ESG & Responsible Investing at Our Fund

We invest in businesses and properties that should still matter a decade from now. That requires more than returns. It requires responsibility.

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ESG Criteria: Environmental, Social & Governance Standards

Environment

We avoid assets dependent on extractive practices or unsustainable inputs. Real estate projects must meet clear standards on water use, energy efficiency, and long-term land impact. Consumer brands in our portfolio are screened for ingredient transparency, packaging footprint, and supply-chain accountability. If a company cuts corners on the environment, it won’t scale – and we won’t fund it.

Social

We work with founders and operators who build things that improve everyday life: healthier products, safer places, and useful technologies. Our diligence looks at how employees are treated, who benefits from the product, and whether the business model creates real value instead of speculation. No “growth at all costs.” If a venture cannot defend its impact in plain language, we move on.

Governance

Clear rules protect everyone. We use institutional controls: audited reporting expectations, independent counsel, defined manager authority, and transparent investor rights. No back-room deals, no heroic assumptions, no hidden liabilities. The fund exists to protect LP capital first, then participate in upside through disciplined execution.

Why ESG Matters: Long-Term Value and Impact

Poor governance destroys capital. Weak social alignment kills brands. Environmental shortcuts become liabilities. Strong ESG standards reduce downside risk and increase the odds that our holdings stay valuable when markets tighten.

(In other words, good businesses endure because they are built correctly.)

Stewardship & ESG

How Third Salt evaluates ESG factors alongside returns

Third Salt does not operate under a formal ESG mandate. ESG factors may be considered, at the Managing Members’ discretion, alongside traditional financial and risk criteria, and are subordinate to the Fund’s return objectives.

E Environmental
Where it shows up

We look for environmental exposures that can become liabilities during the hold period and underwrite them like any other risk.

  • ✓Resource-use and site constraints reviewed where relevant (energy, water, waste, and permitting).
  • ✓Preference for operational plans that reduce avoidable environmental risk over time.
  • ✓Where data is available, we track practical operational metrics that affect resilience and cost.
S Social
Where it shows up

Social alignment is underwritten as brand durability: employee stability, vendor practices, customer trust, and community friction.

  • ✓Management and operating culture assessed for execution stability and retention risk.
  • ✓Consumer businesses reviewed for product responsibility and reputational downside exposure.
  • ✓Local stakeholder considerations evaluated when projects depend on entitlement, permitting, or community support.
G Governance
Where it shows up

Governance is the earliest warning system for loss. Decision-right clarity, reporting discipline, and controls are core underwriting inputs.

  • ✓Decision rights, reporting expectations, and accountability reviewed before capital is deployed.
  • ✓Conflicts are disclosed in the Fund’s documents; investors rely on Manager good faith and governance process.
  • ✓Controls and oversight are evaluated in diligence and monitored as appropriate during the hold period.

Important: Investors should not interpret ESG references as a commitment to ESG standards, impact reporting, exclusionary screening, or any guaranteed evaluation cadence. Any ESG consideration is discretionary and may vary by investment.

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Legacy Stewardship

We’re building things that last. The Third Salt Venture Fund portfolio is selected with the assumption that future owners, our children, our successors, or buyers we haven’t met yet, will inherit what we create.

That forces a higher bar: no quick flips, no disposable brands, no projects that collapse when the next cycle turns.

Stewardship is not a slogan. It’s a constraint. If an investment cannot survive new leadership, changing tastes, or a tougher market, it doesn’t belong in our fund.

Stewardship Matrix

How strategies can map to E, S, and G considerations

This matrix is illustrative only. It shows how ESG-related factors can present across asset types. It does not represent a commitment to ESG standards, impact reporting, exclusionary screening, or any specific evaluation cadence. ESG consideration is discretionary and subordinate to return objectives.

R Real Estate-Backed
Typical ESG lens

E: site constraints, environmental liability, water/energy exposure, resiliency costs.
S: permitting friction, community alignment, workforce stability.
G: entitlement clarity, reporting discipline, decision rights, and controls.

If a deal is real-estate-supported, ESG factors often appear as direct operating risk and cost, not ideology.

C Consumer / Brands
Typical ESG lens

E: packaging and sourcing exposure where relevant.
S: product responsibility, customer trust, and vendor practices.
G: quality controls, labeling/compliance, and governance systems that prevent brand damage.

For brands, ESG often shows up as reputational downside and compliance durability.

T Tech / Tools
Typical ESG lens

E: infrastructure costs and operational footprint where material.
S: user harm risk, workforce practices, and stakeholder trust.
G: data policy, controls, auditability, and regulatory exposure.

For tools, “G” tends to dominate: policy, controls, and clarity on what the product does and does not do.

Stewardship Page Risk & Disclosure Request Allocation Consideration

How We Implement ESG: Due Diligence & Oversight

ESG is not a mandate. It’s a filter. If an investment can’t pass it, we don’t touch it.

See how ESG shows up in our Portfolio