{"id":13798,"date":"2020-04-16T10:50:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-16T09:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/?p=13798"},"modified":"2022-05-20T15:29:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-20T14:29:47","slug":"nature-organisations-and-asset-managers-working-together-on-sustainable-production","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/story\/nature-organisations-and-asset-managers-working-together-on-sustainable-production\/","title":{"rendered":"Nature organisations and asset managers working together on sustainable production"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Header photo: Faryda Lindeman in call \u00a9 IUCN NL<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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For many companies, environmental risks go hand in hand with financial risks. For example, biodiversity loss can lead to lower turnover and illegal deforestation can cause reputational damage. Asset managers therefore want to know whether the companies in which they invest face these risks. But how do they get this information? If they succeed in doing so, what do they do with it? Faryda Lindeman of NN Investment Partners discusses the surprising yet powerful collaboration with nature organisations.<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n\n
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NN Investment Partners (NN IP), the asset manager of the Netherlands’ largest life insurance company, has applied sustainability criteria in their investment strategies for more than twenty years. Faryda Lindeman, Senior Responsible Investing Specialist, uses research data to check if companies in which NN IP invests comply with their sustainability policy. If they don\u2019t, she can open up dialogue with the company about how they can improve their actions. Moreover, Faryda also advises her colleagues internally as to the activities of potential companies they\u2019re considering working with.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Close to the source<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Data helps Faryda identify the most important ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues in a given sector. This is particularly important in sectors with potentially high impact, such as the palm oil industry. Whilst such sectors can be an important source of local income (particularly in Indonesia and Malaysia) they\u2019re simultaneously a great threat to the environment and local communities. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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‘We’re looking for information on specific companies,” Faryda explains. “What issues did environmental organisations discover there? What have they done with that information? And how do companies or other stakeholders react and act when that information is presented to them? We also buy data from international research organisations. They cover a certain part of the world, but are often far away from the source. If we want information about a particular palm oil producer in Kalimantan, they don’t have it. Local civil society organisations often do.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Local organisations flag violations<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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With this in mind, Faryda welcomed civil society organisations from Indonesia, working in Kalimantan and Aceh, at her office in Rotterdam in April 2018. ‘Colleagues warned us they might show up on our doorstep waving flags and spreading pamphlets,’ says Faryda. ‘Civil society organisations suffer from that image in the financial world. But things went very differently.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Local partner organisations of IUCN NL and WWF showed NN IP that they measured legal and illegal logging for palm oil plantations using drones and identified rights violations. ‘That information was new and relevant to us,’says Faryda. ‘Only with up-to-date information such as this, can we engage in dialogue with companies.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Connecting civil society organisations and asset managers<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The meeting was initiated by IUCN NL, WWF NL and the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), as part of their programme to bring conservationists and financial institutions closer together. More than 140 representatives of civil society organisations from 22 countries took part in this programme, set up in strategic partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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According to Faryda, these parties are important partners in bringing together nature organisations and asset managers. ‘IUCN NL and WWF NL know the field in the Netherlands well, but are also in touch with partners and offices across the globe. They know what civil society organisations are working on and what information is relevant to us. If they bring us together, that\u2019s very efficient.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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