Nature as a promising investment category (Roundtable Natural Capital - part 1)

July 14, 2025

_{This report was originally written in Dutch. This is an English translation.}

Natural capital encompasses the natural resources and ecosystem services provided by the Earth that are essential to our lives and well-being, such as forests, water, soil, air and raw materials. This asset class is still relatively new in the institutional world. In part 1 of the Round Table on Natural Capital, six experts led by Sanne van Gorp of PGGM discussed what investing in nature entails.

By Hans Amesz

This is part 1 of the report. Part 2 will be published on Wednesday 16 July, part 3 on Monday 21 July.

What are you doing in terms of investing in natural capital and how does this relate to your overall investment strategy?

Sébastien Duquet: 'We manage approximately €30 billion and have raised around €1 billion over the past ten years for biodiversity and nature solutions.'

Mark de Nooij: 'As a pension fund, we invest to ensure a good financial pension for our participants, but also for a better world. Natural capital is woven into our entire portfolio through impact investing, engagement and ESG integration.'

Arnold Gast: 'We offer a wide range of ESG data and research. Last year, we launched a data product focused on biodiversity and natural capital, with 150 data points for assessing listed companies.'

Ralf Kooken: 'Although we have been investing in natural capital for more than 125 years as an insurer, the asset class is still relatively new in the institutional world. It is growing, partly due to sustainability considerations and its low correlation with traditional assets.'

Jérôme Dulong: 'At our company, climate considerations are integrated into all our investment decisions through a three-pronged approach: CO₂ reduction in real estate, avoidance through infrastructure and sequestration through natural capital. For us, natural capital is the most direct means of making a positive impact.'

Céline Claudon: 'We focus exclusively on natural capital and offer investments in sustainable forestry, agriculture and ecosystem restoration. We have $6 billion under advice or management and offer customised solutions through funds, separately managed mandates, and fund of funds or advisory services.'

What is natural capital and why is nature so important in tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis?

Dulong: 'Natural capital is everything related to the products and services that nature provides. Without nature, there is no economy. Private capital is crucial because government budgets alone are not sufficient to finance the investments needed to tackle the climate crisis.'

De Nooij: 'Doing nothing will only make the problems worse. You have to incorporate sustainability considerations into your entire portfolio, not just into impact investments.'

What type of investors invest or want to invest in natural capital and what are their preferences?

Kooken: 'Our fiduciary clients cite three main reasons why natural capital is interesting: for sustainability, for stability and as an inflation hedge. It usually starts with a desire to contribute to climate and biodiversity, with the initial focus on forestry. Interest in agriculture usually grows as we delve deeper into the subject matter. For example, with permanent crops such as blueberries, almonds and pistachios. In this case, the land is not leased, but a manager is directly involved in the operation. This offers many opportunities to actively contribute to sustainability, which our clients find interesting.'

Duquet: 'We have over two hundred investors in various funds, with diverse motives and structures. In recent years, we have seen more interest from the business community (particularly among companies), especially around securing their value chain and carbon credits. These companies want to reduce their emissions by gaining a better understanding of the carbon footprint of their supply chain, particularly that of small-scale farmers.'

Claudon: 'Traditionally, pension funds and insurers have been the main investors in forestry and agricultural land. Recently, we have seen growing interest in natural capital from companies and family offices, often from a CO₂ reduction or biodiversity perspective.'

Can you give a recent example of a biodiversity-focused project?

De Nooij: 'For one of our clients, we are investing in forestry in the southern United States. One of the projects is a conservation easement, in which we are working with local authorities to reforest native species and restore habitats. Although this results in a slightly lower direct return, this is fully offset by government support, which maintains the total return and increases the ecological value.'

Dulong: 'In Guatemala, we work with an NGO called Fundaeco. There, we protect endangered forests on the Atlantic coast in collaboration with indigenous communities. You see jaguars, manatees and migratory birds returning to their natural habitat. The impact on biodiversity is clearly visible.'

Duquet: 'We recently made three investments through our Carbon Credit Strategy, including one in Costa Rica. We were selected by eleven institutional investors to manage a biodiversity equity fund.'