Finance for Biodiversity Pledge reaches 153 signatories, 14 new financial institutions announced at EBNS
11 October 2023 – Finance for Biodiversity (FfB) Foundation is announcing 14 new signatories of the FfB Pledge, including Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB), and reaching new milestones with 153 signatories from 24 countries representing € 21.4 trillion of combined assets (under management) in total. The new signatory financial institutions were welcomed by CEO Jan Erik Saugestad (Storebrand AM) during the opening plenary of the European Business and Nature Summit (EBNS) on 11 October in Milan, Italy.
The 14 new signatories of the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge are Agriculture Capital, AkademikerPension, Alternative Bank Switzerland, Colibri Catalyst, Coöperatie VGZ U.A., Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB), Ekobanken medlemsbank, NextEnergy Capital, Pensioenfonds Rail & Openbaar Vervoer, Raiffeisen KAG, SEB Investment Management, VP Capital, Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş., and Zencap Asset Management.
Dr. Andreas K. Gruber, Chief Sustainability Officer of Deutsche Kreditbank AG (DKB), says: “Biodiversity loss is one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Supporting the “Finance for Biodiversity” Pledge, we commit to protecting our ecosystems for future generations and managing the possible impacts of our financing activities. We will do our part for a net-zero and nature-positive future.”
Milestones: more assets, 4 new banks and one new country
With the new total of signatory financial institutions, the FfB Pledge reaches a milestone by representing 150+ signatories and €20+ trillion of combined assets (under management) in total. Among the new signatories are 4 new banks, increasing the diversity of the community. With signatory Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. we have gained representation of Turkey as an additional country.
Finance for Biodiversity Pledge
The Finance for Biodiversity Pledge is a commitment of financial institutions to protect and restore biodiversity through their finance activities and investments. The Pledge consists of 5 steps financial institutions commit to take:
- Collaborating and sharing knowledge
- Engaging with companies
- Assessing impact
- Setting targets
- Reporting publicly on the above before 2025
FfB Foundation and its members
The FfB Foundation is the leading global investor organisation for biodiversity action. Members of the foundation can significantly accelerate biodiversity protection via collaborative action in the working groups covering the following themes: public policy advocacy, engagement with companies, impact assessment, target setting, and positive impact.
Six of the new signatories – Alternative Bank Switzerland, Pensioenfonds Rail & Openbaar Vervoer, Raiffeisen KAG, VP Capital, Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş., and Zencap Asset Management – became members of the FfB Foundation. This increases the FfB membership number from 67 to 73 in total.
More information on EBNS
The EBNS is a yearly conference facilitating dialogue between policymakers, 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. The opening plenary, “Living up to the promises of Montreal: From commitments to action”, is on 11 October at 2.30 pm CEST.
New signatory round in December 2023
There will be another round of celebrating new signatories on December 19th for the one-year anniversary of the Global Biodiversity Framework’s adoption. Financial institutions can already sign up before the deadline of December 1st via our registration page here.