22.10.2024 | News
The second round of Nefco’s biodiversity pilot programme aims to put nature impact assessments at the heart of business decision-making and deliver new learning for companies and financial institutions.
Nefco – the Nordic Green Bank – announces the continuation of its pioneering Biodiversity Pilot Programme in conjunction with the UN Biodiversity Conference COP16, held in Cali, Colombia, 21 October – 1 November 2024. Nefco’s Biodiversity Pilot Programme focuses on integrating concrete actions to promote biodiversity within companies’ business activities and seeks solutions that offer long-term impacts.
Nefco is now looking to engage new pilot companies among its clients for the second pilot programme, which is scheduled to commence during 2025.
Focusing on the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the UN Biodiversity Conference COP16 seeks to close the biodiversity finance gap of USD 700 billion per year. Current finance flows to nature-based solutions are valued at USD 200 billion, only a third of what is needed to reach climate, biodiversity and land degradation targets for 2030, according to a UNEP report.
As a financier focused on environmental impacts, biodiversity is at the heart of Nefco’s operations. Katariina Vartiainen, Senior Manager, Environment and Sustainability at Nefco, comments: “Financial institutions are in a key position to prevent nature loss and conserve and restore nature through their investment activities. With the great results from our first pilot programme, we have shown that financial institutions can deliver concrete biodiversity benefits by collaborating with their clients, including small and medium-sized companies.”
Nefco’s first Biodiversity Pilot Programme developed and tested biodiversity solutions in collaboration with companies. The programme supported six small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in identifying biodiversity-related risks and opportunities in their activities. In addition to mapping the impacts of their businesses and value chains on nature, as well as identifying their dependencies on nature, the programme sought to find solutions to manage the companies’ impacts on biodiversity.
The pilot companies will gain experience in biodiversity protection, develop a biodiversity management plan and take concrete steps to tackle biodiversity loss. The new pilot companies will be selected during the coming months and the programme activities will be tailored according to their size and needs.
“This is a great opportunity for our portfolio companies. We are excited to embark on this journey with our clients and scale up the learnings from the first pilot programme,” says Vartiainen.
For more information, please contact:
Katariina Vartiainen, Senior Manager, Environment and Sustainability, Nefco
katariina.vartiainen@nefco.int, +358 10 618 0485
About the Biodiversity Pilot Programme
Nefco’s Biodiversity Pilot Programme establishes concrete biodiversity actions in collaboration with companies and shares knowledge on nature-positive impact strategies. The programme offers workshops, peer learning and facilitated sessions with specialists. The participating companies will gain experience in biodiversity protection, develop a biodiversity management plan and take concrete steps to tackle biodiversity loss. Steered by Nefco, the programme is funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers through the Nordic Environment Development Fund, which is managed by Nefco.
Learn more: www.nefco.int/biodiversity