a.s.r. stands up against loss of nature

The Finance Biodiversity Pledge is an initiative of a group of European financial institutions and will be launched at the General Meeting of the United Nations on 25 September. The signatories ask world leaders for a global agreement to reverse the loss of nature in this decade.

In addition, the group itself - and therefore a.s.r., too - has made several agreements to support the biodiversity of our earth and to prevent the loss of nature. In addition to the mutual collaboration and sharing of knowledge, this concerns the drawing up of criteria in the ESG (Environmental Social & Corporate Governance) policy, determining the impact of financial activities and investments on biodiversity, setting targets and reporting on these annually in a transparent manner. 

At a.s.r., biodiversity mainly concerns the activities of a.s.r. asset management and a.s.r. real estate. More specifically, the main focus of real estate will be to reduce the negative impact of new housing, and increase the positive impact for rural real estate, for example by using the Open Soil Index. 
Within asset management the main focus will be on measuring the impact of investments on biodiversity, on impact investments and engagement. 

Jos Baeten, CEO a.s.r.: ‘Human well-being and quality of life on the planet are inextricably linked to biodiversity. With the Finance Biodiversity Pledge, a.s.r. wishes to endorse the initiative to prevent loss of nature. We will make an effort to ensure that our investments (in real estate) contribute to the restoration of biodiversity.’

For more information on the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge, visit their webste: financeforbiodiversity.org