The &Green Fund aims to de-risk investments in sustainable agricultural production with a focus on forest restoration, as well as tropical forest, peatland and biodiversity protection. &Green targets to mobilize $2 billion to protect 5 million ha of tropic forests and peatlands and improve the lives of half a million smallholder farmers.20
Managed by Sail Ventures, the fund provides long-term loans and guarantees to supply chain companies that directly source from farmers or cooperatives, medium-to-large-scale farming businesses, financial institutions, and service and input providers. &Green targets an average investment size between $5 million to $15 million (max 25percent of overall ticket). Partners in the Fund include IDH (landscape convening, technical assistance), UNEP (implementing agency of GEF contribution and assistance with communication, reporting and verification efforts), Good Growth Partnership (mutual support due to shared vision), 20x20 Initiative (member) and AFR 100 (partner of initiative) to channel private capital into forestry projects. 21,22
To date, the fund has received contributions from NICFI ($100 million), Unilever ($25 million) and GEF ($2 million), with an ultimate target of $400 million. At the project level, the fund aims to organise an additional $1.6 billion of private capital to achieve an overall mobilisation ratio of around 5:1.
As of July 2020, &Green has screened over 80 projects, and made investments into three companies: a $23.75 million investment through 7- and 15-year notes from RLU (PT Royal Lestarti Utama bond; see case study on the Tropical Landscape Financing Facility)23, to finance a sustainable rubber plantation in Indonesia24; a $30 million, 10-year loan to DSNG (PT Dharma Satya Nusantara Tbk), helping the sustainable palm oil company to implement “No-deforestation, No-peat and No-exploitation” (NDPE)25 throughout its supply chain and achieve full “Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil” (RSPO)26 certification; and a $10 million, 8-year loan to sustainable agriculture company Roncador (Agropecuária Roncador LTDA) to expand its livestock operations, recuperate degraded lands and conserve over 70,000 hectares of forest.27
20 ‘The &Green Fund’. n.d. &Green. https://www.andgreen.fund/.
21 ‘The &Green Fund’. n.d. &Green. https://www.andgreen.fund/.
22 ‘Stakeholders’. n.d. &Green. Accessed 29 September 2020. https://www.andgreen.fund/stakeholders/.
23 &Green, PT ROYAL LESTARI UTAMA (RLU), https://www.andgreen.fund/royal-lestari-utama/
24 Information from &Green website, available: http://www.andgreen.fund/portfolio/#portfolio
25 No-deforestation, No-peat and No-exploitation
26 Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
27 ‘Portfolio - Roncador’. n.d. &Green. https://www.andgreen.fund/portfolio-roncador/