Bloomberg and the Natural History Museum in London have partnered to make the Museum’s Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) available to financial markets.
This initiative integrates the Museum’s geospatial BII data with Bloomberg’s database of physical assets linked to nearly 50,000 global companies.
The collaboration aims to enable companies and investors to understand their impact on ecosystems.
The tool developed by Bloomberg will allow users to analyse their proximity to intact ecosystems and assess the scale of ecological impact over time.
The BII, a measure developed by the Natural History Museum, categorises biodiversity integrity on a scale from 100% (fully intact) to 0% (completely altered). It reflects the biodiversity status of specific terrestrial areas compared to pristine areas with minimal human interference.
Once built, the BII data and Bloomberg’s existing biodiversity-related offerings aim to help investors screen companies based on their operation in areas with either intact or diminishing ecosystem integrity.
The tool is designed to enhance the ability of financial markets to consider biodiversity impacts in investment decisions.
Dr Doug Gurr, director of the Natural History Museum, London, said, “This ground-breaking collaboration heralds a new era in our efforts to safeguard the world’s biodiversity. Thanks to Bloomberg, we have been able to make our research available to support investment decision-making for the first time, with the aim of addressing the challenges faced by our planet.
“We’re hopeful that this innovation will be recognised as a watershed moment in advancing financial strategies to tackle the planetary emergency.”
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