Key Impact Points:
- Nature-positive focus: NatureAlign aids financial institutions in aligning investments with biodiversity goals, supporting global efforts like the Biodiversity Plan.
- Innovative analysis: The tool integrates diverse datasets for portfolio-level measurement, including exclusive data like the SEED Biocomplexity Index.
- User-centric design: Developed with feedback from 15 financial institutions, ensuring practical support for tracking and managing nature-related impacts.
Introducing NatureAlign: A Step Towards Nature-Positive Finance
NatureFinance has launched NatureAlign, an innovative tool designed to help financial institutions measure and enhance their alignment with nature-positive outcomes. This launch aligns with the Biodiversity Plan, formerly known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), addressing the pressing need for financial sectors to support global conservation efforts.
The Urgent Need for Action
According to UNEP, $7 trillion annually—equivalent to 7% of global GDP—is invested in activities that harm nature. Julie McCarthy, CEO of NatureFinance, stated: “Progress on saving nature is too slow, and money is not moving in the right direction… Financial institutions can dramatically transform both the business and natural landscape by proactively managing nature risks and seeking out nature positive opportunities in their decision-making.”
How NatureAlign Works
NatureAlign allows institutions to input investment and loan data into a ‘watchlist.’ The tool then analyzes this data using biophysical, spatial, and financial datasets, including unique resources like the SEED Biocomplexity Index from ETH Crowther Lab. Results are quickly generated, providing users with comprehensive maps and statistics about the state of nature, water risks, and critical natural assets related to their portfolios. The tool also helps identify sectors that exceed nature-related risk parameters and recommends targeted action.
Future Developments
Sarah Krisht, Nature Risk Lead at NatureFinance, emphasized the tool’s accessible and supportive approach: “User needs are at the core of NatureAlign, which is why we engaged with over fifteen financial institutions in developing it.” Future modules may offer frameworks for setting nature-related targets and explore the impact of modifying investments for positive environmental outcomes.
Moving Towards a Nature-Positive Economy
NatureAlign positions financial institutions to take leadership in redirecting investments towards nature-positive initiatives, fostering an economy that benefits nature, climate, and people.
Related Article: Over 500 Companies Adopt TNFD Framework for Nature, Biodiversity Risk Reporting
