Over recent years, a range of frameworks, standards, regulations and initiatives have strengthened the finance sector’s ability to assess impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. While these initiatives provide important clarity on what to assess, they do not fully define how to measure and account for nature-related impacts and dependencies in a consistent, robust and comparable way.

 

For financial institutions, this represents a critical gap. Existing guidance remains largely generic and does not sufficiently reflect the diversity of financial institutions, asset classes and decision-making contexts. In practice, measurement approaches that may be suitable for listed equities can differ significantly from those required for sovereign debt or real assets. At the same time, many institutions must operate with partial or imperfect data, yet are still expected to integrate results into real-world investment, lending and risk management processes.  

 

The forthcoming Nature Measurement Protocol, announced at COP30 in Brazil by several leading organisations, presents a timely opportunity to address this gap. By establishing a globally applicable, science-based standard for measuring and accounting for nature-related impacts and dependencies, it can provide a shared foundation for the finance sector to conduct consistent, credible and decision-useful biodiversity impact assessments. If designed with financial portfolios in mind, the Protocol could significantly enhance comparability, transparency and the integration of nature-related considerations into financial decision-making.

 

This 60-minute Action Stream session will bring together financial institutions, standard setters, NGOs, academia, tool developers and other key stakeholders to exchange insights on how the finance sector’s impact assessment needs can be effectively addressed in the forthcoming Nature Measurement Protocol. Through interactive discussion, participants will co-develop practical recommendations and core criteria to help ensure the Protocol is usable, decision-relevant and aligned with financial institutions’ contexts. By doing so, the session aims to strengthen financial institutions’ ability to assess biodiversity impacts, enhance the quality and consistency of reporting and support the integration of results into decision-making processes.