New applied nature course for bankers launched

EDINBURGH AND GENEVA. August 6th, 2024 - Acknowledging the vital role that banks can have in safeguarding and restoring nature and our environment, the global sustainability academy for bankers - the Principles for Responsible Banking Academy (PRB Academy) – has launched a new nature course, “Applying Nature-Responsible Banking“, which focuses on practical approaches for banks engaging or considering how to engage with nature.

Our world faces a triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and nature and biodiversity loss. It is estimated by The World Economic Forum (WEF)[1] that a nature-positive pathway could generate over US$10 trillion in new annual business value, underlining why banks can and must play a bigger role in filling the biodiversity funding gap.  

The aim of this course is to help with the ‘how’, covering what is it that banks need to do to reduce their negative impacts on nature and move towards having more positive impacts. The overarching objective of this course is to equip individuals with the critical knowledge and skills needed to navigate the nature-positive transition and create more favourable scenarios for the environment, banks and their customers.

The course is also aligned to The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework, which promotes the integration of nature into strategic and capital allocation decision-making. To support achievement of the course learning outcomes, a fictitious bank is used as a case study and learners are invited to immerse themselves in the role of a sustainability expert. The role involves exploring nature-related issues that are relevant for the bank, such as identifying and assessing impacts, dependencies and risks arising from a fictitious loan portfolio, before making recommendations for developing a nature-related strategy. 

Joanne Murphy, Interim Chief Executive of the Chartered Banker Institute commented:

“The Chartered Banker Institute is delighted to launch this new nature course with our partners. It builds on the introductory course on nature we launched earlier this year and is designed to help learners apply a nature-responsible approach to all aspects of banking, reducing negative impacts on nature and moving towards positive and sustainable outcomes for people and the planet. Mobilising finance to support for nature-positive outcomes can offer new opportunities for banks and their customers, as banks and bankers are uniquely positioned to enhance the resilience of our planet and societies to halt and reverse nature loss. Integrating this applied nature course into bank’s existing internal learning and development for employees provides a simple solution to further progress this essential work.”