Building the Infrastructure to Move Capital
Done-for-you Services
Execution-ready Sustainability, Impact and ESG deliverables from a trusted expert to meet investor expectations and keep capital flowing
You’re gaining traction with your strategy – but now the spotlight is on execution. Investors are asking for your ESG Policy, you’re evaluating deals against your strategy, your investment period is narrowing – it’s crunch time. You’re both paving the road and driving on it at the same time.
Does this sound like you?
Launching a new Fund that needs sustainability policy frameworks aligned to various Standards to meet the scrutiny of investor due diligence.
Preparing a high-potential deal for investment committee review and need a consolidated ESG assessment.
Onboarding investees who must adopt an Environmental & Social Management System (ESMS) or Theory of Change.
Facing inconsistent or inefficient internal processes that are slowing things down.
You know what needs to be done – but your team is stretched and the risk of delay, rework, or under-delivery is rising.
That’s where The ForestLink comes in.
With a focused suite of done-for-you services, I help you build the systems, tools and documentation that investors expect and investees or operators need, so that you can build credibility and trust with your investors and clarity for your investees or operators.
What this support looks like
Targeted, high-impact consulting services designed to reduce friction, demonstrate rigor (and pragmatism), and move capital confidently.
Note: Done-for-you-Services are only for existing or past clients
The best outcomes in developing high quality investment infrastructure starts with a pre-existing relationship. It is necessary for Shauna to really understand your work and approach, so you can achieve the best results, as if the materials were created in-house.
Specific Services
You can engage The ForestLink for high-leverage work like:
- Sustainability Policy frameworks aligned to your investment strategy and relevant best practice standards (e.g. IFC Performance Standards, EU Taxonomy, FSC or PEFC),
- Stand-alone policies (e.g. anti-deforestation, human rights),
- Environmental and Social Management Systems (ESMS),
- ESG and impact screening and due diligence frameworks,
- Deal-level ESG and Impact due diligence evaluations,
- Sustainability and impact reporting systems,
- Risk management frameworks (general and ESG-specific),
- Theory of Change design,
- Pitch deck content refinement and alignment with ESG narrative.
We haven’t worked together before – but you need execution support
The best place to start is the Forest Investment Growth Assessment for Asset Managers and the Fast-Track Finance Assessment for NbS Developers. Book a Fit Call to see if this is right for you, or we can chat if you have a more specific request.
Case Studies
ESG and Impact Policy Suite for an Impact Forestry Fund
The Client (Timberland Investment Management Organization, or TIMO) was establishing a new impact forestry strategy and engaged The ForestLink to develop the ESG and impact management framework. This engagement included:
- ESG and Impact Policy aligned to the Strategy’s chosen standards for best practice, aligned to the company’s own internal standards,
- Procedures for considering ESG and Impact through the investment process – with ESG and Impact screening and DD questionnaires, and transition plans.
- The Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) – for risk and impact identification and management, and associated procedures and templates to be implemented by both the TIMO and the operators of its portfolio companies to support reporting and ongoing improvement.
The outcome was positive feedback from incoming investors with high ESG expectations and from investees for the thorough guidance provided for implementation.
Investment Process Improvement for a TIMO
When a TIMO was faced with the challenge that their investment process was taking too long, they brought in The ForestLink to strengthen and streamline their process.
Shauna started with an independent evaluation of the due diligence already performed on a key deal – bringing fresh perspective, identifying gaps in the assessment and validating the team’s analysis.
Then, she designed an efficient, repeatable process covering key stages of the investment process: screening, due diligence, risk assessment, presentation to the investment committee and post-investment decision investee onboarding.
The result? A clear, consistent framework that sped up decision-making, increased rigor, and gave both leadership and the investment committee greater confidence that every opportunity was fully vetted without delay.
Why The ForestLink?
Shauna Matkovich, Founding Director of The ForestLink has 20-years of combined experience in operational sustainable forest management, international forest investment management, ESG and Impact management and business development of new forest investment strategies.
Shauna’s unique skillset and her collaborative get-things-done personality have helped numerous investment organizations in achieving their forest investment goals. Her combined focus on profitability, risk reduction and impact creation with expertise on how working forests operate is what you need if you care about sustainability and want it integrated into your organization and investment strategies.