At this year’s Building Bridges 2025, Innovate 4 Nature had the privilege of hosting two official events as part of the programme:
Impressions of both events can be found in our gallery.
The Action Event brought together experts from finance, corporates, and impact ventures to explore how to accelerate nature-positive solutions from early-stage ideas to large-scale impact – read our insights here.
Framing the Challenge – Poll 1
Moderator Barbara Dubach opened the session by asking participants to name their biggest challenges in investing in or funding nature restoration. The responses painted a clear picture of the barriers holding back capital:
Lack of clear business cases and difficulty defining revenues from nature.
Perceived risk and expectations of financial returns equal to conventional investments.
Limited visibility of investable opportunities with understandable criteria.
Challenges around ownership and returns, access to early-stage capital, and bankability.
Issues with measuring outcomes, convincing stakeholders of long-term benefits, and funding the expertise needed to deliver results.
This set the stage for exploring how financing innovation can break through these barriers.
Insights from the Panel
The session featured diverse perspectives from across the finance and innovation ecosystem:
Adrian Ackeret (elea Foundation) emphasised the importance of microfinance and philanthropic capital in sparking early innovation, stressing that entrepreneurs need more than funding – they need long-term partnerships.
Carole Fonty (ALIEN Limited) and François Girod (Holcim) showcased a groundbreaking cement industry collaboration, turning invasive species into a sustainable substitute for limestone, reducing both ecological damage and industrial emissions.
Korbinian Kantenwein (Nature Wealth) introduced the Nature Priority Fund, designed to invest in biodiversity projects and bridge the gap between grassroots innovators and institutional investors.
Allison Voss (World Economic Forum / UpLink) highlighted how natural capital is entering mainstream finance, with a growing toolkit of instruments – from sustainable bonds to digital credits – and stressed the importance of a portfolio approach to scaling solutions.
Poll Insights – The Audience Speaks
Poll 2 – Financing mechanisms
The audience agreed that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. Instead, sequencing financing options across different growth stages is fundamental to avoid disincentives. Other priorities included insurance, certification, offtake agreements, and working with investors who recognise how nature value can be built over time. Several participants also stressed that financing innovation must be engaging and inspiring to attract broad support.
Poll 3 – De-risking investments
The top-ranked solution was developing the right incentive structures and legal frameworks to ensure nature is properly priced and valued in markets. Other priorities included:
Stronger government action to create enabling environments.
Shifting supply chain risks into opportunities at the landscape level.
Integrating carbon pricing mechanisms into corporate value chains.
Innovative financial structuring: family offices and foundations help de-risk early stages, followed by blended finance (loss capital, junior loans, commercial senior loans) to scale projects.
A greater role for family offices in aligning long-term capital with a vision for the future.
Poll 4 – Metrics, mindsets, markets
Participants emphasised the need for both cultural and technical shifts:
Moving from compliance-driven ESG to impact-driven metrics that measure real-world outcomes.
A mindset shift where nature-positive becomes the default, and unsustainable options are the exception.
Integrating nature into corporate decision-making and clarifying the risk-return ratio of nature investments.
Greater transparency from financial institutions, clearer societal benefits, and long-term pricing of biodiversity.
Even redefining fiduciary duty to include nature protection, taking more risks, and valuing collaboration with communities on the ground.
Key Takeaways
Several clear priorities emerged from both the panel and the polls:
Sequencing matters: A smooth path from seed to scale requires a well-orchestrated mix of financing mechanisms.
De-risking is essential: Insurance, blended finance, and supportive legal frameworks are critical to attract private capital.
Metrics and mindsets must evolve: Impact-driven metrics and a shift in corporate culture are key to valuing nature properly.
Collaboration unlocks scale: Governments, corporates, investors, family offices, and foundations each have a vital role to play.
From Ideas to Action
The session concluded with a call for cross-sector collaboration to move nature finance from niche to mainstream. By sequencing financing tools, de-risking investments, and embedding nature in decision-making, participants agreed we can accelerate the transition to a regenerative economy.
Together, we can finance the transition from seed to scale – and bring nature into the heart of the economy.
READ MORE INSIGHTS
