Biodiversity and natural capital

Credit Suisse recognizes the need to protect the range of habitats and species on Earth and to safeguard the natural ecological processes and the livelihoods they support. We are committed to playing our part in addressing biodiversity loss through our role as an intermediary between the economy, the environment and society. As a trusted financial partner, we aim to help our clients understand the risks from biodiversity loss and identify the opportunities associated with the conscientious management of natural capital and the conservation of biodiversity.

Biodiversity-related issues are considered in Credit Suisse’s risk management processes, and we cover these topics in our sector-specific policies and guidelines (see pages 23-25). Recognizing the need for capital in conserving ecosystems, we are also active in the conservation finance space, which focuses on the creation of new, long-term and diversified sources of revenue that can play a role in ensuring terrestrial as well as marine biodiversity conservation and the health of natural ecosystems (see page 82). We are expanding our product offering in this space.

In order to provide more transparency about our approach to biodiversity, in 2020 we developed a public Statement on Biodiversity. The Statement describes how we address biodiversity by embedding it into our sustainability risk assessments (see also pages 19-21), by facilitating investments into biodiversity protection, and through the physical footprint of our own operations.

We also engage with stakeholders on defining ways for the financial industry to contribute to preserving biodiversity and the world’s natural habitats. For instance, we have acted as a technical advisor to the Zoological Society of London’s Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit (SPOTT) for a number of years, and are part of the Technical Advisory Group for the palm oil and the timber and pulp sectors. We have also hosted the Credit Suisse Annual Conservation Finance Investor Conference in New York for eight years.