A group of investors representing US$1.4 trillion in assets has asked companies to urgently assess and disclose their nature-related impacts and dependencies. The Nature Collective Impact Coalition – launched by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) – has approached 800 companies assessed under the WBA’s Nature Benchmark on associated risks across both the upstream and downstream parts of their value chains, noting that over 55% of the world’s GDP is either highly or moderately dependent on nature. “The unprecedented rate at which biodiversity is declining is nothing less than a global emergency,” said Nana Li, Head of Sustainability and ESG at Impax Asset Management. “To confront this loss effectively, companies must better protect biodiversity and embrace opportunities that investments in natural capital can create.” The 2023 iteration of the benchmark showed that just 2% of assessed companies have so far disclosed their environmental impacts – though none of them has comprehensively addressed and disclosed nature dependencies. Companies now need to “step up”, the coalition said, with investors rewarding those taking positive steps and pressuring the laggards to do more. “As investors, we have a fiduciary duty to minimise financially material risks to our portfolios, and that responsibility extends to nature-related risks,” said Matt Crossman, Stewardship Director at Rathbones. “We see the assessment of impacts and dependencies on nature as a fundamental step in improving corporate action on nature, and how it creates risks and opportunities.” Other members of the coalition include Scottish Widows, Velliv and the Swiss Association for Responsible Investors.
