Sustainability ESG Trends: Op Ed – Biodiversity: Moving Markets

Mention of disturbing (& accelerating) rates of biodiversity loss is hardly new. However, we notice a significant uptick in commentary (from Sir David Attenborough to Henry Paulson), an increased sense of urgency being communicated, and connections being made to markets and financial impact (e.g. COVID19 effect). ESG megatrends and their consequences are moving the goal posts for sectors and companies; we frequently comment on the tension between what is needed to address the collapse in biodiversity (similarly, climate change), and markets: e.g. reductions in consumption and waste.

We often refer to the importance of systems thinking and considering the health of entire ecosystems in our published research. We believe this concept should be applied when considering any potential solutions to address biodiversity loss. Focusing on solutions that consider the entirety of a system tends to result in a stronger and more resilient outcome. Conversely, solutions that address individual aspects of an ecosystem in isolation risk destabilising the entire structure.

Agriculture is a key contributor to both climate change and biodiversity loss, but changes in practice can also provide significant environmental benefits (including carbon capture3) and biodiversity improvements. In our report, we discuss structural change in food markets from an ESG perspective.