The Nature Intelligence Platform will enable businesses to measure and report their impact on nature at scale. Plus, Big Issue Invest | Nature Action 100 |Place-based investing and community engagement.
Nature intelligence company NatureMetrics has launched a new platform at simplifying how businesses can report species and ecosystem impacts in line with nature reporting requirements, such as the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Science-based Targets for Nature (SBTN).
The Nature Intelligence Platform will enable businesses to measure and report their impact on nature at scale, and drive effective biodiversity management to improve outcomes for nature on the ground, according to the company.
NatureMetrics converts the DNA footprint of animals, bacteria, and fungi into datasets that are summarised into a set of simple metrics and indicators to describe the state of biodiversity. This approach overcomes the challenges of time-intensive and invasive biodiversity survey methods.
Kat Bruce, founder at NatureMetrics, said: “The launch of TNFD marks a critical turning point for nature. The initial response demonstrates just how eager businesses are to turn the tide on biodiversity loss.”
She added: “Up until now, it has been almost impossible to gather data at scale, posing a major challenge to reporting. Our solution transforms this – we enable organisations to gather meaningful data at site-level and turn that into simple insights in our platform to drive reporting, decision-making and effective action on the ground.”
Big Issue Invest launches new programme to support London social enterprises
Big Issue Invest (BII), the social investment arm of the Big Issue Group, has opened up applications for a new investment programme, aimed at new and early-stage social enterprises in London.
The ‘Power Up London’ accelerator will be delivered by BII with funding by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. It will back socially impactful organisations addressing social and/or environmental issues and providing services to underrepresented communities.
Successful applicants will receive a fully-funded package of non-financial support valued at £10,000 that includes a mix of mentoring, business support, training workshops and networking opportunities delivered weekly over four months.
Nature Action 100
Nature Action 100, the global investor engagement initiative which aims to address nature and biodiversity loss around the world, has unveiled a list of 100 companies in key sectors in which 190 institutional investor participants – representing $23.6 trillion in assets under management or advice – will engage.
As a first step, the participant investors have sent letters to the companies, worth more than $9 trillion in market capital, calling for urgent actions to protect and restore nature and ecosystems and mitigate financial risk.
Back in June, Nature Action 100 published its Investor Expectations for Companies guideline, outlining a set of actions companies can implement to protect nature and ecosystems.
UK’s Impact Investing Institute launches community engagement initiative
The UK national advisory board for impact investing, the Impact Investing Institute (III), has published guidance aimed at investors and developers wishing to to enhance their impact and financial performance by engaging with local communities.
The guide, ‘Fostering Impact: An investor guide for engaging communities in place-based impact investing’ aims to encourage investors to identify and pursue community engagement opportunities within a place-based impact investment approach, and it lays out different ways and methods of incorporating community engagement into investment decision-making.
