Supporting investor progress on nature integration

Growing awareness of the importance of nature to society and to the economy is driving investor interest and action. In response, the PRI has been working with investors to understand what they need to effectively engage with nature, in order to mobilise private capital at the necessary scale and speed to deliver long-term value creation, while meeting the Global Biodiversity Framework targets. 

The last few years have seen increased growth in corporate stewardship activity. For example Spring – the PRI’s stewardship initiative for nature – now represents over US $ 19 trillion AUM, and voluntary disclosure on nature has risen, with 733 organisations including 179 financial institutions adopting Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) in 2025. Capital allocation to private nature finance has increased elevenfold since 2020, reaching $US102 billion in 2024, and nature-specific financial products have come online, such as the worlds’ first nature-labelled bonds issued in Japan in December 2025 and the listing of Africa’s first nature-linked performance-based bond in April 2026.

Investors have benefited from a growing range of tools, data and insights to support action. Recently, IPBES adopted its latest Methodological Assessment that critically evaluates approaches to the measurement of business impacts and dependencies on biodiversity, and the role of different actors in creating an enabling environment for action on nature. ISO 17298 was released in March 2025, providing an international standard for organisations looking to embed biodiversity into their core strategies, operations and decision-making processes.

Beyond impacts and dependencies, nature investment opportunities have grown; a 2026 PRI-commissioned report highlights nature-related investment opportunities for institutional investors and the World Economic Forum (WEF) showcase 50 Investible Opportunities for a New Nature Economy for both corporates and financial institutions.

But – to modify a phrase – we are not out of the (native) woodlands just yet, as the 2026 UNEP state of nature finance report starkly illustrates, “for every dollar invested in protecting nature, US$30 are spent destroying it.”

With so much development in this space, here we summarise the key current investor needs when it comes to nature integration alongside emerging approaches to address them.

Investor needs on nature

1. Valuing ecosystems and pricing nature degradation

Investors need effective ways to translate biodiversity loss and nature degradation into quantified and measurable risks to asset value. Investors are aware of the immediate and systemic risks of nature and biodiversity loss, yet the ability to adequately value nature and price nature degradation is limited by the availability of suitable pricing models. Bringing the value of the services provided by healthy and functioning ecosystems, and the cost of nature loss, into financial analyses will help portfolio managers to attribute nature loss to traditional financial metrics and inform decisions.

Models for pricing nature risk in portfolios are emerging, including Schroders’ NatCapEx which calculates negative and positive externalities on nature using a dollar value, and Nature Alpha’s nature value at risk framework (NVar) which quantifies nature-related impacts on asset performance – an approach used recently by the European Central Bank.

2. Identifying metrics and accessing data

Investors require sector-specific and geographically applicable metrics that can be used to consistently compare companies and inform stock picking, reporting and stewardship. Standardised, credible metrics with sector-level performance thresholds will support investors to identify and interpret issuer impacts and dependencies on nature and set portfolio targets and company-specific KPIs. Accessing data to support these assessments remains a key challenge for investors.

Work to meet these needs is progressing at pace. The Nature Positive Initiative (NPI) is developing a set of state of nature (SoN) metrics which can be used to measure biodiversity and ecosystem condition across different frameworks and geographies. These are expected to be published in July 2026 at the Global Nature Positive Summit in Japan. The TNFD, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have their own core nature metrics, and are currently consulting (until 4 June 2026) on how to integrate the NPI SoN metrics and whether they provide consistency and read-across with their standards. In conjunction, the proposed open-access Nature Data Public Facility aims to “connect, not collect” a foundational set of state-of-nature data and make that available to market participants.

3. Identifying investment opportunities

Investors are looking beyond risks and impacts, towards value creation through scalable investment opportunities in nature, and in the nature, climate and social nexus, but need assurance about the available opportunities.

The PRI and WEF reports (cited above) illustrate that there is a growing pipeline of investable opportunities in nature. However investors remain hesitant because of undersized and underdeveloped projects, inadequate de-risking mechanisms or a lack of access to concessionary finance.

Governments have been emphasising the role private finance will need to play in meeting the goals of the GBF and addressing the finance gap, which has provided some confidence to the market. This has led to innovative developments such as the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)^[1] and growing investor interest in nature-labelled instruments. The first nature-labelled bond was issued in 2025 by Nagoya city in Japan for ¥10.3bn, rated A1 by Moody’s.

4. Forward-looking tools

Responsible investors are seeking sectoral pathways for nature-positive transitions and are looking to build scenario analysis into portfolios to inform target setting and engagement strategies.

Development in this space remains limited, but with a few promising examples. The Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) and TNFD have made initial efforts to develop nature scenarios, and sectoral pathways have been approached by WWF and the Green Finance Institute for the UK.

PRI support for nature integration

PRI support for signatories looking to make progress on integrating nature into their practices takes several forms: our sustainability (NRPF) and stewardship (Spring) initiatives on nature; convening signatories and experts to exchange knowledge and build capacity through our Nature Reference Group, and global Nature Forums; engaging directly and supporting investors to engage with policy makers and standard setters, including at key events, such as climate and biodiversity COPs; and providing research and insights to support investor capacity building, such as recent briefings on water scarcity, flooding and pollution, understanding nature-related risks and financial implications for investors and investment opportunities in nature.

PRI signatories can log into MyPRI to access our full range of nature and biodiversity resources.

PRI disclaimer: The PRI blog aims to contribute to the debate around topical responsible investment issues. It should not be construed as advice, nor relied upon. The blog is written by PRI staff members and occasionally guest contributors. Blog authors write in their individual capacity – posts do not necessarily represent a PRI view. The inclusion of examples or case studies does not constitute an endorsement by PRI Association or PRI signatories.