Natural Capital Investment EMEA 2024

12 March 2024, London

Agenda

08:50

Chair’s welcoming remarks

Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

09:00

Keynote address: The direction of travel for nature-positive policies in the UK

Speaker:
The Rt Hon Lord Benyon, Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

09:15

Keynote panel: Structuring nature-positive transactions that deliver

  • Are investors ready to deliver on the commitments from the Global Biodiversity Framework?
  • What does a nature positive fund look like?
  • What should it consider and how is impact measured?
  • How are opportunities identified and risks quantified?
  • Developing biodiversity investment frameworks: How do you build biodiversity into outcomes?
  • Why are biodiversity funds are not yet seeing mass market interest from large institutional investors?
  • Overcoming challenges in data: Footprinting, disclosures, modelled/proxy data – how do you navigate different types of data?

Moderator:
Peter Cripps, Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Danielle Brassel, Director - Responsible Investment, Zurich Insurance Group
Jacqueline Jackson, Chief Sustainability Officer, London CIV
Sylvain Vanston, Head of Climate and Biodiversity Investment Research, MSCI
Nick Moss, Head of Nature Based Solutions, Nuveen Natural Capital

10:00

TNFD: Driving momentum for the next phase

  • How is the Taskforce pivoting its focus to support adoption of the recommendations?
  • Use cases: who has disclosed thus far and what has been their experience?
  • How are nature-related corporate reporting activities evolving as a result? Are corporates and investors behaving different because of TNFD? What action has it led to?
  • How as sector specific guidance been received?
  • How are the ISSB and GRI and corporate reporting intermediaries incorporating the TNFD recommendations into their current and future standards and reporting platforms on nature-related issues? How will it fit with CSRD?
  • Will nature-related reporting become mandatory?

Moderator:
Thomas Moran, VP and Head of Biodiversity Products, GIST Impact

Panellists:
Abyd Karmali, Managing Director, Environmental Business Advisory, Bank of America, Taskforce Member, TNFD
Matthieu Maurin, CEO and Co-Founder, Iceberg Data Lab
Sue Armstrong-Brown, Global Director for Thought Leadership, CDP
Tomas Zaborowski, Global Head of Sustainability Excellence, Bayer

 

10:45

Morning networking break

11:15

Biodiversity credits – integrity at the forefront

  • What is the potential for this embryonic market, and what obstacles does it face?
  • What standards are being developed and what is the methodology behind them?
  • What will the supply of credits be like?
  • What are the opportunities for investors and corporates in this space? Should there be secondary trading?
  • What lessons can be learned from carbon markets?
  • How can indigenous people and local communities be a part of the conversation and the preservation of biodiversity?
  • How do the UK's Nature Market Principles aim to encourage private investment in nature recovery?

Moderator:
Jessica Smith, Nature Lead, UNEP FI

Panellists:
Ashley Camhi, Director of Innovative Finance, Wildlife Conservation Society
Dianah Nalwanga-Wabwire, Head of Biodiversity Programme, ECOTRUST
Sinclair Vincent, Director of Sustainable Development Innovation, Verra
Toral Shah,
Biodiversity Coordinator, Plan Vivo Foundation

 

12:00

Fireside chat: Nature Action 100 and the power of nature-based engagement initiatives

Moderator:
Norah Berk, Senior Program Manager, Nature, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)

Speakers:
Harry Ashman, Engagement Specialist, Robeco
Joe Horrocks-Taylor, Vice President, Responsible Investment, Columbia Threadneedle Investments

12:30

Networking lunch break

13:30

TRACK ONE

Chair: Annabelle Palmer, Content Strategist, Environmental Finance

TRACK TWO

Chair: Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

Panel: Science-based targets for nature – how are investors setting nature-related targets and commitments?

Panel: Regen-ag and food production

  • How can investors to analyse their exposure to nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities and how these relate to their fiduciary duty?
  • What role can ESG data providers play here?
  • How sectoral, engagement and portfolio coverage targets enable investors to set engagement and stewardship targets.
  • How can targets further consolidate industry-wide convergence on biodiversity targets, metrics and measurements?

Moderator:
Anita de Horde, Executive Director, Finance for Biodiversity Foundation

Panellists:
Charlotte Apps, Sustainable Investing Analyst, Fidelity International
Chris Hart, Nature Subject Matter Expert, Phoenix Group
Jean-Francois Coppenolle, Investment Director - Climate and ESG, Abeille Assurances, MRV Group Co-Lead, Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA)
Reza Marvasti, Senior Product Manager, ISS ESG

 

  • How can investors seize the biggest NBS opportunity out there?
  • How do you generate returns in a fund?
  • Deciphering food chains and reconfiguring supply chains to value nature
  • What are the options for innovative insurance structures, offtakes agreements and supporting farmers? How will the cost of regen-ag be passed on?
  • How difficult is it to move from a climate adaptation-based approach to including nature? 

Moderator:
Tanja Havemann, Co-founder, Director, Clarmondial

Panellists:
Carl Atkin-House, Senior Investment Manager, Climate Asset Management
Charlotte Ward, Global Director, Head of Operations & Financing, Unilever Climate & Nature Fund
Gautier Quéru, Managing Director, Natural Capital, Mirova
Ricardo Vernazza-Paganini,
European Head, Agriculture Capital Management

14:15

TRACK ONE

TRACK TWO

Panel: Managing landscapes for optimal returns and sustainability outcomes

Panel: Sovereigns – spearheading the transition towards a nature-positive planet

  • How have the main trends in forestry investments evolved?
  • How do investment decisions and management need to evolve to adapt to the threat from climate change?
  • What are the options for additional revenue streams that prioritise sustainability and facilitative net zero impacts?
  • How do you assess biodiversity impacts?

Moderator:
Vian Sharif, Founder, NatureAlpha

Panellists:
Céline Claudon, Chief Commercial Officer, International Woodland Company
Darius Sarshar, Principal, Europe SLM Partners
Jeff Briggs, Managing Director, North America, New Forests
Vittor Cancian, Senior Portfolio Manager, Private Natural Capital, APG Asset Management

  • What options do sovereigns have at their disposal to make an impact in nature and climate and drive investment in this space?

  • What is the potential for debt-for-nature swaps? How are such deals being structures and received by the market?
  • Blue bonds: How are investors approaching opportunities to invest in the blue economy?
  • What guidance has been issued for sovereigns and investors thinking about opportunities in this space?

Moderator:
Barbara Oldani, Stakeholder Engagement Lead, Sustainability-linked Sovereign Debt Hub (SSDH)

Panellists:
Imane Kabbaj, Head of Sustainable Investments Specialist, Carmignac
Justine Leigh-Bell, Executive Director, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute
Simone Utermarck, Senior Director, Sustainable Finance, International Capital Market Association (ICMA)
Jojo Ow
, Executive Director, Sustainable DCM, Standard Chartered Bank

15:00

Networking coffee break

15:30

Panel: What is needed for the policy landscape support nature-positive outcomes?

  • What type of policy support is needed to stimulate natural capital investments?
  • What public policies does the private sector need to optimise opportunities and overcome challenges?
  • How can public policy help financial institutions to better manage and mitigate the material financial risks stemming from nature loss?
  • How can financial institutions use stewardship as a tool to stimulate nature-positive corporate conduct and supportive public policies?

Moderator:
Tim Steinweg, Head of Stewardship (Nature), UNPRI
Panellists:
Deepshikha Singh, Head of Stewardship, La Francaise Asset Management
Kevin Flowers, Deputy Head of Sustainable Finance Unit, European Commission
Wijnand Broer, Programme Manager, Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF)
Shipra Gupta, Investments Stewardship Lead, Scottish Widows

 

16:15

Panel: Barriers to entry for natural capital investment and how to overcome them

  • How should you value nature?
  • How do you scale investment opportunities with integrity and impact in mind?
  • What lessons can be learned from climate finance?
  • How are blended finance structures being created?
  • What is holding back natural capital investments from DFIs and private capital? Should DFIs/MDBs be playing a bigger role in nature-based solutions?

Moderator:
Caroline van Leenders, Senior Process Manager, Sustainable Transitions, Netherlands Enterprise

Panellists:
Daniel Farchy, Climate Investment Manager, Private Sector Facility, Green Climate Fund
Esben Brandi, Head of Business Development, BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group
Maya Hennerkes, Director, Green Financial Systems, Climate Strategy and Delivery, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Neelesh Agrawal, Founder & CEO, Calculus Carbon

 

17:00

Closing fireside chat: seizing the opportunities ahead

  • A round up of the themes discussed during the day and what this means for natural capital investment
  • A case study from Federated Hermes and Finance Earth as a use case for what a nature-positive fund looks like
  • What are the lessons learned and future opportunities for investors?

Moderator:
Genevieve Redgrave, Reporter, Environmental Finance

Speakers:
Rich Fitton, Co-Portfolio Manager, UK Nature Impact Fund
Robert Hall, Co-Portfolio Manager, UK Nature Impact Fund

17:25

Chair's closing remarks

17:30

Close of conference and networking drinks reception