APG supports Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials (PBAF)

Published on: 4 March 2021

Cooperation aims to contribute to restoring biodiversity

 

APG – on behalf of its pension fund clients – supports the Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Professionals (PBAF). The financial institutions in this partnership will develop a shared methodology for measuring and reporting the impact of their investments on biodiversity. Through their investments these financial institutions can take targeted action to protect biodiversity.

PBAF is an initiative of ASN Bank and a number of founding partners. Today it was announced that fifteen more financial institutions have either joined the platform or expressed their support. Their shared ambition is to measure their impact on biodiversity, be transparent about their impact reporting and to set targets to improve their ecological footprint.

Joint approach

Roel Nozeman, Senior Advisor Biodiversity at ASN Bank and chairman of the partnership, is excited about the new partners joining the platform. “A growing number of financial institutions realize that loss of biodiversity poses a major threat both to society and to the economy, and that we need action now. Through our investments, we can limit the damage to ecosystems and contribute to the protection and restoration of nature. To do so, we have to adopt a common approach to measuring our impact and using data. We will join hands with all new partners to continue developing that common approach.”

Biodiversity loss
Biodiversity refers to the variety of life on earth and to ecosystems, i.e. the systems that sustain this life, such as forests, soils and oceans. As it stands, the planet’s biodiversity is rapidly declining. This is bad news for nature but also for our future prosperity. Many economic sectors are dependent on the variety of plants, animals and insects in the world, either directly or indirectly. Examples are agriculture and fishing, but also (chemical) industries, real estate and transport.