Recognising the crucial role banks can play in protecting and restoring nature and our environment, the global sustainability academy for bankers, the Principles for Responsible Banking Academy (PRB Academy), has introduced a new nature course titled “Applying Nature-Responsible Banking“. This course emphasises practical methods for banks either engaging with or considering how to engage with nature.
Our world is currently facing a triple planetary crisis involving climate change, pollution, and the loss of nature and biodiversity. According to estimates by The World Economic Forum (WEF), a nature-positive pathway could generate over US$10 trillion in new annual business value, highlighting why banks must assume a more significant role in bridging the biodiversity funding gap.
The objective of this course is to address the ‘how’, detailing the actions banks need to take to mitigate their negative impacts on nature and transition towards generating more positive impacts. The main goal of the course is to provide individuals with the essential knowledge and skills required to navigate the nature-positive transition, creating more favourable outcomes for the environment, banks, and their customers.
The course is also aligned with The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework, which advocates the incorporation of nature into strategic and capital allocation decision-making. To achieve the course learning outcomes, a fictitious bank is utilised as a case study, with learners assuming the role of a sustainability expert. This involves exploring nature-related issues pertinent to the bank, such as identifying and assessing impacts, dependencies, and risks from a fictional loan portfolio, before making recommendations for developing a nature-related strategy.
Joanne Murphy, Interim Chief Executive of the Chartered Banker Institute, commented:
“The Chartered Banker Institute is delighted to launch this new nature course with our partners. It builds on the introductory course on nature we launched earlier this year and is designed to help learners apply a nature-responsible approach to all aspects of banking, reducing negative impacts on nature and moving towards positive and sustainable outcomes for people and the planet. Mobilising finance to support nature-positive outcomes can offer new opportunities for banks and their customers, as banks and bankers are uniquely positioned to enhance the resilience of our planet and societies to halt and reverse nature loss. Integrating this applied nature course into bank’s existing internal learning and development for employees provides a simple solution to further progress this essential work.”
