This guide, which was created by members of the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation’s Impact Assessment working group and launched during COP 15, provides financial institutions with practical guidance on how to integrate biodiversity into their financing activities and decision-making, including how to start measuring impact and setting targets.
Acting now
Biodiversity is a relatively new topic for many, and a lot is currently ‘work in progress’: global targets are being negotiated, biodiversity footprinting tools are emerging, regulations and standards are being drafted. Amidst these developments, this operational guide aims to provide a pragmatic answer to the question: ‘What can financial institutions do now?’. Because, if we are to reverse nature loss in this decade, the finance sector needs to act now. This guide shows what action is possible with the data and tools currently available.
The V-process
The guide is structured around a five-step process, the V-process, which is proposed as a possible plan of action for financial institutions that wish to start acting on biodiversity now: 1) Explore, 2) Assess & Prioritize, 3) Integrate & Set targets, 4) Act, 5) Track progress. The V-process allows financial institutions to act upon several frameworks, standards, commitments, and recommendations at once (e.g., work by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN), Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, European Central Bank, and others).
Consultation and practical experience
This guide was co-authored by six active members of the FfB Foundation’s Impact Assessment working group. It builds on the authors’ practical experience and knowledge. Furthermore, the guide leverages the results of the consultation organised by the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation in November/December 2021. The consultation explored where the financial sector stands with regard to integrating biodiversity issues into financial decision-making.