Delegation of 25 financial institutions representing the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation will attend EBNS 2023 in Italy

4 October 2023 – Cardano, Federated Hermes Limited, Storebrand AM and Swiss Life Asset Managers France among the 25 member financial institutions that will represent the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation delegation at the European Business & Nature Summit (EBNS) in Milan, Italy, on October 11-12. New signatories of the FfB Pledge will be announced by CEO Jan Erik Saugestad (Storebrand AM) at the opening plenary of the summit. In addition, the FfB Foundation will co-organise two workshop sessions and a new guide for financial institutions on the climate-biodiversity nexus will be presented during the second plenary of the summit.

Arjan Ruijs, Senior Responsible Investment Officer at Cardano, says: “At Cardano, we see biodiversity loss as one of the main global challenges in the transition to a sustainable society that should be high on the agenda of all financial institutions. It is promising that so many financial institutions, corporates and policy makers are coming together to find solutions for this challenge. It is urgent that we join forces and shape the changes that are necessary to halt biodiversity loss and allow nature to bounce back.”

Ingrid Kukuljan, Head of Impact and Sustainable Investing at Federated Hermes Limited, says: “Financial institutions must play a role in halting and reversing biodiversity loss in this decade. The Finance for Biodiversity Foundation continues to provide a valuable platform for collaboration to tackle key topics such as engagement, target setting, and policy advocacy. We look forward to attending the EBNS 2023 and to sharing our views on how to close the nature investment gap.”

Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand Asset Management, says: “The success of the GBF hinges on the alignment of financial flows. This alignment is also an issue of coherence. The public sector can increase its funding exponentially, but that funding will be ineffective if other – private – financial flows remain aligned with trajectories that destroy biodiversity. Private financing, therefore, must play a central role.”

Frédéric Bôl, CEO of Swiss Life Asset Managers France, says: “Swiss Life Asset Managers France is honoured to be part of the Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation delegation at the European Business & Nature Summit (EBNS) in Milan. We hope that this major event will be a new catalyst in favour of biodiversity and the transition of our economy towards sustainable finance”

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The 25 financial institutions part of the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation EBNS 2023 delegation are:

Amundi, Aviva Plc, Cardano, Federal Finance, Federated Hermes Limited, Fidelity International, HSBC AM, La Française AM, LBP AM, Manulife IM, NatureRe Capital AG, NN Group, PGGM, Phoenix Group, Pictet Group, Rabobank, Raiffeisen KAG, Rivage Investments, Robeco, SCOR SE, Storebrand AM, Swiss life Asset Managers France, UniCredit, VBV – Vorsorgekasse, VP Capital

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Finance sessions co-organised by the FfB Foundation at EBNS 2023

The FfB Foundation is an official supporting organisation of the EBNS 2023 and will co-organise three sessions covering financial topics:

• Wed 11 Oct, 2:30 – 3:45 pm CEST: High-level policy & business dialogue I: “Living up to the promises of Montreal: From commitments to action” – represented by CEO Jan Erik Saugestad (Storebrand AM)
• Wed 11 Oct, 4:15 – 5:45 pm CEST: Closing the nature investment gap through innovative mechanisms and partnerships – represented by Arjan Ruijs (Cardano), Ingrid Kukuljan (Federated Hermes Limited), and Rossella Iorio (UniCredit)
• Thu 12 Oct, 9:40 am – 11:00 am CEST: High-level policy & business dialogue II: “Biodiversity and climate: Shifting the way we do finance with nature at its heart” – represented by Fiona Melrose (UniCredit)
• Thu 12 Oct, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm CEST: Finance sector targets for nature leading to sector transition pathways – represented by Charlotte Apps (Fidelity International), Clinton Adas (HSBC AM) and Deepshika Singh (La Française AM)

In-person FfB members meeting

Prior to the summit, the FfB members will gather to hold their yearly in-person members meeting to discuss the development of regulations and reporting standards on biodiversity and to do a deep dive into economic sectoral approaches for corporate engagement and target setting.

More information on EBNS

The EBNS is a yearly conference facilitating dialogue between policy makers, leaders in the financial sector and companies, NGOs and academics. This year, the summit will be held in Milan at Palazzo Lombardia on 11 and 12 October 2023. 

The event was initiated by the EU Business and Biodiversity Platform of the European Commission and is organised in cooperation with partner organisations.