Yesterday marked a genuine shift – a moment when the future of finance, food, and forests stopped debating and started demonstrating impact. The Pensions for Purpose Annual Conference was a reminder that the movement to align capital with climate action is no longer theoretical; it’s happening. Chairing Breaking New Ground for Nature Investment alongside Tim, Michael, Lindee, and Jim was a privilege – and a sign that serious minds are now treating nature as an investable asset class.
Tim began with military grade insight from his years at Baillie Gifford: “Numbers tell you nothing about strengths, flaws, or ambitions. Numbers in isolation are useless.” He urged investors to “embrace quality scenarios, because it’s the foundation from which all else flows.” His point was crystal clear – climate risk isn’t a static metric; it’s a living story, and investors need to prepare for futures, not forecasts. Later, he summed it up perfectly: “The cost of inaction is greater than the cost of action.” The choice is simple: either invest in creating a better future or pay for a worse one.
Michael, from SAIL Investments, turned that principle into practice. “Eight years ago, when we started investing in food and agriculture, the question was: how do we address the problem that nature is half of the world’s GDP?” he said. He described how their fund used private credit to drive deforestation-free beef production in Brazil: “We invested $30 million to help companies trace their cattle supply chains and stop sourcing from areas that are recently deforested.” He spoke proudly of seeing that change “on a daily basis on our satellite monitoring system.” His closing thought was both simple and powerful: “Stopping deforestation is an easy solution — and it’s a profitable one.”
Lindee Wong from Tikehau Capital brought a private equity perspective to the conversation. “We’re looking at technologies that already have a market that needs to grow,” she explained. “Our sweet spot is in regenerative agriculture – tackling the issue of soil health, which affects around 40% of global soils today.” She detailed investments in companies producing biological crop protection and organic fertilisers, proudly noting that “because these are aligned with improving soil health, we will also see the impact in biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and reduced water consumption.” Her clarity on scalable solutions – grounded in technology, not tokenism – resonated deeply.
Then Jim Hourdequin from Lyme Timber offered a forester’s realism and decades of informed perspective. “Natural forests are unique because they carry several different species all at once,” he said. “They’re inherently more resilient to climate change.” He explained how Lyme uses LiDAR technology to map their 1.3-million-acre portfolio: “We literally have a census of all the trees.” Later, when asked about carbon markets, he didn’t mince words: “Early on, you could design projects where you didn’t really have to change behaviour on the ground in any meaningful way.” He described how tightening standards have improved integrity but questioned whether “the price of carbon is sufficiently high to make that trade-off.” His conclusion was quietly profound: “Carbon is one tool in the toolbox — but conservation easements may be a better fit for protecting the range of natural values.”
As Chair, my role was simple – keep it fast, keep it fascinating, and make sure no one got too comfortable. The panel moved like a current: sharp insights, challenging truths, and a shared sense of urgency. Together, they created a rhythm of conviction. And by the end, the message was unmistakable: adaptation, innovation, and investment are no longer separate conversations – they’re the same one.
Five years ago, “nature-based investment” might have been a footnote on an ESG report. Yesterday, it filled a room with trustees, fund managers, and innovators taking notes like traders at market open. Finance is no longer just about returns – it’s about delivering positive environmental and social impact, generating a profit as a result.
We didn’t shy away from challenges. The panel spoke openly about risk, data, and credibility. Tim warned against overreliance on abstract models. Michael reminded us that data can be ground-truthed with increasingly accurate remote sensor monitoring. Lindee and Jim both proved that the best innovation is already happening on the land itself. It was not a conversation about future promises — it was evidence of action today.
As the session closed, I reminded the room that this is not a niche; it’s the next economy. We are rewriting the relationship between capital and climate — turning what was once seen as constraint into a catalyst for growth. The investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers who act now will not just preserve value — they’ll create it.
Breaking New Ground for Nature Investment may have been the title, but it was almost certainly the wrong one. This panel and the real work are about restoring the ground: economic and environmental. Yesterday proved that purpose and profit are no longer adversaries; they are allies. Nature is not waiting for the market. Nature is the market.
Thank you to Charlotte and the Pensions for Purpose team for curating a space where ambition met accountability – and to Tim, Michael, Lindee, and Jim for reminding us that the most valuable investment we can make is in the planet that makes everything else possible.