#smenaturepositivefinance
Business development is a dynamic landscape and securing external financing is often a crucial stepping stone for growth. Encouraging greener investment can embed the environment as a key driver in encouraging positive outcomes by investing in the future.
The SME Nature Positive Finance project is aimed at supporting Small and Medium-Sized companies (with 1 - 249 employees) and their investors to incorporate nature-positive principles, practices and measurements into their decision-making. Our research found that in many cases, SMEs don't have the in-house resources that larger organisations have (e.g. an in-house sustainability or compliance officer). Meanwhile, financiers and SME support organisations are not yet aligned on what nature-positive investment means. More awareness is required to encourage better support and financing to fund SME innovation on net-zero and nature-positive.
Here you can find out more from our expert speakers, presentations from the research team and our SME case study innovators from the NERC-funded research project SME Nature-Positive Finance.
Morning Session
The morning session offers high-level policy, practitioner and research context into UK SME Nature Positive Finance barriers and drivers. Key speakers include the British Business Bank, Green Angel Syndicate, NatureMetrics and UKRI NERC Integrating Finance and Biodiversity (IFB) research programme.
Afternoon Session
The afternoon showcases Middlesex University research and SME trailblazers presenting ecological tech solutions for agrifood, textiles and fashion and critical environmental enablers and drivers in infrastructure and transport.
SME Innovator Presentations focused on:
- Early-stage SMEs journeys in obtaining external financing
- SMEs navigating challenges in accessing finance for nature-positive innovation
- Aligning with environmentally conscious investors through shared metrics
- The evolution of SME investors in becoming 'nature-positive'
In collaboration with:
Expectations of the day
Policymakers, practitioners and researchers can gain vital state-of-the-art knowledge of the latest innovations capable of delivering financing for a sustainable, prosperous green industry-led future.
If you attended the conference and want to share your feedback on how it went, what else you'd like to see from the research team and ideas for future collaboration please scan the QR code or go to: https://ahaslides.com/JQD1E
Our research questions
RQ1. What is the current understanding amongst SME investors regarding approaches to measuring and reporting on biodiversity?
RQ2. How do SME innovators who are developing new business models for nature positivity and net zero currently report on their impacts?
RQ3. How do SME innovators who are developing new business models for nature positivity and net zero currently report on their impacts?
RQ4. What are the effective ways to assist SME investors and investees seeking nature positivity and net-zero? How do investors collaborate to develop common approaches that reverse biodiversity depletion?
About the IFB Programme
This funding from Innovate UK is part of the Integrating Finance and Biodiversity for a Nature Positive Future programme, led by the Natural Environment Research Council. £7 million programme to develop the solutions needed to embed the values of biodiversity in financial decision-making.
There are also opportunities to access grants that support fintech SME solutions in biodiversity financing markets as part of the green economy transitions under the UKRI’s Unlocking Nature Positive Private Investment funding call.
Contact details
If you are interested in knowing more about the project or want to discuss ways the research team can work with your organisation in nature-positive SME financing solutions, please contact Robyn Owen (PI) r.owen@mdx.ac.uk or Amy Burnett a.burnett@mdx.ac.uk