A group of 26 institutional investors, including BVK, P+ and Velliv, are calling on companies to urgently assess and disclose their impact and dependencies on nature.
The group, which also includes Impax Asset Management, Swedbank Robur Fonder AB, Achmea Investment Management, and Rathbones, has signed a statement issued by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)’s new Nature Collective Impact Coalition (CIC).
The WBA-led coalition, which represents €1.26trn in assets under management (AUM), is a non-profit that measures and tracks company progress against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Its Nature Benchmark, which assessed 800 companies across 10 industries, has found that nature is a blind spot for company action. More alarmingly, the group said that only 5% of all companies have assessed the impact of their operations on nature, and less than 1% have assessed their dependencies on nature.
“The unprecedented rate at which biodiversity is declining is nothing less than a global emergency. To confront this loss effectively, companies must better protect biodiversity and embrace opportunities that investments in natural capital can create,” said Nana Li, head of sustainability and ESG at Impax Asset Management.
The initiative comes at a time when investors have recognised the need for companies to integrate nature into their decision-making. Nature-related inaction represents a major financial risk, as identified by the World Economic Forum’s 2024 Risk Report as the third biggest global economic risk over the next 10 years.
The CIC said that company actions and initiatives should be guided by nature-focused standards and frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), the updated Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Biodiversity Standard, the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN) and the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (ESRS 4).
Furthermore, the group said that financial institutions signing the statement recognise the role that companies must play in achieving the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
“As investors, we have a fiduciary duty to minimise financially material risks to our portfolios, and that responsibility extends to nature-related risks. We see the assessment of impacts and dependencies on nature as a fundamental step in improving corporate action on nature,” said Matt Crossman, stewardship director at Rathbones Group.
The Coalition added: “What is required now is for companies to step up and for all stakeholders, including financial institutions, such as those signing this statement, to hold companies accountable for their actions – rewarding those that are taking positive steps and pressuring the laggards to do more.”
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