Second edition of the report on business models and financing for nature. We created this overview of ten existing case studies involving financial institutions from the EU Finance & Biodiversity Community, which is facilitated by NextGreen.

Second edition of the report on business models and financing for nature. We created this overview of ten existing case studies involving financial institutions from the EU Finance & Biodiversity Community, which is facilitated by NextGreen.

Context

Financial institutions are working to reduce their negative impact on biodiversity and nature. As the tools for this go mainstream, frontrunners are turning their attention to increasing their positive impact, or ‘Nature Investing’. The European Commission is also working to restore ecosystems through the Nature Restoration Law. One of the pathways for this is Nature-based Solutions (NbS). NbS contribute to challenges such as climate adaptation, pollination, and health, while strengthening the resilience of nature. They reduce risks for businesses and offer financial institutions new financing opportunities.

The EU Business & Biodiversity Platform’s Finance Workstream has released a second version of its report, featuring practical examples of existing business cases that contribute to nature conservation and restoration, including Nature-based Solutions (NbS). The ten examples serve as inspiration for the public and private sectors and aim to scale up financing opportunities. The report identifies promising sectors based on the materiality and impact of the financing.

Approach and activities

Together with the financial institutions from the Workstream Finance and the European Commission, we formed a subgroup to develop a format for exploring the business cases in detail. This subgroup also drew up criteria for which examples to include. NextGreen facilitated this subgroup by organizing the meetings, collecting the examples, and compiling the overall report. Participants complemented the introductory text and conclusions that NextGreen drafted based on the input.

Subgroup participants presented the first edition of the report during a webinar on private-sector contributions to resource mobilization for COP16, and at an in-person event on Positive Impact & Innovations at COP16 in Cali, Colombia.

The second edition will be featured at EU Green Week 2026: Investing in a Nature-Positive Economy, which will take place in Brussels from June 3 to 4.