World Wildlife Fund

Commercial capital flows shape the world. The application of capital creates environmental opportunity and risk, and many financial institutions are now developing policies and procedures that aim to help them understand and respond to these challenges. The Equator Principles and UNEP-Finance Initiative are two examples of these efforts, and WWF is working across the financial sector to help banks and funds implement good practices. We know that there may be particular challenges in delivering responsible financing because

• Biodiversity and ecosystem impacts are complex and may not sit easily in traditional credit risk assessment processes
• Governance and management of public goods such as biodiversity and the services it provides - particularly in developing countries - may be weak and there is often uncertainty over the role that private companies and financial institutions should take
• The staffs who work in financial institutions may have limited familiarity with concepts of biodiversity, species and habitats protection.
  

For these and other reasons, WWF sees significant opportunity to work with a range of financial institutions in the debt and equity markets, insurance, asset management and elsewhere in the sector. We leverage our skills and knowledge to help deliver better risk management and financial performance.

We are also increasingly active in the development of products and services based on biodiversity that create opportunities for the financial sector. Our work in carbon markets is driving innovation and change at scale and our work on agriculture such as oil palm, sugarcane and salmon is helping to shape the emerging investment framework for sustainable commodities.