BNP Paribas AM and CDP partner to accelerate biodiversity reporting metrics

BNP Paribas AM and CDP partner to accelerate biodiversity reporting metrics

May 20, 2021

ESG-investing Impact investing ESG
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BNP Paribas Asset Management and CDP announced a partnership to explore and support the development of common biodiversity corporate reporting metrics. With BNPP AM’s backing, CDP will start to develop a common, globally relevant corporate biodiversity reporting framework that accelerates action on nature within the private sector.

CDP, which runs a global environmental disclosure system, is expanding its work to accelerate the protection and restoration of nature. The partnership with BNPP AM will aim to ‘move the needle’ on this work by establishing a new norm of reporting on biodiversity, and in doing so enable the integration of biodiversity data into investment, business and policy decision making globally.

This partnership aims to accelerate corporate environmental disclosure, which is critical to driving change, through:
• Incentivising companies to reduce biodiversity loss driven by business practices.
• Raising company and financial institutional awareness on biodiversity risks to support increased disclosure.

Global biodiversity, although critically important to human health, economies and livelihoods, is declining faster than at any other time in history. More than 31,000 species - 27% of all assessed species - are threatened with extinction1, highlighting the urgent need to integrate biodiversity considerations into decision making across all sectors.

By enabling financial institutions to make biodiversity-conscious investment decisions based on reliable data, BNPP AM and CDP will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services maintenance.

The partnership will build on the growing momentum in the financial and corporate worlds as both seek to understand environmental interlinkages and transform biodiversity data reporting. Such new reporting is also expected to encourage corporate behavioural change by favouring those companies that are managing natural resources sustainably and reducing negative impacts on species and ecosystems, thereby reducing biodiversity loss.

'The world is at a tipping point, requiring the reallocation of financial capital and shifts in measurement, transparency and accountability if environmental goals are to be met, as demonstrated by the UN's post- 2020 global biodiversity targets and the SDGs. Environmental disclosure is critical to enable companies to manage their impacts on biodiversity and stay on target to meet these goals. However, the current perception in the corporate sector is that the role of business in mitigating biodiversity loss is still not clear enough.'

The development of common biodiversity metrics is therefore crucial to enabling the integration of biodiversity data into investment decision-making, resulting in positive environmental change. The partnership plays an important role within BNPP AM’s wider initiatives focused on protecting and preserving the environment, a key pillar of its Global Sustainability Strategy, which is aligned with the BNP Paribas Group's environmental and biodiversity commitments.

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