• Sustainable finance

The TNFD: creating a common language for biodiversity

Published on 19.09.2023

As the annual Climate Week kicked off in New York yesterday, the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) took a major step forward in efforts to fight against the loss of biodiversity by publishing their final recommendations to help companies better analyse, manage, and report on their impacts and dependencies related to the earth’s biodiversity, and thus work toward nature-based solutions.

Understanding the TNFD in one short video! 

BNP Paribas has been part of the TNFD’s important work since its conception in 2020, with Antoine Sire, Head of Company Engagement, having co-chaired the informal working group that configured the TNFD. Since its official launch in October 2021, BNP Paribas has also been represented among the 40 taskforce members by Sébastien Soleille, Head of Energy Transition and the Environment—who was assisted by Robert-Alexandre Poujade, ESG Analyst and Biodiversity Lead, BNP Paribas Asset Management. They have been working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to create a common language for companies, financial institutions and other actors when they talk about biodiversity.  

We spoke with both of them to better understand what that means for the future of companies, like BNP Paribas, that have committed to preserving biodiversity…  

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The TNFD: creating a common language for biodiversity

Recommendations already tested by more than 200 companies

The TNFD’s publication of 14 concrete recommendations, key indicators and guidance has followed two years of collaborative work with numerous stakeholders, which included more than 200 companies test piloting TNFD recommendations through their provisional beta versions, published in an open-innovation approach. 

These recommendations are consistent with emerging global standards and take a materiality approach that allows companies to comprehend both how their activities are affecting the loss of biodiversity and, at the same time, how that loss can create economic risk for their businesses. In combination with guides detailing sector-specific scenarios, these elements will help companies and financial institutions, like BNP Paribas, to be aligned as they analyse and report on their impacts, thus contributing to a shift of global financial flows toward nature-positive outcomes.  


Supporting Key Knowledge Partners working on the science behind the TNFD

As explained by Sébastien Soleille, the scientific basis behind the TNFD’s work is critical to creating a common framework. The TNFD’s Key Knowledge Partners, such as the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), which brings together global expertise on biodiversity issues, have made it possible for the Taskforce to make more informed decisions on their recommendations. 

BNP Paribas is announcing a donation to the IUCN at this year’s Climate Week to help their continuing work in understanding and addressing how nature is affected by the five pressures currently affecting biodiversity: changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasive species.   

Discover the actions for biodiversity led by the IUCN

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