INVESTOR EXPECTATIONS

As FSDA members are implementing their commitment, they have developed investor expectations to support company engagements. These expectations are grounded in the Commitment, informed by relevant science and best practices, and anticipated to evolve over time.

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IMPLEMENTATION

Address deforestation risk: 

  • Finance Sector Roadmap: AFI-aligned and endorsed Finance Sector Roadmap provides stepwise guidance and actions for financial institutions to tackle deforestation in their portfolios and meet the Commitment. It brings together the best available data and tools, showing financial institutions how they can map risk, set policies, identify and engage with non-compliant portfolio constituents, and look to increase exposure to nature-positive activities.
  • Examples of instruments  that can be used by clients and holdings to combat commodity deforestation: SBTi-FLAG , SBTN, TNFD and CDP.

Platform examples related to NbS Investment

  • NBS pilot investment platform is focused on Nature-based Solutions (NbS), including Regenerative and Sustainable Agriculture, Forests, and Land Use. It is a nascent platform intended to begin filling a void in this crucial area, demystifying the landscape of NbS investment opportunities, and evolve over time as those opportunities expand. It is not a platform for investment advice.
  • The Little Book of Investing in Nature offers an essential overview of biodiversity finance and gathers information on various innovative financial products and services developed by the public and private sectors to shift investment away from nature-damaging activities to nature-positive ones.
  • Fund for Nature: a first-of-its-kind debt fund for nature-based carbon projects which  aims to increase the supply of high-quality nature-based carbon projects to meet the growing demand from corporate off-takers while increasing the economic benefit to project implementers and local communities.

Progress so far:

  • Investor Expectations & Company Engagements: FSDA signatories developed and published shared investor expectations that they have been using in connection with stepping up engagement with companies on increasing actions that address their deforestation impact.
  • Data Providers: FSDA signatories are engaging with major data providers to call for issuer-level data on deforestation risk exposure and management.
  • Policies: Investors have made progress in enhancing or establishing deforestation policies.
  • Investment in Nature-Based Solutions: FSDA signatories are implementing strategies and increasing investments in nature-based solutions:
  • Case studies and more to be shared soon. 
FSDA CONNECTIVITY ACROSS THE NATURE FINANCE ECOSYSTEM

Tackling deforestation is essential to achieving net zero targets and reversing nature and biodiversity loss

Signals of Change 

Target-setting, disclosure, and action frameworks increasingly specify the need for addressing nature-related risks and opportunities 

  • SBTi FLAG Guidance: SBTi FLAG guidance stipulates a no-deforestation commitment with a target date no later than 2025.
  • Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD): released a framework (v0.3) for companies and financial institutions to assess, disclose and manage nature-related risk building on the work of existing initiatives in this space (TCFD).
  • Science Based Targets Network (SBTN): is developing guidance for companies to set appropriate targets to reduce, eliminate, and reverse biodiversity loss in their operations and supply chains.
Call to action

Financial institutions can access and sign on to the Financial Sector Commitment on Eliminating Agricultural Commodity-Driven Deforestation by accessing this aforementioned form. For any queries, please email deforestationfree@climatechampions.team.

View FAQs here.

Events

Finance for Biodiversity Foundation/Finance and Deforestation Advisory Group Webinar: in collaboration with Finance for Biodiversity

Nature Positive for a Net Zero Future: London Climate Action Week

Nature Positive for a Net Zero Future: Climate Action Week New York

Financing Nature Podcast: Financing Nature’s COP27 Special Series

FSDA at COP15: Ending Commodity-Driven Deforestation and Scaling up NBS

UPCOMING in 2023: London Climate Action Week 2023 (details to follow)

Media

Assessing the Financial Impact of Land-Use Transition on the Food & Agricultural Sector

Why Net-Zero Needs Zero Deforestation Now

5 ways businesses can implement the new Global Biodiversity Framework

TNFD launches latest framework for nature-related financial disclosure

UNEP: CBD COP15 ends with landmark biodiversity agreement

Responsible Investor: Carney calls on FIs to integrate nature and biodiversity in transition plans.

IFRS: ISSB describes the concept of sustainability and its articulation with financial value creation and announces plans to advance work on natural ecosystems and just transition

BNN Bloomberg: Asset Managers Forced to Confront Biodiversity Risk Most Had Ignored

Responsible Investor: COP15 deal should make financial regulators ‘sit up and listen’- Schroders.

Forest 500 report assesses finance institutions in the Race to Zero, GFANZ, or with other significant climate commitments annually on their efforts to address deforestation.

Nature Action 100 engages companies in key sectors deemed systemically important in reversing nature and biodiversity loss by 2030.

Race to Zero: Leading financial institutions commit to actively tackle deforestation

IPE: Why we need deforestation-free portfolios by 2025

FT: COP26: Global leaders sign pledge to halt deforestation

Responsible Investor: Letter from Brazil: Meeting net zero and eliminating deforestation

Investment Week: Asset management firms pledge to fight deforestation by 2025

Euractiv: G7 leadership is critical to put the brakes on deforestation

Responsible Investor: 100+ days since COP Deforestation Commitments – why every investor needs to act now

Make My Money Matter: Cutting Deforestation from Our Pensions

Thomson Reuters: OPINION: Nature will help drive a better, faster COVID-19 recovery

Investment Week Storebrand AM: Eliminating commodity-driven deforestation

Tackling commodity-driven deforestation

$8.9 trillion Assets under Management

The signatory financial institutions commit to use best efforts to tackle commodity-driven deforestation impacts in their investment and lending portfolios by 2025. The commitment is focused on addressing agricultural commodities that are responsible for the lion’s share of deforestation impacts:  beef, soy, palm oil, pulp & paper. Their stated intention is to reduce deforestation-related risks while supporting the transition to a sustainable agricultural sector.

The signatory organisations will individually create organisational plans, milestones, and incentives to meet the proposed timelines, aligned with a Paris Agreement-compliant 1.5°C pathway.

Signatories

ACTIAM; AP2; Australian Ethical Investment; Aviva plc; AXA Group; Banco Estado de Chile; Boston Common Asset Management; Capital + SAFI S.A.; Church Commissioners for England; Church of England Pensions Board; Comgest; CPEG; Domini Impact Investments LLC; East Capital Group; Fidelity International; GAM Investments; Generation IM; Grupo Bancolombia; Impax Asset Management PLC; International Business of Federated Hermes; JGP Asset Management; Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM); LGPS Central Limited; Lombard Odier; London CIV; Menhaden PLC; NEI Investments; NN Investment Partners; Robeco; Schroders; SCOR SE; Skandia; SouthBridge Group; Sparebank 1 Forsikring; Storebrand Asset Management; Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management; TCI Fund Management Ltd; The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum.

Find out more

Interested in learning more about the Financial Sector Commitment Letter on Eliminating Agricultural Commodity-Driven Deforestation?

Please click here for Frequently Asked Questions.

ADVISORY GROUP