BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP AM) and CDP have announced a partnership aiming to “move the needle” on biodiversity measurement within companies through the development of a common reporting framework.
The groups will come up with a “new norm” of reporting on biodiversity and therefore enable financial institutions to make biodiversity-conscious investment decisions based on reliable data.
The aim is to:
- incentivise companies to reduce biodiversity loss driven by business practices; and
- raise company and financial institutional awareness on biodiversity risks to support increased disclosure.
Robert-Alexandre Poujade, ESG analyst at BNP Paribas Asset Management, comments: “The asset management industry is in urgent need of better data on biodiversity and how it is impacted by capital allocation choices. There is unprecedented interest from financial institutions and companies to better understand how they can make biodiversity-conscious investment decisions based on reliable data and thus reward companies that are managing natural resources sustainably.
“BNPP AM has a strong desire to be ‘part of the solution’ during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and through our partnership with CDP, we aim to enhance corporate disclosure to effectively address biodiversity loss.”
CDP, which runs a global environmental disclosure system, said it is expanding its work to accelerate the protection and restoration of nature, and with BNPP AM it will “contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services maintenance”. It also added the new framework will encourage corporate behavioural change by favouring those companies that are managing natural resources sustainably.
Cate Lamb, global director of water security at CDP, comments: “For over 20 years, CDP has worked with investors, businesses, governments and other NGOs to drive systemic change and achieve our vision of a thriving economy that works for people and planet in the long term. Environmental disclosure through CDP provides insights that lead to actions resulting in positive change, and now more than ever, there is an urgent need to accelerate action and mainstream corporate reporting on biodiversity impacts.
“This partnership allows CDP to build on our decade long work on water and forests, enhance the quality and quantity of environmental data created and made available to the market and accelerate positive corporate impact on biodiversity on an industrial scale.”
It is aiming for a common, standardised suite of biodiversity-related indicators to be produced by early 2022. Subject to further funding, CDP hopes to integrate these into their corporate questionnaires ready for the 2023 disclosure period.
