A consortium of French institutions have chosen Mirova to manage the Fonds Objectif Biodiversité, which will focus on investment solutions targeting biodiversity preservation.
A consortium of institutional investors have picked Mirova, an affiliate of France-based Natixis Investment Managers, to manage a €100m biodiversity fund.
The new fund, Fonds Objectif Biodiversité, will focus on innovative solutions aimed at biodiversity preservation as well as investments in small and medium-sized European companies that are transitioning to sustainable business models.
The investor consortium comprises Abeille Assurances, BNP Paribas Cardif, BPCE Assurances, the Caisse des Dépôts, CNP Assurances, EDF Gestion, MAIF, MACIF, Malakoff Humanis, Société Générale Assurances, Crédit Agricole Assurances, and Af2i.
“We are thrilled to have been chosen to manage this pioneering fund, which illustrates our commitment to biodiversity preservation and our expertise in responsible investment,” said Hervé Guez, global head of listed assets at Mirova.
Biodiversity will be a “key topic” in the coming years, Guez said. “It will not only involve investing in innovative small and medium-sized enterprises that provide solutions to biodiversity challenges but also actively engaging with large companies to encourage them to make biodiversity a transformational issue.”
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which has kept a record of threatened species since 1964, just over 45,000 species, or 28% of all assessed species, are currently in danger of becoming extinct.
‘Innovative’
In a communication regarding the appointment, the investors said they picked Mirova because it stood out for its cooperation with experts, its “innovative” methodological approach and its “strong” portfolio construction.
Mirova said it will build the fund around data on climate and nature from environmental data provider CDP, a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.
CDP’s data will be used to gauge a company’s exposure to risks and the progress made in reducing negative impacts on biodiversity. Mirova said its employees will be trained and supported by CDP experts in areas ranging from climate change to water security, biodiversity, deforestation, and plastic pollution.
