Nature and its ecosystem services fundamentally underpin economies and societies. Nature is intrinsically connected to our efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, maintain healthy communities, and support productive, sustainable economies.
Nature-related risk in financing
Our Forestry and Agricultural Commodities, Protected Areas, and Climate Change position statements outline our financing restrictions that seek to address nature-related risks.
In action: LEAP assessments of Barclays Mining and Barclays Europe Power portfolios
In 2024, to continue to build our understanding and management of nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities, we applied the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures' (TNFD) ‘LEAP’ framework – Locate, Evaluate, Assess and Prepare – to clients in the Barclays Mining and Barclays Europe Power portfolios.
Industry collaboration and engagement
We believe collaboration and engagement across industry is essential to sharing learnings and having a successful nature-positive transition. Examples of work undertaken by Barclays:
- Continued to engage with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) both bilaterally, as part of our membership of the TNFD Forum and through industry groups in relation to the finalisation of the TNFD recommendations and to subsequent guidance, such as the TNFD additional guidance for financial institutions.
- Provided input into a paper launched by the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) regarding the future for nature in transition planning as part of our membership of the TPT’s Nature Working Group.
- Barclays is a member of the Sustainable Markets Initiative’s (SMI) Financial Services Task Force (FSTF). Barclays has been a part of a number of working groups addressing nature themes, including a group focusing on the role of private finance in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
- Published a policy paper, ‘Cultivating a nature market that works for UK farmers’.
- Barclays is a member of the United Nations Environment Programme – Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), a founding signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB), a member of UNEP FI PRB’s Nature Working Group and a member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
- Barclays is a member of the Institute of International Finance (IIF) Nature Expert Group and has contributed to industry consultations on nature alongside other FIs.
- Barclays is a member of the UK Business & Biodiversity Forum (UKBBF), which aims to accelerate the mainstreaming of biodiversity in business operations and public decision-making in the UK. In 2024, Barclays participated in meetings and working group sessions with the forum, culminating in contributions at the organisation's event at COP16 alongside other UK businesses.
Nature action roadmap
These are some of the key nature milestones to date and our plans for 2025 and beyond.