Annex E. Policy and regulatory tools to help businesses and investors integrate biodiversity

Policy makers, businesses, financial institutions and civil society need to co-operate to strengthen the business case for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Although additional analysis is needed on how to strengthen domestic policy frameworks for enhancing the business case for biodiversity and ecosystem services, preliminary research suggest that policy makers could notably:

• Develop a framework for measuring and integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services in business and investment decisions (see Chapter 8), including in metrics, strategy, governance, risk management (as well as corporate accounting standards, monitoring tools and valuation techniques), due diligence, disclosure.

• Require business and financial organisations to publish long-term plans factoring in the assessment and management of biodiversity

• Mainstream quantitative biodiversity assessments in reporting requirements (e.g. the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive and its guidelines), impact assessments and risk-management tool. Financial regulators could require investors and investee corporations to assess impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and how they become financially material, as recommended by the EU High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG, 2018[26]).

• Set policies promoting improved due diligence for responsible business conduct (e.g. France’s 2017 Duty of Vigilance Law), drawing on OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (OECD, 2018[46]).

• Encourage policy coherence and alignment across and within levels of government, to better engage energy, mining, agriculture and finance ministries and financial regulators on biodiversity issues. Environment policy makers can notably raise awareness among financial regulators of the global, systemic implications of biodiversity factors, which do not only have local impacts.

• Encourage biodiversity mapping (e.g. in Latvia) and further integration of biodiversity issues through environmental impact assessments, guidelines and standards and national action plans (e.g. in France and the UK).

• Encourage businesses, financial organisations and other stakeholders to make and share commitments and contributions to biodiversity through the Sharm El-Sheikh to Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People, in order to mobilise action in advance of COP15.

• Mainstream biodiversity issues in public procurement and tendering procedures for infrastructure projects.

• Address investor protection while ensuring access and benefit-sharing (ABD), and factor biodiversity concerns in land leasing or acquisition criteria.

• Encourage investment promotion in investment opportunities that help prevent biodiversity loss (e.g. Egypt’s investment mapping portal for environment friendly investment)

• Set standards, certification schemes and labels, to complement industry-led initiatives.

• Mainstream biodiversity in green, sustainable finance (Chapter 7).

• Set communication, education and public awareness programmes.