The Finance for Biodiversity Pledge was initiated by the participants of the EU Community of Practice Finance and Biodiversity, a CoP facilitated by NextGreen.

Initiative Anne-Marie Bor, NextGreen, and Anita de Horde, De Horde Advies
Duration 2020 – present

The Finance for Biodiversity Pledge was initiated by the participants of the EU Community of Practice Finance and Biodiversity, a CoP facilitated by NextGreen.

Context

To reverse global biodiversity loss, a transition is needed across all sectors of society. For financial institutions, biodiversity loss is a business risk. Banks, insurers, and asset managers recognize that their investments can have both a positive and a negative impact on nature and biodiversity. In Europe, these institutions share their experiences within the Finance & Biodiversity Community, part of the EU Business & Biodiversity Platform.

The participants from the Finance & Biodiversity Community, facilitated by NextGreen, focused on the theme “Responsibility and Ambition.” They collaborated on a collective “Finance for Biodiversity Pledge” and committed themselves to preserving and restoring biodiversity. Supported by NextGreen and De Horde Advies, the signatories have been joining forces in the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation since 2021. There are now more than 200 signatories to the Pledge and nearly 100 partners within the foundation. The foundation is led by Executive Director Anita de Horde, and Anne-Marie Bor is the other director.

Objective

• Raising awareness of biodiversity among financial institutions and governments
• Joining forces and facilitating joint development
• Encourage heads of state to make ambitious commitments regarding biodiversity goals, plans, and actions, such as at the UN Conference of the Parties (COP) on Biological Diversity

Approach and activities

As part of the EU Finance & Biodiversity Community’s mandate, NextGreen, in collaboration with De Horde Advies, facilitated a subgroup to develop an ambitious commitment with broad support. The group also developed guidance that includes examples for each commitment.

The Pledge has since evolved into an independent foundation, funded by financial contributions from the participating institutions. Within the foundation, the partners collaborate in thematic working groups and subgroups that they chair themselves. The secretariat supports these groups with strategy, organization, publications, and communication to ensure that their activities have the greatest possible impact.

Together with: Anita de Horde from De Horde Advies