Publications

Biodiversity Principles - Recommendations for the Financial Sector (450 KB | 16 pages)

In a new push for the valuation of biodiversity into finance, UNEP FI and partners German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the Association for Environmental Management and Sustainability in Financial Institutions (VfU) launched a one-of-a-kind set of guiding principles earlier this month.

The Biodiversity Principles – Recommendations for the financial sector, which was developed by and for financial institutions to hardwire biodiversity across the finance industry, steps up efforts to patch the current disconnect between financial sector and environmental protection advocates.

The guide specifically details how to integrate biodiversity in research activities, asset management, retail banking, insurance and re-insurance, corporate banking, investment banking and global markets as well as project finance.

"Financial institutions are increasingly beginning to recognize the importance of biodiversity," said sustainability manager at HypoVereinsbank Irina Detlefsen. “We hope that this guide will give a boost to such a major and under-addressed topic.”

German version

Published: 2011 | By: VfU, Bundesamt für Naturschutz, UNEP-FI

Tread lightly (3.4 MB | 96 pages)

In this report, the Natural Value Initiative (NVI) reviews 30 companies in the mining and oil and gas sectors with total market capitalisation of £1,638 billion (US$ 2,545 billion, Euro 1,900 billion) on how these companies address biodiversity and ecosystem services within their own organization. The survey supports and extends one conducted by Insight Investment and Fauna & Flora International in 2005. It evaluates progress made by the sectors in addressing the issue of biodiversity, responding to emerging thinking on ecosystem services and developing robust systems to manage risk and realise opportunity associated with these issues. The report outlines company responses, identifies strengths and areas of common weakness, makes recommendations for improvement and offers further actions for investors, government and the industry. It is these suggestions

for improvement that the investors involved in this study are using in their ongoing dialogue with companies identified as underperforming within the analysis.

Published: 2011 | By: Fauna & Flora International, VBDO, Nyenrode, UNEP FI

REDDy-Set-Grow Part II: Private sector suggestions for international climate change negotiators (1.2 MB | 45 pages)

In this report, the financial sector voices suggestions to international climate change negotiators on how an effective regime for forest-based climate change mitigation should be designed to mobilise private finance engagement and investment.

Executive Summary
Press Release

Published: 2011 | By: UNEP FI

Sustainable Insight - The nature of ecosystem service risks for business (2.21 MB | 20 pages)

In this issue of Sustainable Insight KPMG, Fauna & Flora International and UNEP FI review the extent to which companies are prepared to deal with Biodiversity and Ecosystem (BES) services challenges and examine whether this response reflects the magnitude of corporate impacts and dependencies on BES.

Published: 2011 | By: KPMG, Fauna and Flora International, UNEP FI

REDDy, Set, Grow - Opportunities and roles for financial institutions in forest carbon markets (1.7 MB | 41 pages)

This publication - the first of a two-part report - is designed to identify and tackle barriers to investment in forest-related projects, such as the UN-backed Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) scheme.

Executive Summary

Published: 2011 | By: UNEP FI

Demystifying Materiality: Hardwiring biodiversity and ecosystem services into finance (1.2 MB | 20 pages)

The CEO Briefing “Demystifying Materiality: Hardwiring biodiversity and ecosystem services into finance” is underpinned by the belief that biodiversity and ecosystems are crucial for understanding how natural capital can affect financial institutions, both in a positive and negative way. This publication features the findings from a survey among 48 UNEP FI and PRI members how they perceive the financial sector is exposed to biodiversity and ecosystem services, and how they embed biodiversity aspects in financial products and services. This publication clearly shows that the world is waking up to a 21st century type of banking, whereby environmental challenges - including loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation - go beyond reputation. The Briefing concludes with recommendations how this issue can be further hardwired into finance.

Versions: Japanese German
Senior executives' commentary
Press Release Press release in Spanish

Published: 2010 | By: UNEP FI

Biodiversity offsets and the mitigation hierarchy: a review of current application in the banking sector (2.6 MB | 43 pages)

Many development and commercial banks have adopted performance standards or requirements which oblige clients to seek to avoid and minimise harm caused to biodiversity by development projects, and finally to compensate for residual impacts. UNEP Finance Initiative and the Business and Biodiversity Offsets Programme (BBOP) are undertaking a study to more systematically analyse current practice in the financial sector with respect to the mitigation hierarchy and biodiversity offsets.

Published: 2010 | By: PricewaterhouseCoopers, BBOP, UNEP FI

The Natural Value Initiative: Linking Shareholder and Natural Value (3.1 MB | 78 pages)

The Natural Value Initiative (NVI) is a toolkit to enable investors to evaluate biodiversity impacts and ecosystem services dependency within the food, beverage and tobacco (FBT) sectors, which are especially dependent on the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity. UNEP Finance Initiative, international environmental NGO Fauna and Flora International, and the Brazilian business school FGV collaborated on this initiative which aims to raise awareness of the links between biodiversity, investment value and the finance sector. The Ecosystem Services Benchmark guidance document and the public report Linking Shareholder and Natural Value containing results of the analysis were launched by the Dutch Ministry of Environment at the UNEP FI Global Roundtable.
Executive summary

Published: 2009 | By: UNEP IF

The Natural Value Initiative: The Ecosystem Services Benchmark (2.6 MB | 40 pages)

The Natural Value Initiative (NVI) is a toolkit to enable investors to evaluate biodiversity impacts and ecosystem services dependency within the food, beverage and tobacco (FBT) sectors, which are especially dependent on the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity. UNEP Finance Initiative, international environmental NGO Fauna and Flora International, and the Brazilian business school FGV collaborated on this initiative which aims to raise awareness of the links between biodiversity, investment value and the finance sector. The Ecosystem Services Benchmark guidance document and the public report Linking Shareholder and Natural Value containing results of the analysis were launched by the Dutch Ministry of Environment at the UNEP FI Global Roundtable.

Published: 2009 | By: UNEP FI

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services - Bloom or Bust? (1.2 MB | 39 pages)

The business case for biodiversity & ecosystem services is not just about conserving endangered species. It is becoming an issue of global policy that the benefits provided by biodiversity are valued and accounted for within traditional business risk frameworks.

This report, developed by UNEP FI's Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services Work stream (BESW) provides direction for financial institutions that wish to manage biodiversity & ecosystem service risks more effectively. It also illustrates how opportunities and tools for financial products and services can be developed.

Published: 2008 | By: UNEP FI

CEO Briefing - Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Bloom or Bust? (930 KB | 12 pages)

This CEO Briefing provides a primer for institutions that wish to manage biodiversity and ecosystem service risks more effectively and also to understand how opportunities for financial products and services that support sustainable use of biodiversity & ecosystem services can be developed.

Published: 2007 | By: UNEP FI