Leading up to Sustainable Finance Live 2024, that will be taking place on 8 October at Events@No6 in London, Richard Peers, founder of ResponsibleRisk and keynote speaker at the event, conducted an interview with FinextraTV on the impact of biodiversity in the Nordics.
Peers spoke to Mads Steinmuller, head of climate and nature at Danske Bank asset management, to discuss their findings on how 100 of the largest companies in the Nordics are impacted by biodiversity.
In the Danske Bank report released, Navigating Biodiversity Impact: A review of 100 Nordic Companies, the bank assessed the state of nature in the Nordics. Steinmuller detailed that they looked into 100 companies’ sustainability reports and data, examining impacts and dependencies in a push to build up more data on biodiversity impact.
He explained that a big obstacle was that many companies are aware that they have issues, but had not outlined those issues and set targets for improving their nature approach. The whitepaper found that 73% of companies surveyed were finding challenges navigating the complexity of biodiversity. Though the few that are leading the pack, Steinmuller stated, were embarking on restoration initiatives, and setting science-based targets to mitigate their dependencies.
“Biodiversity is very local. It’s not like climate, where you have CO2 emissions. You have local issues around the world, and these are the ones you need to map to understand business risks and get those insights. Then you can start setting targets.”
Steinmuller emphasised that nature is an increasingly urgent issue, as half of the world's GDP is dependent on nature and nature loss is at a critical stage. He furthered that Danske Bank is focused on supporting more companies in their nature transition, and the biodiversity and nature guidance that emerged in 2023 is a good sign for the future of nature action in the financial sector.
The role of finance and technology in climate change and nature loss are key themes in this year’s Sustainable Finance Live conference, with a focus on natural capital and biodiversity.
Learn more about combatting biodiversity and nature loss at Sustainable Finance Live, where experts and industry leaders will come together to explore and strategise on the future of sustainable finance in nature. Register for attendance and take a look at the agenda here.