The aim of the UNEP FI guidance is to help the signatory banks to align their portfolios with the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which has been described as the equivalent of the Paris Agreement, but for biodiversity. Like the Paris Agreement, the GBF contains short-term targets for 2030 and long-term goals for 2050. In the working group, Nordea is represented by Anna-Karin Modin-Edman, who is senior biodiversity specialist in Group Sustainability.
“Collaboration is key in order to advance further and faster and we’ve prioritised being part of the working group to advance in this field. It’s important to remember that biodiversity is still a comparatively new topic for the financial sector and there is a need to develop processes, methodologies and collect data to set good and impactful targets. We have moved forward when it comes to integration of climate into our business, now we will make the same journey with biodiversity. Action on climate and nature must go hand in hand,” explains Anna-Karin.
Nordea is already working with biodiversity in multiple ways across the business, for example in investee company engagements and stakeholder dialogues. Nordea Asset Management (NAM) is a signatory of the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge and has several stakeholder dialogues and engagements related to biodiversity and ecosystems. NAM has also lately published a specific white paper on biodiversity. In June NAM joined Nature Action 100, a global investor engagement initiative focused on driving greater corporate ambition and action to reverse nature and biodiversity loss.
While Nordea now also has its first thematic guideline on biodiversity which defines our position and describes our current work and commitments, much will advance in the coming years. In the first quarter of 2024, Nordea will publish practice targets on biodiversity in its annual report which is a first step in addressing the topic in line with the guidance from the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB).
“The industry has taken a big and important step forward with this joint approach. As half of the world’s GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature, inaction to nature and biodiversity loss creates a significant material financial risk for the finance industry,” concludes Anna-Karin.
The working group on biodiversity is part of the United Nations Environment Finance Initiative and is formed to provide guidance and recommendations on how banks can set biodiversity and nature-related targets. The working group consists of 34 banks which all have signed the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) as well as world-leading nature finance experts.