The only asset management company associated with the Biodiversity Finance program, the Pictet group entity was chosen for its innovative approach in the field of sustainable finance.
Pictet Asset Management (Pictet AM) has been asked to participate, as a founding member, in a new four-year international research program, the aim of which is to help the financial sector design strategies focused on preserving the natural capital and halting the loss of biodiversity.
Supervised by the Stockholm Resilience Center (SRC) of the University of Stockholm, this initiative will benefit from funding of nearly 5 million euros provided by Mistra, the Swedish foundation for strategic research on the environment.
Pictet AM, the only asset management company associated with the Biodiversity Finance program (BIOFIN, finance at the service of biodiversity), was chosen for its innovative approach in the field of sustainable finance.
As a “high-impact partner”, Pictet AM will thus bring its investment experience and its contribution to multidisciplinary research aimed at generating concrete, environmentally-friendly changes within the financial system.
The PRI platform (Principles for Responsible Investment) and Stanford University are among the partners in the research program with which Pictet AM will collaborate in this context.
The BIOFIN program aims to encourage the consideration of the preservation and regeneration of natural capital in financing and investment decisions.
While the erosion of biodiversity represents one of the most serious current environmental threats, the lack of reliable data and indicators complicates its monitoring. According to the WWF, the insufficient preservation of ecosystems could cost the world economy 10,000 billion dollars by 2050.
The BIOFIN research program will be led by SRC Professor Gary Peterson, who was one of the lead authors responsible for coordinating the reports ‘Scenarios Assessment’ for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and ‘Scenarios and Model for the Assessment of Biodiversity” of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The latter will be supported by Beatrice Crona, Deputy Scientific Director at the SRC.
“Biodiversity is an important aspect of sustainable investing,” emphasizes Sébastien Eisinger, Managing Partner of the Pictet Group. “We look forward to deepening our collaboration with the SRC and working alongside the other partners in the research program to advance our understanding and knowledge of the links between biodiversity and investments.”
“Creating a sustainable world requires transformation, and finance plays a key role in bringing about change,” says Gary Peterson. To encourage this transformation, we are going to work to ensure that traditional investment takes greater account of the complexity of life. And we are going to explore other forms of investment likely to bring the world of finance and the living world closer together.”
This unique collaboration strengthens the relationship that Pictet AM has had for nine years with the SRC, whose model of the ecological limits of the planet forms the basis of the analytical work carried out as part of the management of the Pictet-Global investment strategy. Environmental Opportunities, one of the largest in its category.