WWF estimates that nature is worth over $125 trillion per year globally and the UK is in the bottom 10% globally in terms of nature. Following the ground-breaking Dasgupta report, learn why nature is so important and how private capital can be mobilised to build back nature and level up our environment.
In this session, Professor David Hill CBE, Chairman of EBL (Environment Bank) discussed why asset managers must work harder to find solutions, covering topics including:
Peter Bachman of Gresham House then explained how a pension fund can invest in biodiversity and achieve a suitable return, through the ideas and mechanism they have developed for funding enhancements to the natural environment. Given the likelihood of emerging environmental markets focusing on offsetting ecosystem service impacts, Peter explained how the Environment Bank is working to provide the necessary infrastructure to facilitate these markets.
This was followed by a roundtable discussion with Q&A and shared insights, moderated by Karen Shackleton of Pensions for Purpose.
Gresham House disclaimer - Capital at risk
Who was this event for?
This event was open to asset owners such as pension fund trustees, in-house executives and independent advisers, professional trustees and consultants.
Sponsor
Speaker biographies
Peter Bachman, Managing Director, Sustainable Infrastucture, Gresham House
Peter joined Gresham House in June 2020 and is the Managing Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure division and a Fund Manager for BSIF. He is also a member of the Gresham House Sustainable Investment Committee.
Prior to Gresham House, Peter led the investment and exit of the Sustainable Infrastructure-focused Environmental Capital Fund (ECF) for SEP, one of Europe’s most successful VC firms. He has over 20 years of public and private equity investment and fund management experience and has invested into and exited over 170 infrastructure and technology companies across all sectors with an equity value of over £1.3bn and capital value of c.£5bn.
Prior to SEP, Peter was co-founder of renewables developer and investor EIDC; Team Head of secondary infrastructure and renewables at Land Securities Trillium; a partner of the PPP/PFI focused private equity fund SMIF (now Semperian); and a founding member of Challenger’s infrastructure team. Peter has had board member roles on over 50 investee companies. He is also a judge and mentor of the Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) Accelerator and the CleanTech Challenge. Peter is an active investor in early-stage sustainability companies.
He holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) with honours and two further Bachelor degrees in Finance (BFin) and Commerce (BCom), all from the University of Adelaide, and is a graduate of CISL’s Business Sustainability Management program.
Professor David Hill CBE, Chairman, Environment Bank Ltd
David is chairman and founding owner of Environment Bank which he set up in 2006 to bring the concept of biodiversity offsetting and biodiversity net gain (BNG) to the UK. Specialising in biodiversity accounting, use of metrics and establishing Habitat Banks to generate conservation credits.
David’s concept of biodiversity compensation, ensuring developers and corporates provide net gains to biodiversity, has been embedded into the government’s 25-year Environment Plan, the National Planning Policy Framework and the Environment Act 2021. Under the Act biodiversity net gain becomes a mandatory legal requirement of the planning and development control system in which developers must provide a minimum 10% uplift in the pre-development biodiversity baseline as a result of their development.
David was a founding member of Natural England and Deputy Chair until 2016 and a member of the government’s Ecosystem Markets Taskforce. He is a Board Trustee of the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, chairman of Plantlife International, a Commissioner with the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission and chair of the Northern Upland Chain Nature Partnership.
A passionate conservationist and wildlife photographer, David lives on his family farm, dedicated to conservation in Nidderdale and Swaledale, North Yorkshire. David has a doctorate in ecology from the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.
The Paris Alignment Forum
The Paris Alignment Forum was established by Pensions for Purpose to help pension funds and other asset owners on their journey towards alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement. We do this by sharing climate-related thought leadership written by our Influencer members (asset managers, consultants and lawyers), by running free training workshops for trustees and by engaging in industry-wide conversation through our quarterly all-stakeholder and asset-owner events. To find out more please click here. To become a Paris Alignment Forum member please email Karen Shackleton.
Pensions for Purpose
Pensions for Purpose exists as a bridge between asset managers, pension funds and their professional advisers, to encourage the flow of capital towards impact investment. Our aim is to empower pension funds to seek positive impact opportunities and mitigate negative impact risks. For more information please email Charlotte O'Leary.
Phone:
01234 388845
Address:
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Chichester
West Sussex
PO19 7EJ
Pensions for Purpose acts as an information centre only. We do not endorse any content published on this website that originated from one of our members. For more information, please see the website terms of use
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