Usually, if you solve biodiversity loss, you help solve climate change as they are


clearly interlinked. Gabriel Micheli, Pictet-ReGeneration strategy


gives us a good tool to engage with companies. At least it is a start.


Manuel: You said the Church is doing something about defor- estation, could you tell us more about it? Woods: We have signed a commitment to be net-zero deforest- ation. A lot of investors have done that, so now there is a collab- orative engagement initiative. We are working with Global Canopy [a not-for-profit that seeks to halt the destruction of nature] and all the investors that signed the letter to start engaging with certain companies. There are four companies that are specifically the lead on this. Everyone was waiting for someone to set up this engagement. Now we have been able to get it off the ground we are starting conversations with companies. Manuel: What are you going to ask in those engagements? Woods: It is focusing on soft commodities, looking at whether companies have sustainable palm oil, soy, timber, beef and paper. We have come up with some ideas of what best practice is. Some companies will be able to help steer us and maybe add to that best practice. It is also about having conversations to see how companies are working towards it. It is a supply chain issue and, as an investor, we keep coming


up against the problem that there is not always disclosure about supply chains. Just signalling to companies that they need to understand their supply chain is a way to get some improvement.


Are these companies receptive to this signalling? Woods: These conversations are just starting, so we will wait and see. They are company specific because some have started and are doing things that they are proud of but may not be talk- ing about this. They are worried that if they say something pub- licly they are likely to come under scrutiny. de Zylva: We could have a better conversation if companies were more open. This sits alongside disclosure, which is becoming an obligation. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) pro- duced a Risky Business report more than five years ago which opened up a load of conversations when people realised that the stuff in their biscuits was once rain forest. That worked on the consumer level and interesting conversa- tions started taking place with companies. But there is still an air of denial. There are still those not wanting to be exposed. Operational issues will leak out. It is like influencers being shocked that they bought into a fast fashion company that has a sweatshop in Bangladesh and is polluting the local river. “I


February 2023 portfolio institutional roundtable: Biodiversity 15


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