"A sad week for CSRD and CSDDD"

The European legislation applied to more than 50,000 companies, but since last week there have been 80 percent fewer in one fell swoop. These companies no longer need to write a climate transition plan to encourage them to meet their climate goals and correct abuses in their supply chain. Apart from the climate damage that this does not prevent, Laskewitz finds it unbelievable that this is possible.

Weakening

In her view, the bundling means a weakening. "And believe me, there are many companies that are fed up with the relaxations. Just like the environmental movement and also the green political parties in the European Parliament, who have yet to vote on the Omnibus proposals. Not only does it delay the sustainability of Europe, but the lack of clarity and late turn of the committee also punishes the forerunners and lowers confidence in the European government," said Laskewitz, who led the sub-session during the Climate Afternoon.

How sustainably insurers invest will become clear when the VBDO announces the most sustainable Dutch investing insurer at the Association on 3 July. And when the association is expected to publish the results of the Biodiversity Benchmark for European companies on 20 November.

Healthy nature

The big question during the sub-session was how to proceed with making Europe and the Netherlands more sustainable? The story of Christine Wortmann, Nature & Finance lead at the World Wide Fund for Nature, shows that nature damage also has financial consequences. "Under the stripped-down legislation, companies only have to be critical of their direct suppliers. And that while the biggest environmental and human rights problems are often at the beginning of the production chain. By excluding this, the data we need to manage the financial risks associated with this is missing."

Intensive agriculture and deforestation has led to an alarming decline (73%) in the population of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles since 1970. According to Wortmann, this is partly due to "our still largely unsustainable production and consumption system. Moreover, companies are still too focused on financial and economic principles." The return to be achieved that Derk Loorbach also pointed out in his opening story .

Changing the financial sector

Wortmann says that half of the global economy is highly dependent on healthy nature for no less than 44 trillion dollars. While we are rapidly demolishing this nature. "That is precisely why finance is a spearhead for WWF. If we want to combat biodiversity loss and achieve nature restoration, we also have to change the Dutch financial sector."

Fortunately, Wortmann also sees positive points: for example, the attention for the theme of biodiversity is growing, as is the burden of proof about the impact. "At the same time, the theme of biodiversity is lagging far behind the climate and the insurance side is also less highlighted. That is why we recently published the report 'Underwriting our planet, How insurers can help address climate change and biodiversity loss' . This report makes it clear which buttons insurers can turn: what do we insure in what way and what else can we do?"

Finally, Wortmann indicated that she thinks it is "good" that the Association has written a Climate Story . "Although I didn't come across the word nature," she says with a smile. "So there is still more work to be done."