Launch of the CEN Workshop on 'Nature-Based Insurance and Investment Solutions'

The initiative focuses on nature-based insurance and investment solutions (NBIIS), which integrate ecosystem services into financial instruments—enhancing disaster risk reduction, environmental and social benefits, and economic viability to foster resilient and transparent green finance.

NBIIS leverage nature-based approaches—such as wetland restoration, forest conservation, or green infrastructure—to deliver financial protection against disaster and climate risks. These instruments offer a promising path to close finance and protection gaps, particularly in areas such as climate adaptation, biodiversity, and disaster risk reduction. However, their limited scalability and lack of recognition as standard financial products present major challenges.

The CEN Workshop aims to define shared performance metrics and design principles for NBIIS. This will foster convergence and consensus on criteria for risk reduction, social and environmental co-benefits, and safeguards against unintended impacts, thereby enhancing the transparency and credibility of these financial mechanisms.

Standardization is essential in the following areas:

1. Performance Metrics for Risk Reduction and Co-Benefits
2. Establishing agreed-upon indicators and benchmarks to assess the effectiveness of NBIIS in reducing climate and disaster risks, while delivering measurable social, environmental, and economic benefits.
3. Design Principles and Accountability Frameworks
4. Developing guiding principles that promote ethical design, equitable benefit distribution, and safeguards against unintended consequences—such as the exclusion of vulnerable communities or the degradation of ecosystems.
5. Integration with EU and Global Sustainability Frameworks
6. Aligning NBIIS with existing legal and policy instruments such as the EU Taxonomy, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), and the IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions. This alignment ensures credibility, avoids greenwashing, and enables better comparability and replication across contexts.

By establishing a common standard, the CEN Workshop will play a critical role in supporting the scaling and mainstreaming of nature-based financial innovations. It also contributes to broader EU goals on sustainable finance, biodiversity protection, and climate resilience.

The kick-off meeting for the Workshop is planned to take place remotely on the 18th of September 2025, from 10.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. (CEST). Interested participants can register to the kick-off meeting by sending an e-mail to paolo.mansi@uni.com.

All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the draft Project Plan using the commenting form below, to the Workshop secretary (UNI) Paolo Mansi (paolo.mansi@uni.com) by the 17th of September 2025.

For more technical details, please refer to the draft Project Plan, which contains all relevant technical information. Additionally, comments or observations can be submitted via the dedicated commenting form below.

Download the documents:

• Workshop description and draft Project Plan
• Agenda of the Kick-off Meeting
• Registration form
• Commenting form