Pathways for an efficient alignment of the financial system with the needs of biodiversity (BIOPATH)

Summary
BIOPATH is mapping, assessing, co-developing and testing existing and novel approaches for integration of biodiversity considerations into financial decision-making with financial and industrial partners.

Dates
2022-2026

Academic lead
Susanne Arvidssonm, University of Lund

Project contact
Ben Groom

Funder
The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA)

More information

Funded by the MISTRA (Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research), our key objectives are:

  • Map state-of-the-art approaches and co-develop actionable and improved methods, metrics, and tools to provide accurate and transparent decision support for financial decision-making in industry and the financial system that considers the multidimensional character of biodiversity (WP1)
  • Map best practices and co-develop better integration of biodiversity in decision–making related to accounting, reporting, and risk management in industry and the financial system (WP2)
  • Map and evaluate current, and co-develop novel and transformative governance frameworks related to biodiversity consideration in industry, the financial system, and public policies (WP3)

Why it matters

The complex problem of integrating biodiversity into financial decision-making requires a number of research methods. These range from traditional exploratory methods, rooted in a qualitative and interpretive methodology, to more generalisable methods such as econometrics and statistical modelling. The latter is dependent on access to key data and the ability to analyse such data and make it useful. To succeed in these endeavours BIOPATH aspire to benefit from machine learning and other AI-based techniques, which show great promise in the intersect between biodiversity and finance. Building capabilities to merge and integrate data from multiple sources into something useful and actionable is challenging when data is as diverse as satellite images and daily stock market returns. However, this is an area where BIOPATH, through resources such as the Swedish Centre for Digital Innovation, Bitlab, CAPTAIN, MDOTM and Statistics Sweden, have extensive experience and an opportunity to create new innovative approaches.

Project team

Ben Groom
Dragon Capital Chair

Susanne Arvidsson
Associate Professor, University of Lund

Chunying Gou
Postdoctoral Research Assistant

Partners and funders