FfB Foundation has established a new Nature Transition Companies working group, co-chaired by Robert-Alexandre Poujade from BNP Paribas AM and Emine Isciel from Storebrand AM.
The working group will collaborate on a new, decision-useful nature transition framework with the objective of supporting financial institutions to identify companies that are credibly transitioning in alignment with the global nature-positive goal of halting and reversing nature loss by 2030. This includes assessing whether company-level flows are truly supporting the transition and, in doing so, providing longer-term confidence and stability for investors and markets.
Closing the biodiversity finance gap will primarily require redirecting financial flows across the broader economy toward companies that are reducing pressures on nature and progressively aligning their business models with nature-related goals. However, financial institutions currently lack a widely accepted framework, with clear and practical indicators, to assess whether companies are credibly progressing along the nature transition pathway.
While recent developments in nature-related disclosure frameworks and guidance have improved the ability of financial institutions to identify and measure impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities, they provide limited practical support for evaluating transition credibility and progress over time. Financial institutions therefore face a practical challenge in distinguishing between companies that are already aligned with the global nature-positive goal, those that are credibly transitioning, and those that remain misaligned.
The finance sector requires a practical and structured approach to assess corporate progress towards the global nature-positive goal, in the same way that the climate space has developed transition frameworks, taxonomies and tools to guide capital allocation and assess corporate progress. Without such an approach, financial institutions risk allocating capital inconsistently and reducing the credibility and effectiveness of nature-related transition finance.
The new Nature Transition Companies group will explore the following key areas:
- Role of financial institutions in scaling credible nature transition finance globally
- Translating this role into a practical framework to guide financial decision-making
- Ensuring the framework and model support alignment with the global nature-positive goal and guide financial decision-making accordingly
The framework will be consistent with existing guidance and frameworks from both the climate and nature fields, as well as with emerging practices from Finance for Biodiversity and the wider finance community.
Designed for use across the finance sector overall, including asset managers, asset owners, banks and other financial institutions, the framework will aim to remain adaptable across corporate asset classes, such as equities, bonds and others.
The framework will be developed through a structured, phased approach. The first foundational phase will focus on defining the core principles, structure, boundaries, and main categories/building blocks of the framework. This will be followed by a second technical development phase, during which the detailed criteria and indicators will be developed for each category/building block. The latter will also involve exploring how existing data sources can be mapped and matched to the indicators proposed, ensuring that the framework builds on available datasets and enhances practical assessments. Finally, the framework is expected to include a practical categorisation approach, in line with existing frameworks, to enable financial institutions to identify companies that credibly meet the proposed criteria or indicators.
Julen González Redín, Technical Director at Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, said:
“Achieving the global nature-positive goal will depend not only on mobilising additional capital but also on improving how existing capital is allocated. To do so, financial institutions need better confidence and practical guidance in assessing whether companies are genuinely progressing on their nature transition journey. We are proud to convene such a strong and collaborative group of financial institutions to help develop a practical and decision-useful framework that can strengthen credibility, consistency and action to help accelerate the transition of the real economy towards achieving the global nature-positive goal.”
Robert-Alexandre Poujade, Biodiversity Lead at BNP Paribas Asset Management, said:
“I am honoured to co-chair this new working group, which aims to harness the energy and ideas of the FfB community and partners. We heard the call that we need the equivalent of net zero for nature. That insight sparked the genesis of this initiative. Working towards a nature-positive financial system is an ambitious goal but could be difficult to achieve if nature remains absent from transition discussions and corporates lack financial incentives to transition. I look forward to implementing this nature transition framework alongside our investment teams.”
Emine Isciel, Head of Climate and Environment at Storebrand AM said:
“Financial markets play a critical role in enabling the transition to a nature-positive economy. At Storebrand Asset Management, we see the development of a clear and practical framework for nature transition companies as essential to support better capital allocation, strengthen market confidence, and ensure that financial flows are directed toward companies genuinely reducing pressures on nature. We are proud to co-chair this initiative and contribute to advancing credible, real-economy transition pathways.”