The latest developments in the ESG space.

Pictet Asset Management, the Swiss firm, announced last week that it has been chosen as a founding partner for a new four-year global research programme geared to help the financial industry develop strategies to protect “natural capital” and halt biodiversity loss.

The initiative, which will receive approximately €5 million ($5.28 million) in research funding from Mistra, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research, will be overseen by the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) at Stockholm University.

The Swiss asset manager said it is the only asset management company in the Biodiversity Finance (BIOFIN) programme, chosen for its track record in “innovative thinking” in sustainable finance, according to a statement from the Geneva-based firm. 

As an “Impact Partner,” Pictet AM said its role is to provide investment expertise and to contribute to transdisciplinary research that can help bring about nature-positive changes in the financial system.

“Biodiversity is an important issue in sustainable investment, and we’re delighted to extend our relationship with the SRC and work with consortium partners to advance our collective knowledge on interactions between biodiversity and investments,” Sebastien Eisinger, managing partner Pictet Group, said. “Creating a sustainable world requires transformative change and finance is a key part of that change. To the transformation of finance, we plan to work to ensure that the mainstream of finance better addresses the complexity of the living, while also exploring the margins of finance to identify alternative ways of connecting finance and the living world.”