Knowledge and Insight - Biodiversity

Greenbank’s 2025 action plan highlights our programme of thematic engagement, which is divided into priority and secondary groupings. Our priority themes for 2025 are climate change, nature, and human rights, and our secondary themes include health, workforce, circular economy, and animal welfare.

As Q1 ended and data from major economies suggested increasing overall resilience, equity markets posted solid monthly returns. Europe’s flagship Nature Restoration Law faced mounting pressures, the UK National Standards Body launched a consultation for a framework of overarching principles for UK nature markets, and the Council of the European Union finally voted through an agreed text for the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.

In June the UK House of Lords voted in support of an important amendment to the Financial Services and Markets Bill that would require UK financial institutions to carry out thorough checks on those they fund to prevent the financing of illegal deforestation.

While the UK's headline inflation rate fell in May, core inflation rose. There were significant milestones for renewables and the Science Based Targets Network launched a new initiative to help companies build biodiversity and nature into their business strategies.

At Rathbone Greenbank Investments (Greenbank), our mission is to generate long-term value for our clients. We utilise our expertise and passion to create positive impact through our bespoke investment services.

Rathbone Greenbank and Rathbones were delighted to support the 2021 Durrell Lecture.

“Our economies, livelihoods and wellbeing all depend on our most precious asset: Nature.” - The Dasgupta Review.

Sophie Lawrence, senior ethical, sustainable and impact researcher at Rathbone Greenbank, explains how we integrate biodiversity into our company assessment process, and how Greenbank use their investor influence to encourage companies to look at their environmental impacts both directly and through their supply chains.

Krystyna Springer, senior research analyst for financial sector strategies at ShareAction, reflects on their recent report (Point of No Returns), examining the investment community’s understanding of biodiversity loss, and addressing the challenges holding back the investment industry’s progress on biodiversity integration.

Ed Ellis, manager of the integrated biodiversity assessment tool (IBAT) for the IBAT alliance, explains how important it is to provide companies and investors with reliable, evidence-based biodiversity data to shape operational and investment decisions.

Annelisa Grigg, director of Globalbalance,  has advised investors, companies and civil society on the business risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity for over 20 years. Annelisa provides insight into the status of global biodiversity and explains how biodiversity can be integrated into financial and corporate decision-making.

Darren Moorcroft, chief executive of the Woodland Trust, the UK’s largest woodland nature conservation charity, explains the importance of woodland for biodiversity to thrive, and how important it is for people to reconnect with nature. The  Woodland Trust’s core vision is to make a UK rich in native woods and trees a reality.