International (Top 30 largest managers of impact capital)
• B Corp’s “Best for the World” Program (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022)