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Borski Fund Sustainability Policy 
2026

Borski Fund's sustainability policy forms the basis for all financing and investment decisions across its funds. The policy guides decision-making, portfolio management and reporting, and is an integral part of how Borski Fund fulfils its role as an impact fund manager. In addition, the policy provides direction for the organisation's own sustainability practices.

Borski Fund has the explicit objective of achieving measurable positive impact on the environment and society through its investments, combined with careful management of sustainability and ESG risks. Borski Fund's sustainable investment objective qualifies as a sustainable fund investment within the meaning of Article 9 of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

Borski Fund's sustainability policy consists of three components:

  1. Impact policy: describes the positive social and environmental effects Borski Fund aims to achieve, and how this impact is measured, monitored and reported.
  2. ESG policy: describes how relevant environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities are identified, assessed and integrated into the investment process. The emphasis is on preventing and limiting negative effects of portfolio companies on their environment, stakeholders and value chains.
  3. Internal sustainability policy: describes how Borski Fund also operates responsibly and sustainably within its own organisation.

1. Impact policy

Borski Fund believes that capital plays a crucial role in the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy. The sustainability policy therefore focuses on three priority areas:

These themes guide the selection, assessment and monitoring of investments and financing. Borski Fund finances companies that contribute to a energy-efficient, healthy and inclusive economy and that demonstrably achieve positive social and environmental effects.

Sustainable Development Goals

Borski Fund uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a reference framework for defining, measuring and communicating the intended and realised impact of its investments. The 17 SDGs provide a global framework for addressing social and environmental challenges and serve as a shared roadmap towards a sustainable, inclusive and future-proof society.

Borski Fund only finances companies that demonstrably contribute to at least one of the SDGs. To make this contribution transparent and measurable, Borski Fund works with objective impact indicators, which can be aggregated where possible, such as renewable energy generated, avoided CO₂ emissions and jobs created. These indicators are used to monitor and report progress and results consistently.

In practice, Borski Fund's investment activities are mainly aligned with:

Through its financing, Borski Fund contributes to the transition to an inclusive economy & more equal society and makes the social impact of investments concrete and measurable.

Theory of Change

In 2020, Borski Fund defined its theory of change (ToC) to clearly communicate what we do, for whom and why.

Borski Fund is based on the strong belief that if women get equal access to information, resources, connections and capital (Actions), entrepreneurs and their investors are likely to see a higher return. A rebalancing of knowledge, power and capital will ultimately have a positive economic and social impact on the world (Outcome).

By aligning the fundraising landscape, more female talent can set up companies, the innovative capacity is increased and the investment landscape for investors will also improve (Impact).

Borski Fund's activities are organised around three core activities:

Borski Fund's added value lies in its financial and non-financial additionality. Borski Fund provides capital to companies and projects that are often insufficiently served by traditional financiers and actively supports them with knowledge, networks, governance and impact management.

Impact measurement

Purpose

Borski Fund measures impact in order to report transparently to investors and other stakeholders and to continuously improve investment and portfolio decisions. Central to this is the belief that financial returns and the creation of social value can go hand in hand.

Process

Impact measurement is an integral part of the investment process. During the investment phase, the expected impact is determined. During the term of the investment, impact is monitored annually using defined KPIs and portfolio questionnaires. The realised impact is then compared with the impact originally intended.

Borski Fund works with portfolio-wide SDG 5 impact indicators. Every investment must contribute to at least 1 of the indicators below:

Entrepreneurship

Leadership

Employment

Consumption

In addition, at least one additional impact KPI is defined for each investment, aligned with the activities and impact objectives of the company. This impact KPI is always tied to an SDG and has quantifiable targets.

SDG-Based Impact Measurement

Borski Fund II measures impact through SDG-linked KPIs at portfolio company level. Every investment must contribute to SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and at least one additional SDG that is relevant to the company's business and impact thesis.

For each portfolio company, we define a minimum of two impact KPIs:

At investment, measurable targets are agreed for each KPI. Progress is tracked through regular impact reporting and assessed by comparing realized results against the predefined targets. This results in an Impact Multiple for each KPI, which is aggregated into a company-level and ultimately a fund-level impact score.

This approach enables Borski Fund II to systematically measure and report its contribution to gender equality and broader environmental and social outcomes.

2. ESG policy

The ESG policy describes how relevant environmental, social and governance risks and opportunities are identified, assessed and integrated into the investment process. While the impact policy focuses on increasing positive effects, the ESG policy primarily focuses on preventing, limiting and managing adverse effects of companies and projects on their environment, stakeholders and value chains. It also assesses the extent to which sustainability risks may lead to operational disruptions, reputational damage, legal or regulatory risks and, as a result, may have a negative effect on the value, continuity or risk profile of an investment.

The ESG policy covers three phases:

The ESG scan forms the first assessment of a company or project. It considers, among other things, climate and transition risks, biodiversity, human rights, working conditions, governance and risks in the value chain. Where necessary, an extensive ESG due diligence process follows, and relevant sustainability indicators, including SFDR and PAI indicators, are included in the assessment. The outcomes of the ESG scan and ESG due diligence are taken into account in the investment decision and may, where relevant, be translated into agreements on monitoring, reporting and engagement during the term of the investment.

During the term of an investment, material ESG risks are actively monitored through periodic reporting, annual ESG questionnaires and engagement with companies and projects.

Within its ESG policy, Borski Fund takes into account internationally recognised guidelines and standards, including the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the minimum safeguards of the EU Taxonomy and the Do No Significant Harm (DNSH) principle.

An overview of the ESG themes considered in the assessment of companies and projects is provided below:

3. Internal sustainability policy

Borski Fund aims to enable impact through its financing of various companies. In addition, it also strives internally to deal with people and the environment as consciously as possible.

Sustainable housing at the SDG House

Borski Fund is based in the SDG House at the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) in Amsterdam. The office location aligns with the organisation's sustainability ambitions and forms part of a community of organisations that contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainable mobility

Borski Fund encourages employees to travel as sustainably as possible. The mobility policy focuses on promoting public transport, cycling and electric transport.

Diversity, inclusion and engagement

Diversity and inclusion are an important part of the internal sustainability policy. Borski Fund strives for diversity in teams, leadership and perspectives.

In 2025, the male-female ratio within the management team is 25%-75%, and within the organisation as a whole 33%-67%. Borski Fund also works with an improvement roadmap based on the Diversity VC Level 1 certificate. To promote female entrepreneurship, the Borski Fund was established in 2019 as a joint venture between StartGreen and The Next Women.

Knowledge sharing and development

Borski Fund encourages the continuous development of employees through internal knowledge sessions, courses and training on sustainability, financial products and relevant laws and regulations. Borski Fund also offers employees the opportunity to further develop job-related and/or personal competencies through external training. In its work, the Borski Fund team consciously and actively seeks to convey the organisation's DNA and mission, thereby jointly increasing understanding of and support for sustainable investing and entrepreneurship. Borski Fund employees regularly give presentations at events or universities to inform and inspire others about how financial and social returns can go hand in hand.

Sustainable consumption and environmental policy

In daily choices, such as catering and office consumption, Borski Fund strives for sustainable solutions. Wherever possible, sustainable, seasonal and plant-based options are chosen, in line with the organisation's values.

Periodic disclosure – Annex V RTS

Please see here the link to Annex V of the SFDR RTS as attached to our annual report:

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