Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

March 7 | Banking on Nature: Sustainable Finance and the Environment

Part of Brown Climate Week 2026.

Nature is not peripheral to the economy — it is its foundation. Yet financial systems have long treated it as invisible or free, creating growing risks for companies, investors, and entire markets.

As biodiversity loss, water scarcity, and ecosystem degradation accelerate, nature-related risks are financially material. From supply chain disruption to regulatory change, the impacts are reshaping how capital must be allocated and how risk must be measured.

Banking on Nature brings together leaders from finance, science, and Indigenous communities to explore how markets are responding — and how financial systems can evolve to align with ecological limits and long-term resilience.

Join us for forward-looking conversations at the intersection of economics, ecology, and equity, and examine what it means to truly account for nature in financial decision-making.

Register to attend

This event will be accessible online, with morning panels offered in person at 85 Waterman St.

Conference schedule

8:30 AM | Breakfast

9 AM | Welcome and Introduction

The State of Business, Finance, and Their Relationship with Nature
Chair Address: Kim Cobb, Director of IBES, Brown University

9:15 – 10:15 AM (in person and online) | Panel: “Nature: Risk & Opportunity”

What risks and opportunities does nature present for corporations?
Focus: corporate understanding of nature dependencies, ESG frameworks, and how/if strategy teams embed biodiversity and carbon into reporting 

  • Moderator: Ricardo Bayon ’89
  • Panelists:

10:30 – 11:30 AM (in person and online) | Panel: “Advancement & Measurement”

What can we measure — and value — in nature?
Focus: the scientific foundations of nature measurement, and how can companies assess and report nature-related impacts

  • Moderator: Mark Tracy ’95
  • Panelists:
    • Jeanine Cavender Bares, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard
    • Jim Kellner, Associate Professor of Environment and Society & Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Brown
    • Joe Mascaro, Former Senior Global Director of Science, Planet

11:30 AM | Break for lunch

1–2 PM (online) | Panel: “Indigenous Knowledge & Rights of Nature”

How can Indigenous worldviews and traditional ecological knowledge shape the future of nature stewardship and sustainable finance?
Focus: Indigenous worldviews, community partnership models, free prior informed consent, and rights of nature

  • Moderator: Ricardo Bayon
  • Panelists:
    • Beto Borges, Director of the Communities and Territorial Governance Initiative, Forest Trends
    • Vic Hogg, Citizen of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi; Senior Free, Prior, and Informed Consent Coordinator, National Wildlife Federation
    • Patita Nkamunu, Maasai Co-Founder, EarthAcre

2:15–3:15 PM (online) | Panel: “Nature Ventures & Innovation”

What does innovation in nature-positive business look like—and where is capital flowing to support it?
Focus: Venture and philanthropic models for regenerative agriculture, circular‑economy technologies, and new “nature asset” ventures

Register to attend