The PBAF ‘Finance and Nature Toolbox v1.0’ to support financial institutions in practical biodiversity knowledge application
As part of our collaboration aimed at advancing practical knowledge on biodiversity impact and dependency assessments, together with Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF) we have worked on a biodiversity capacity–building programme.
The joint awareness programme was delivered through a mix of formats, including collaborative training, and remote learning, to accommodate the diverse needs of participants. Leveraging the combined strengths of the collaboration, the program offered participants a unique opportunity to gain insights from leading experts in both finance and biodiversity.
A key deliverable of the program was The ‘Finance & Nature Toolbox’ programme, which consists of, amongst other things, an awareness programme of training and webinars and of building a ‘Finance and Nature Toolbox’ v1.0, supporting Financial Institutions (FIs) to take action on biodiversity.
The Finance and Nature Toolbox v1.0 is now published, and can be accessed here.
Why is the ‘Finance and Nature Toolbox v1.0’ important?
Lack of clarity on the right tools
The awareness of the need for biodiversity assessments for Financial institutions is developing quickly, so as the tools and solutions that can support these analyses. Each of these solutions can address specific needs and has different strengths and limitations that sometimes are not at first sight clear to practitioners.
Find the right tools for your questions
This is exactly what the PBAF Finance & Nature Toolbox is trying to address: What questions do financial institutions try to answer in different steps of the loan and investment process and which tools, databases and publications can support them in answering these questions?
Who is the toolbox for?
The toolbox is developed for asset owners, asset managers, impact investors and commercial banks. Not yet for insurers, although the insurance sector plays an important role in addressing biodiversity loss. The toolbox may be expanded to this sector in future updates.
How Impact Institute helps Financial Institutions manage their biodiversity impact
Impact Institute is a social enterprise and leading provider of software, data, advisory and educational services that enable organisations and investors to manage their impact. We house some of the world’s leading experts in impact valuation and developed the Impact-Weighted Accounts Framework (IWAF), in collaboration with the Impact Economy Foundation, Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University, and Erasmus University Rotterdam. Together with our sister organisation True Price, we continue to develop further True Price methodology and tools to measure and monetise impact.
We work in collaborative partnerships for impact, fostering cross-sector alliances and coalitions that tackle economic, social, and environmental issues and align efforts with global goals and principles, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read more about our coalitions and partnerships here, as well as some examples of our collaborations in the Sustainable Finance Transition, or contact us for more information.
Impact Institute offers various solutions to help financial institutions gather the data they need to identify their impact on biodiversity. Our core solution, the Global Impact Database (GID), is one of the most complete datasets of non-financial impacts at the country-sector level. The global coverage of our data solution makes it applicable to any region and industry. By quantifying and monetising impacts, we help businesses to make informed decisions on their risks and opportunities. Read more about the Global Impact Database and the GID Biodiversity Impact Data.
To read more about the importance of biodiversity for financial institutions and our guidance on this, head here. Check out also our Biodiversity Knowledge Base.
