As an investor can measure the financial performance of a company or an investment fund by the returns generated, an investor should also be able to know their impacts on biodiversity thanks to a series of indicators, estimates the Caisse de depot et placement of Quebec (CDPQ). And this is precisely what the institution is working on, she announced Thursday, with other partners in the nature conservation, finance and research sectors in Quebec.
In the wake of COP15, which is taking place in Montreal, the Caisse de dépôt has met with the investment fund Fondaction, the Society for Nature and Parks (SNAP Quebec), the Center for Biodiversity Science of Quebec (CSBQ) and the University of Sherbrooke to begin the development of biodiversity indicators specific to the territory and to investors in Quebec.
Now launched, the project should be spread over two years. The resulting indicators will provide the financial sector with a common reference framework for measuring the impacts of investments on biodiversity and improving decision-making, it is said.
“Not only can the financial sector play a role in the conservation of biodiversity, help limit the destruction of our ecosystems, but we can also contribute to their recovery,” says Marc-André Blanchard, Senior Vice-President and Head of CDPQ. world, as well as global head of sustainable investing at the CDPQ.
These criteria will make it possible to “better align capital with the objectives of sustainable development”, underlines Mr. Blanchard, who recalls that the Caisse already follows an analysis grid of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria for “each investment opportunity”. ‘investment “. These new biodiversity indicators will make it possible to “perfect” decision-making, he says.
The uniqueness of Quebec
According to Diego Creimer, Finance and Biodiversity Director at SNAP, “it is necessary to have local indicators, and not just rely on international indicators. He particularly underlines the singularities related to the St. Lawrence River, as well as the “bio-cultural” specificities of the First Nations, among others, which investors from here must take into account.
Mr. Blanchard believes that this project to develop Québec biodiversity indicators for the financial sector is further proof of the province’s leadership in this area. “Montreal is a hub for sustainable finance,” he says, citing as an example the recent installation in the metropolis of an office of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the organization responsible for creating new environmental financial disclosure standards.