Institutional investors have launched an engagement campaign with 100 companies over nature loss.
The investors, part of campaign group Nature Action 100, have called on the issuers to meet a list of expectations around nature-related risks. The companies are selected from a list of eight sectors, including metals and mining, food and chemicals. They have also been identified as having a high impact on nature, according to analysis by the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation.
The investor group says it will publish an annual benchmark from 2024 stating the progress made by the engagement targets.
The move comes as scrutiny grows on how companies are managing their impact on the natural world. In December 2022, delegates at the COP15 conference set up the Global Biodiversity Framework, which includes the goal of protecting 30 percent of the world’s land and sea by 2030.
Companies are also being prompted to talk more about nature and biodiversity issues, via new reporting regulations and guidance, such as the recently published final recommendations from the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures.
INVESTOR EXPECTATIONS
In total, 190 investors have signed up to Nature Action 100 with a combined $24 tn in assets under management. They include names such as EOS at Federated Hermes, Robeco and AXA Investment Managers.
The letter says investors are seeking ‘reassurance’ that companies will adapt their business models to align with the Global Biodiversity Framework. To achieve this, they call on companies to meet six investor expectations, covering areas like ambition, disclosure, target-setting and governance. For example, companies should set ‘time-bound, context-specific, science-based targets’ and report on progress annually, according to the letter.
‘As a member of the Nature Action 100 Launching Investor Group, we are gratified and energized by the strong response we’ve received from both asset managers and asset owners around the world,’ says Adam Kanzer, head of stewardship for the Americas at BNP Paribas Asset Management. ‘We believe this sends a very strong signal to the global markets: we must work together to reverse the systemic risk of nature loss. We have limited time but, working together with these 100 companies, we believe we can make a considerable difference. The real work begins now.’
