Investing in biodiversity: Halting and reversing nature loss

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Biodiversity is the foundation of life. When nature thrives, societies and economies can flourish. 

May 22, 2025 - Biodiversity is facing significant challenges, with global wildlife populations declining by an average of 73% since 1970—up to 95% in some regions*—and many vital ecosystems are experiencing considerable stress. While these figures emphasise the urgency of the situation, they also underline a powerful opportunity for action. Biodiversity is not only an environmental concern—it’s intrinsically linked to our economies, societies, and global systems. 

The urgency is real, but so is the potential for meaningful impact. By directing capital flows in alignment with the Global Biodiversity Framework, investors can become catalysts for positive change. The financial sector has the power to play a transformative role in protecting and restoring our natural world through the thoughtful management of biodiversity-related risks, tackling the core drivers of biodiversity loss, and championing nature-positive solutions. 

Why biodiversity matters to investors

Biodiversity is the foundation of everything we depend on—from fertile soils and clean air to climate regulation, raw materials, food, and water. It provides essential ecosystem services, valued at over USD 125 trillion per year, yet it is experiencing a rapid decline. The World Economic Forum ranks biodiversity loss among the top five global risks in terms of likelihood and impact.

Protecting and restoring biodiversity is urgent; it’s essential for the health of our planet, the wellbeing of society, and the resilience of our economies. At the same time, it opens up powerful opportunities for growth, innovation, and value creation.

Investing in regenerative agriculture, circular materials, and nature-based solutions is increasingly popular as these are growing markets with strong impact potential. Investors are increasingly recognising that the value and resilience of their portfolios depend on nature, which makes them vulnerable to a variety of physical, regulatory, and transitional risks linked to biodiversity loss. At the same time, tools such as biodiversity footprinting and nature-related reporting are helping them assess how their own investments impact nature. This dual awareness is enabling investors to take more targeted and effective action to address biodiversity loss.
Policies and reporting standards such as TNFD, SBTN and PBAF** are creating a clearer framework for aligning capital with nature-positive outcomes.

Our approach: From intent to implementation

Biodiversity is one of the three core priorities in our impact-first strategy, along with climate resilience and social equality. As a signatory of the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge and a member of the Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF) and the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation, we are committed to setting clear targets and building the internal governance and tools necessary to turn that commitment into action.

1. A clear governance framework for nature

We have embedded biodiversity into every stage of our investment process, including screening, active engagement, and impact tracking. By the end of 2025, we will further define and disclose how biodiversity is governed at the highest levels. This will ensure board oversight, investment committee involvement, and internal accountability. We will also provide training on nature-related finance for all investment committee and board members.

2. Biodiversity footprinting to identify hotspots

We recently completed our first biodiversity footprinting exercise, together with Pré Consulting*, applying the BFFI (Biodiversity Footprint for Financial Institutions) methodology. Based on EXIOBASE data and specific investment information, we assessed how our capital allocation contributes to land use change, global warming, and other drivers of biodiversity loss.

The footprinting exercise indicates that our total biodiversity impact (2023 data) is equivalent to the loss of 37,073 football fields in one year.
The majority of the impact is linked to land use (53%) and global warming (25%), particularly in agriculture and forestry value chains.
As a follow-up, we conducted deep dives into direct investments such as VP Textile and VP Agriculture to identify concrete impact hotspots and mitigation actions.

3. Tracking biodiversity maturity across our investments

To evaluate and track our progress on biodiversity management in our portfolio, we developed the BCS maturity ladder—a tool to assess how our investments integrate biodiversity, climate and social equality into their operations and governance. This allows us to identify leaders, guide investees that are new to these impact themes, and benchmark progress over time.

By the end of 2025, we aim to:

Complete maturity assessments on biodiversity, climate, and social equality integration across our total investment portfolio.
Quantify both positive and negative biodiversity impacts based on positive impact metrics and the PAIs.

4. From insight to action

Assessing impact and dependencies is just the beginning. We use these insights to define concrete roadmaps and action plans for our investments. Key topics include:

Regenerative agricultural practices (e.g. improving soil quality and reducing agrochemicals).
Phasing out harmful chemicals (e.g. PFAS in technical fabrics).
Material innovation and circular design (e.g. recycled fibres, low-impact processing).
Water stewardship (e.g. efficient use of water).

A shared responsibility—and opportunity

Restoring nature is not a niche ambition. It’s central to achieving climate goals, securing long-term prosperity, and creating inclusive growth. Investors have a key role to play.

We encourage other investors to:

Start identifying impacts on nature, even if imperfectly.
Examine their portfolio’s dependencies on nature.
Invest in toxicity-free, net-zero, bio-based or circular solutions to halt biodiversity loss.
Collaborate across sectors to scale nature-based solutions.

The good news? Nature is resilient. When given space and support, ecosystems can recover—fast. Whether it’s rewilded wetlands, regenerative farmland, or renewed soil fertility, the positive feedback loops are powerful.

Investing in biodiversity means investing in life for future generations and resilient economies. That’s why VP Capital puts biodiversity at the heart of our impact-first strategy.

*Source: WWF Living Planet Report 2024

** TNFD: Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, SBTN: Science Based Targets Network, PBAF: Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials

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Investing in biodiversity: Halting and reversing nature loss

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