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Governance / Code of Conduct

The Mensarius Oath

The Mensarius Oath is the programme's contextualised code of ethical, values-driven investment conduct. It is not a corporate mission statement or a list of aspirational principles — it is a personal pledge made by every individual in a decision-making role within the Mentawai One programme, and a condition of participation for all investment partners. The Oath is a living practice, not words.

What Mensarius Means

Mensarius derives from the Latin term for a banker or money-changer — one who measures, weighs, and is accountable for what passes through their hands. The Oath contextualises this ancient accountability to the modern investment context: those who deploy capital hold an obligation not only to their financial principals but to the people, communities, ecological systems, and future generations affected by their decisions.

The Oath is deliberately named rather than described — it is something taken, not something agreed to in fine print. This distinction matters: taking an oath creates a different psychological and social contract than signing terms and conditions, and the programme uses this distinction intentionally to establish a culture of genuine personal accountability rather than performative compliance.

The Four Domains

People

We invest in ways that dignify, protect, and create opportunity for the people touched by our activities — workers, communities, indigenous peoples, and future generations. We do not pursue profit at the expense of human dignity.

World

We recognise that the natural world is the source of all economic value and that its protection is not in conflict with prosperity — it is the foundation of it. We invest to restore, not merely to preserve.

Technology

We deploy technology in service of human and ecological flourishing. We reject the use of technology to extract value from people without their informed consent, to automate harm, or to concentrate power in ways that undermine accountability.

Business Practices

We conduct our business with transparency, honesty, and the discipline of independent verification. We do not make claims we cannot support. We do not accept that profit and ethics are opposed — and we hold ourselves accountable when our conduct falls short of that belief.

Enforcement, Not Just Aspiration

The Mensarius Oath carries governance weight. Investment committee members who take the Oath can invoke it to veto investment decisions — including those that meet financial return criteria — where they judge that the investment materially contradicts the Oath's commitments. This veto right is documented in fund governance documents and investment committee charters, making the ethical dimension of decision-making legally operative rather than merely advisory. The Oath is reviewed and reaffirmed annually by all signatories, ensuring it remains a live commitment rather than a one-time ceremony.