March 2021 newsletter

  • Date Posted

In short: As the time approaches for transitioning from the initiative bringing together the TNFD to the launch of the TNFD itself, the Technical Expert Group held five consultations on the scope of the TNFD. The four work streams of the Informal Working Group worked towards finalising their documents. And the new tnfd.info website is now live!

Highlights of the month

New TNFD website launching today

The new website hosts a Knowledge Bank with loads of resources relevant to the TNFD initiative as well as an events page highlighting the events that address nature and finance, amongst other new interactive features.


TNFD highlighted by UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance, Mark Carney

In his keynote for the Natural History Museum’s Annual Science Lecture, Mark Carney identified TNFD as one of three big nature reporting initiatives that will help drive value for business and finance: “The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures aims to
provide a framework for firms and financial institutions to identify, assess and manage, and also report on, their dependencies on nature and impacts on nature.” The full lecture is available to watch on demand. To catch his comments on TNFD, watch from 19 min 55 sec.


Seventh monthly meeting of the Informal Working Group (IWG)

On 11 March, the 74 IWG members held their monthly meeting, where one the workstream co-chairs for Work Plan and Budget – one of the four work streams of the IWG – presented the TNFD’s proposed work plan and budget. The Co-chair for the workstream on governance, presented their progress. By the IWG’s next meeting in May, the other three work streams – Governance, TNFD Resourcing, and Communications and Knowledge Management – will have provided their final documents as well. Furthermore, preparation for
transitioning from the initiative bringing together the TNFD to the launch of the TNFD itself is under way.


Technical Expert Group (TEG) held five consultations on scope of the TNFD

The TEG gathered feedback on the draft scope for the TNFD from members of the TNFD Observer Group and selected external organisations. Five separate consultation sessions were held for NGOs, corporates, data providers, standard setters and financial institutions. The TEG aims to finalise the draft paper on the TNFD scope based on the inputs provided by mid-April.

Join the TNFD conversation on social media

To stay up to date with the latest news, follow us on Twitter @TNFD_ and LinkedIn @Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

Opportunities to join initiatives and events

  • 15 April: Sustainable Investment Forum Europe – session on Nature & Biodiversity: Exploring opportunities to scale. Hosted by Climate Action in partnership with UNEP FI, the session on nature and biodiversity will explore how European investors can move from the case for investing in nature to meeting the conservation finance gap at scale. Speakers include Jessica Smith, Ecosystems Lead at UNEP FI; Christopher Clubb, Managing Director, Europe, Convergence; Karen Sack, President & CEO, Ocean Unite; and Josep Oriol, Managing Partner, Okavango Capital Partners. Register here.
  • 19 April: Biodiversity and Infrastructure Investing: Managing Risk and Enhancing Value: UN PRI is hosting a webinar aimed at infrastructure private equity Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practitioners.
  • 21 April: How can investors take action on biodiversity? Credit Suisse, an IWG member, and Responsible Investor is hosting a webinar exploring how and to what extent investors are addressing biodiversity, drawing on the findings of Responsible Investor and Credit Suisse’s recent report, Unearthing Investor Action on Biodiversity, released in January. Speakers include Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head of Sustainability Strategy, Advisory & Finance at Credit Suisse; Charlotte Kaiser, Managing Director at NatureVest; and Marte Borhaug, Global Head of Sustainable Outcomes at Aviva Investors.
    Save the date: 26 May: Aligning Financial Portfolios with Biodiversity Goals. Join Global Canopy, UNEP FI and UNEP WCMC for the launch of a new biodiversity module – part of the online ENCORE tool – which will enable financial institutions to
    identify and manage biodiversity-related risks and opportunities.
  • New date just announced: 11-24 October: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP15. Originally scheduled for 2020 and since postponed to May 2021, the global UN Biodiversity Conference has been moved again: the event is now planned for 11-24 October 2021 in Kunming, China.

Relevant content released this month

For more relevant content and tools, visit our new Knowledge Bank.

TNFD in the news (highlights)

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