The Nature Action 100 institutional investor initiative on Monday identified eight sectors it will engage with on nature and biodiversity and released a list of actions it expects corporations in those industry to take.
NA100, launched during COP15 in Montreal in December, seeks to work with institutional investors and major corporations in key sectors to halt and reverse nature and biodiversity loss.
“Nature Action 100 aims to drive greater corporate ambition and action in eight key sectors that are deemed to be systemically important in reversing nature and biodiversity loss by 2030, a critical threshold scientists say is necessary to avoid more catastrophic climate change and the attendant economic consequences,” it said in an announcement Monday.
Following a webinar with involved investors, NA100 said it had decided to engage broadly with companies in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, chemicals, households and personal goods, consumer goods retail, food production including processed foods, food and beverage retail, forestry and paper, and metals and mining.
“With more than half of the world’s GDP reliant on nature and its services, depleting natural capital creates significant operational, regulatory, litigation, and reputational risk for investors and businesses alike, and negative economic repercussions globally,” NA100 said.
“Hundreds of billions of global crop outputs are at risk annually from pollinator loss, posing operational risk for companies sourcing agricultural commodities. Some estimates, tens of billions of dollars in assets could be at risk of stranding over the next 5 to 10 years if companies continue to produce deforestation-linked commodities.”
The investors involved in NA100 listed six types of actions they expect companies in the selected sectors to take, including publicly committing to minimise their contributions to key drivers of nature loss and to conserve and restore ecosystems at their operational level as well as throughout their value chains by 2030.
Expectations also include assessing and disclosing dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities, in line with guidelines from the Taskforce on Nature-related Disclosures (TFND) and set time-bound, specific targets, similar to what is being developed by the Science Based Targets for Nature (SBTN).
Furthermore, they’ll be expected to hammer out plans for how to meet the targets in collaboration with Indigenous peoples and local communities, establish board oversight over nature and biodiversity performance, and engage with external actors, including those in their value chains, trade groups, and policy makers.
Companies should also report publicly on their progress on all these issues, according to NA100.
A final list of specific corporations NA100 will engage with will be released by the end of the year.
Participating investors in the initiative include AXA Investment Managers, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Church Commissioners for England, Domini Impact Investments, Federated Hermes Limited, Karner Blue Capital, Robeco, Storebrand Asset Management, and Christian Brothers Investment Services.
However, the group is eager to involve more investors, and on Monday also published a form that can be filled out and submitted by interested investors.
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