“The health of ecosystems on which we and all other species depend is deteriorating more rapidly than ever. We are eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”Sir Robert Watson, Chair of IPBES until 2019
Workshop example · Biodiversity
Building a biodiversity strategy with an asset manager
The Biodiv’Fin workshops help an asset management company understand its dependencies and impacts on the living world, then turn them into a strategy, targets and indicators. Identifying today’s issues to generate tomorrow’s value.
Designed and run jointly by
FINéCOS & Nabi Ecology
FINéCOS & Nabi Ecology
Three audiencesteams, ESG experts, senior management
Dependencies and impactsreading investment activity through the lens of the living world
A strategytargets, action plan, monitoring indicators
What is at stake
Why biodiversity is entering asset management
Biodiversity loss is no longer a peripheral issue: it affects the sectors being financed, portfolio risks and reporting obligations.
The aim of this core set of three workshops: to acquire the technical and methodological reflexes needed to respond collectively to the challenges of biodiversity loss.
Beyond complying with European regulations, it is also about building the skills to seize new investment opportunities.
- CSRD
- Article 29 LEC (France)
- EU Taxonomy
- SFDR
- TNFD
The programme
Training to act and innovate together: three workshops
Informed teams, prepared experts, enlightened leadership. Each workshop can be taken on its own; together, they link relevant actions to significant impacts.
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Workshop 1 · Teams
Team building: informed employees
- Audience
- Everyone
- Duration
- 3 h 30: Biodiversity Collage© and a workshop on sector dependencies / impacts
- Group
- 6 to 16 people, more in several groups
- UnderstandRaise team awareness of biodiversity issues, with a sector focus. Identify the dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities of investment activity.
- CollaborateBuild shared knowledge and internal momentum around a common language.
- ActIntegrate the issues into each business line, understand greenwashing risks and prepare key messages.
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Workshop 2 · Experts
Analysis and action plan: prepared experts
- Audience
- ESG analysts, portfolio managers, CSR experts, data scientists
- Duration
- 4 h: dedicated templates and case studies
- Group
- Up to 10 people
- CollectKnow the methodologies for collecting meaningful data and interpreting it in light of sector issues.
- AssessStructure a qualitative and quantitative assessment, integrate CSRD, Article 29 LEC, the Taxonomy, SFDR and TNFD, recognise a substantiated controversy, and assess avoidance, reduction, offsetting and regeneration measures.
- BuildSet biodiversity targets, an action plan and monitoring indicators, and strengthen the engagement policy and SRI approach.
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Workshop 3 · Leadership
Biodiversity strategy: enlightened leadership
- Audience
- Board of directors, executive committee, top management
- Duration
- 3 h: co-design and a dedicated template
- Group
- Up to 10 people
- UnderstandUnderstand and quantify pressures, risks and impacts, and grasp regulatory issues and avoidance, reduction, offsetting and regeneration practices.
- DecideBuild a strategy that integrates biodiversity issues and validate relevant indicators.
- SteerDraw up an action and engagement plan, control greenwashing risk, strengthen the SRI approach and prepare communications.
Content
What each workshop covers
These workshops can be included in the training plan required by the French SRI label (Label ISR).
| Topic | Teams | Experts | Leadership |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raising team awareness | ● approfondi | ○ abordé | |
| Linking strategy to regulatory issues | ○ abordé | ● approfondi | ● approfondi |
| Communicating internally and externally | ○ abordé | ● approfondi | ● approfondi |
| Understanding biodiversity data | ● approfondi | ○ abordé | |
| Assessing data and methodologies | ● approfondi | ○ abordé | |
| Designing a biodiversity strategy | ● approfondi | ● approfondi | |
| Drawing up an action plan | ● approfondi | ● approfondi | |
| Strengthening SRI and engagement policy | ● approfondi | ● approfondi | |
| Acting to innovate | ● approfondi | ● approfondi | ● approfondi |
The example
An asset manager builds its biodiversity strategy
A bespoke Experts workshop, run for a portfolio management company, in three stages.
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01MapFor a given sector, here integrated oil and gas, link upstream activities and direct operations to the five main pressures on biodiversity: habitat destruction, overexploitation of resources, climate change, pollution and invasive species.
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02Test against the dataMatch each pressure with the indicators offered by ESG data providers. A coloured dot shows their availability, from over 70% down to “NC”, not covered.
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03Fill the gapsWhere data is missing or weak, participants put forward their own indicators and action ideas on sticky notes: cubic metres of water, optimised consumption, kilos of waste.
Topic: available indicators and building a biodiversity strategy
“First of all, the overall feedback is very positive, both immediately afterwards and with hindsight. The training met and even exceeded our expectations, in both substance and format. We feel better equipped to build our biodiversity policy. We also have a clearer, more structured view of biodiversity issues.”
Written feedback from the asset manager after the workshop (translated from French)
What they appreciated
- The duo“We appreciated your skills, your enthusiasm and how well you complement each other.”
- Interactivity“We felt we were active participants in the training, so we retained the information better.”
- Tailor-made“It matched our needs exactly.”
- Accessibility“The training was accessible to everyone, despite differences in prior knowledge.”
The trainers
An ecologist and a financier
Two areas of expertise combined: scientific ecology and the practice of responsible asset management.
Hortense Serret, PhD
Founder of Nabi Ecology
- PhD in ecology from the French National Museum of Natural History (MNHN)
- Head of Biodiversity & Biophilia at ARP-Astrance (over 3 years)
- Postdoctoral researcher at Ewha Womans University, Seoul (3 years)
- Founder of Nabi Ecology (since 2020): ecological assessments, biodiversity consulting, training, collaborative workshops and renaturation strategy; co-founder of Biodiv Impact (2023)
- Professional facilitator and trainer of the Biodiversity Collage©, over 100 workshops
Alexandre Van Ooteghem
Founder of FINéCOS
- Dauphine (financial law), CNAM (foresight and innovation, biomimicry track)
- Financial lawyer for voting and engagement at the Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (French pension reserve fund) for 8 years
- Assignments in asset management (Aviva Investors, France Assureurs) and foresight (Groupe Rocher, FAIR)
- French SRI label auditor for AFNOR Certification (since 2021)
- Facilitator of the Climate Fresk© (since 2019, over 60 workshops), the Biodiversity Collage© (since 2023) and the Fresque de l’immobilier durable – OID© (sustainable real estate, since 2024)
References
They trust us
The workshops are available in French and English, for a single group or for more than 50 people split into several groups.
A biodiversity workshop for your teams?
Tell us who you want to bring together and what you want to build: awareness, indicators or strategy. Quotation on request.
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