Press Release

ISS ESG Launches Inaugural ISS STOXX Natural Capital Institute Report

ISS ESG, the sustainable investment arm of ISS STOXX, today released the inaugural flagship study of ISS STOXX’s Natural Capital Research Institute, The Root Cause of Nature Loss: Forests, Why They Matter, and How to Assess Deforestation Risk in Investment Portfolios through Nature-Related Data.

Founded in 2024, the Natural Capital Research Institute’s mission is to explore how nature can affect businesses and investment portfolios and to support institutional investors seeking to incorporate nature-related considerations in their investment decision making process.

The timely new report highlights that many institutional investors are increasingly considering the interconnected challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change, the need to better understand the dependencies and impacts involved, and to assess related risks and opportunities in their portfolios. Tropical forests are the inaugural study’s key focus which is based on the premise that their protection is imperative to addressing the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. The new report expands on existing research into deforestation risk exposure – the probability of a business activity directly or indirectly causing, contributing to, or financing deforestation – and potential mitigation strategies. It provides guidance on how institutional investors can assess their portfolio companies’ reliance and related environmental and social impacts on tropical forests by using a diverse set of data typologies.

This inaugural flagship study highlights that the remit of mitigating and halting deforestation risk across public equity portfolios will be a dynamic journey… Although challenges persist, opportunities are growing rapidly, with data around nature-related dependencies, impacts and environmental performance becoming available. Further, nature data architecture at the asset level is growing, while nature-based solutions practices, such as regenerative agriculture and sustainable land management are expanding.

Mirtha Kastrapeli

Global Head of Natural Capital, and Head of ISS STOXX’s Natural Capital Research Institute

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