VENTURE CAPITAL AS A DRIVER FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

CDP Venture Capital SGR pays particular attention to environmental, social and governance factors, underpinning the essential aspects of its activities with principles of ESG responsibility, both in terms of investment opportunities and the creation of financial and economic value, as well as attracting the best talent.

OUR INVESTMENT MODEL

CDP Venture Capital SGR integrates ESG criteria into its operations, making it possible to monitor the impact of its portfolio on environmental, social and governance aspects.

Pre-investment

In the pre-investment phase, an ESG due diligence assessment is carried out through a proprietary ESG pre-screening and due diligence tool, based on standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Through this tool, the investment team gathers information on the ESG safeguards and impacts of the company in question and prepares an ESG-related disclosure in the Investment Memorandum to be submitted to the Board of Directors.

Within this analysis, an exclusion criterion is adopted with the aim of verifying that the counterparty being invested in does not operate in sectors and areas considered critical from a social and environmental sustainability point of view. As part of the investment assessment, the ESG issues relevant to the target and the level of the related safeguards already in place are identified. Lastly, the SDGs on which the target has an impact are assessed.

Portfolio management

The proprietary tool used in the pre-investment phase is presented to investees on an annual basis to regularly monitor the portfolio's key ESG issues, to highlight any changes in ESG management and to identify potential areas for improvement, which the investment team will propose if deemed necessary.

Exit

During the Exit phase, the performance of the investee is analysed to see how it has evolved since the investment; the analysis includes an assessment of ESG performance.

ESG GOVERNANCE AND ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

In order to achieve our Sustainability Goals and to ensure the proper implementation of the ESG policy and the responsible investment process, we have established an appropriate governance system:

• The Board of Directors (BoD) defines policies and approves ESG Policies; it determines the classification of the Funds, in accordance with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (Regulation EU 2019/2088 or "SFDR"). It is briefed by the Sustainability Committee and it approves and determines ESG strategy guidelines and criteria.
• The Sustainability Committee supports the BoD in defining economic, social and environmental sustainability policies/guidelines.
• The management body implements sustainability strategies and policies, integrating ESG factors into the operations of the asset management company.
• The Risk Management Function is responsible for managing business risks, including sustainability risk.
• The ESG Function is responsible for monitoring and continuously improving the ESG policy within the asset management company.
• The ESG Key Person of each fund is in charge of implementing the ESG policy and responsible investment practices.