Fostering the long-term, sustainable management of our region’s waters.

Great Lakes Impact Investment Platform

www.gsgp.org

The region is a net exporter of wealth derived from natural resources, and has long been a hub of water-dependent industries like agriculture, manufacturing and recreation.

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River are globally important sources of renewable natural capital which, through proper stewardship, can create continued economic growth and wealth generation in perpetuity.

The Great Lakes St. Lawrence region holds about 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater and, if it were its own country, would be the world’s third largest economy, generating about US$6 trillion.

www.gsgp.org

The Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers, in collaboration with a multidisciplinary project team, is developing the Great Lakes Impact Investment Platform (GLIIP) as a new structure to encourage environmentally sustainable economic growth in the Great Lakes State and Provinces.

Our goal: to deliver significant benefits for participants, investors, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region and its people.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE IMPACTS INCLUDE:

Water Quality(20% nutrient reduction)

Water Quantity

Management

Water-Related

Socio-economic Impacts

Energy Efficiency(10% improvement)

Participants developsustainable investment projects and strategies

Catalytic and cluster-based investments

create economic

returns and environmental improvements

Private investors receive intended financial

returns from sustainable investments

The Platform features various investment

products intended to deliver demonstrable

impact and revitalize the region’s waters,

while also aimed to generate competitive,

market-based financial returns.

THE PLATFORM IS GEOGRAPHICALLY SPECIFIC AND IMPACT FOCUSED. IT IS AMONG THE FIRST OF ITS KIND, AND IS A MODEL THAT COULD BE APPLIED TO OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES IN THIS REGION OR GLOBALLY.

20% reduction of nutrient inputs to sensitive watersheds;

10% improvement in energy efficiency for water utilities;

10-15% reduction in emissions resulting from less energy use, sustainable forestry and nutrient management.

GREAT LAKES IMPACT INVESTMENT PLATFORM 2

www.gsgp.org

EXAMPLES OF PLATFORM STRATEGIES

FORESTRY: The Platform will offer innovative opportunities across the forestry value chain that are tied toward specific, watershed-based environmental goals. Focus areas include land conservation, sustainable timber production, carbon sequestration, water resources management, and recreation.

SMART WATER SYSTEMS: The region’s diversified industry and population of more than 100 million people depend on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence for water supply and wastewater discharge. Within different investment strategies, smart water systems offer attractive benefits that moderate risk and generate long-term cash flow while improving efficiency and reducing waste.

AGRICULTURE: Improving on-farm management of water represents a currently under-realized opportunity in the region and the Platform will offer opportunities for sustainable agriculture production and AgTech. “Smart drains,” satellite-based irrigation, and, in some instances, conversion to regenerative production can reduce water withdrawals, energy use and capital costs while improving crop yields or returns. Diverse investment opportunities can be scaled regionally through technology development and deployment, land acquisition and project funding.

Diverse investment opportunities exist in each theme, and they will be integrated into investment strategies focused on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence region.

OVER TIME, FINANCIAL RETURNS WILL HELP BUILD LONG-TERM CAPACITY FOR CATALYTIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS.

The Platform is built around three themes: forestry; “smart water” infrastructure; and agriculture. These themes were selected for their importance to the regional economy, direct connection to water, and capacity to deliver on the core impact targets.

GREAT LAKES IMPACT INVESTMENT PLATFORM 3

AGRICULTURESMART WATER

SYSTEMS

FORESTRY

Blue Bonds A fixed-income financial instrument linked to specific water-related environmental outcomes.

Pilot: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District

Environmental Impact Bonds An innovative financing tool that uses a Pay for Success approach to directly tie investment returns to environmental and other outcomes in the region.

Pilot: Baileys Mountain Biking Trail System (Ohio), in partnership with Quantified Ventures

www.gsgp.org

Management Developers of each product and strategy participating on the Platform are independent and are not affiliated with the Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers or any of the region’s States or Provinces. All Platform participants commit to report on environmental impact and financial performance.

The Platform is being developed by staff from the Conference of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers, a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy – Great Lakes Project/NatureVest and Corymbus, LLC; and with advice from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Professionals from Credit Suisse, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and others have also advised the project team. Initial work was funded under a grant by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service as part of on-going support to cross-border engagement via the U.S./Canada Forest Health & Innovation Summits. Development of the Platform is also supported by grants from the Fund for Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes Protection Fund.

THIS PRESENTATION IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL AND DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY. THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY AN

INTEREST IN ANY INVESTMENT, PRODUCT, OR SERVICE OFFERED AS PART OF THE GREAT LAKES IMPACT INVESTMENT PLATFORM (THE “PLATFORM”) OR ANY OTHER LEGAL ENTITY MANAGED BY

THE COUNCIL OF GREAT LAKES GOVERNORS, INC. OR AFFILIATED ENTITIES (THE “CONFERENCE”) OR ANY OTHER INVESTMENT. ANY OFFERING OR SOLICITATION WILL BE MADE ONLY AFTER YOU

HAVE BEEN PROVIDED WITH COPIES OF THE OPERATIVE DOCUMENTS FOR THE RELATED INVESTMENT AND A SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT WHICH SHALL CONTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

REGARDING ASSOCIATED RISK. THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS PRESENTATION IS NOT INTENDED TO BE AND SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS INVESTMENT, TAX, LEGAL, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF ADVICE. IT DOES NOT TAKE

INTO ACCOUNT THE OBJECTIVES, FINANCIAL, TAX, OR LEGAL SITUATION OR NEEDS OF ANY PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR OR PURPORT TO BE COMPREHENSIVE AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON

AS SUCH. YOU MUST OBTAIN PROFESSIONAL OR SPECIALIST ADVICE BEFORE TAKING, OR REFRAINING FROM TAKING, ANY ACTION ON THE BASIS OF THE CONTENT OF THIS PRESENTATION. NO

INVESTMENT FOR A STRATEGY CERTIFIED ON THE PLATFORM SHALL BE OFFERED OR SOLD TO ANY PERSON WITHOUT SUCH PERSON FIRST BEING PROVIDED, TO THE EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW,

WITH A CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION MEMORANDUM OR SIMILAR DOCUMENT SETTING FORTH THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH ANY SUCH INVESTMENT.

GREAT LAKES IMPACT INVESTMENT PLATFORM 4