#smenaturepositivefinance
Here you can find out more from our SME Nature Positive Finance conference held at Middlesex University (MDX) on 15th March 2024. Here we heard from 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, Nature Metrics and UKRI NERC Integrating Finance and Biodiversity (IFB) research programme.
In collaboration with:
Morning session: speakers, notes and Powerpoint presentations
Professor Stephen Syrett, Middlesex University Business School
Summary: the SME Nature-Positive Finance reflects impactful research and builds on MDX's ranking of No.1 for REF impact in the UK in 2021. MDX collaboration with various public sector entities and local governments across London and internationally reflects the co-creation of MDX research so the impact is designed into research.
SME Nature Positive Finance Principal Investigator, Prof Robyn Owen
The Middlesex University SME Nature Positive Finance project focuses on high-impact sectors - agri-food, fashion and textiles, infrastructure (encompassing planning and construction and freight and logistics) and wider ecological service measures. The project is showcasing some of the UK SME innovators' work in cultivating nature-positive outcomes and the role of financiers in enabling this within the business start-up entrepreneurial finance (entfin) ecosystem.
British Business Bank
The Government’s Green Finance Strategy estimates we need £50-60bn of capital investment each year to meet the UK's net zero commitments, which will require both debt and equity finance to support the green transition and innovation. The British Business Bank has a mission to drive sustainable growth and prosperity to enable a transition to a net-zero economy and support finance for smaller businesses.
Dan presented the findings from the 2023 British Business Bank Finance Survey (which includes questions on climate and the environment) revealing key insights into SME awareness and key barriers they face.
Nick Lyth, Green Angel Ventures
Green Angel Syndicate (GAS) is the only angel syndicate in the UK specialising in climate change. GAS invests in companies introducing technology innovations with the potential to reduce carbon emissions.
Click on the links to find out more about GAS’ environmental investment criteria and its portfolio; these indicate the types of green indicators GAS uses to screen its investment and the types of businesses it can support. For more information contact nick@greenangelventures.com.
Hannah Skeates, NatureMetrics
Globally, there is a "new era" of nature focus which can "bend the biodiversity curve" towards restoration. There is a growing focus on the drivers but less on the measures of the state of nature.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) captures the traces of different species in the environment. NatureMetrics is an e-DNA technology platform and testing provider that works in over 100 countries with over 500 clients, including SMEs. Its Nature Performance Dashboard can track change over time and home in particular areas of concern for its clients.
Roundtable - Policy and Practice
Chaired by Professor Javed Hussain, Birmingham City University
Some key points from the panel
- No one takes responsibility, i.e. for the melting ice caps or environmental degradation.
- Businesses are organic and they serve markets, they are not necessarily there to "do good", that is the role of government through regulation. There is no such thing as "the free market" as government acts, in principle, for the public good.
- SMEs in supply chains need to meet standards to supply and win contracts, it is an evolution of the market and is getting more finance to smaller businesses.
- Environmental accounting led to a crossover from the academic to the financial world that would replace the Keynesian GNP paradigm. But this failed as no one adopted the noble conclusions.
- Elements of biodiversity don't always provide an obvious "service". Conceptually it is very important but practically it doesn't fit into a reporting structure.
- Metrics can support measures from aquatic environments. There is increasing interest in the "blue economy", as a subset of green.
- Accounting for nature-positive is being thought of for larger businesses, not for SMEs. The EU is looking at supporting SMEs, but the UK is not.
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