In 2025, the collaboration centred around defining the focus areas of the research and formulating the research questions that are relevant for the topic. As a result of this work, the real estate sector* was selected as the key focus area.
“The real estate sector plays a significant role in stopping biodiversity loss, as land use, material flows and energy consumption related to buildings have adverse impacts on nature. While the role of a single property may be small, the weight of the real estate sector as a whole is significant – both in terms of societal sustainability and bank financing,” says Veronica Palmgren.
The key research questions focus around investigating how the real estate sector impacts biodiversity the most and what causes these impacts. The significance of different impacts also varies, ranging from land use to energy and material consumption. In addition, the life cycle of a property has many stages, including potential changes in ownership and financing.
Bodiversity footprint as a tool in risk management
“In this research programme, we try to establish a clear division of life cycle responsibilities related to the biodiversity footprint. We are also investigating what kind of insights and data are required to develop a model for assessing the biodiversity footprint of properties that can be applied to the entire financing sector and what the role of banks should be in the life cycle,” says Janne Kotiaho, Professor at the University of Jyväskylä and Chair of the Finnish Nature Panel.
The research collaboration will be continued in 2026 by digging deeper into the questions that have now been defined. The aim is to create a general model for assessing the biodiversity footprint of the banking sector in the real estate sector. In addition, the research programme will continue to study the role of the biodiversity footprint as a tool in banks’ risk management toolbox.
“By supporting research into biodiversity footprints, we strive to increase the understanding of the corporate and financial sector and society at large about nature-related risks. After they are ready, the research and its findings, including data, will be openly accessible to all stakeholders, thereby contributing to the societal sustainability transition in the Nordics,” says Veronica Palmgren from Nordea.
The University of Jyväskylä is one of Europe’s leading universities in the field of biodiversity research. Read more about the donation.
*In the research programme, the real estate sector covers office, production and warehouse premises.
