Planet Tracker deals with data on environmental impacts

editorial

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Planet Tracker is an organization focused on addressing the environmental challenges currently facing the world. In the discussion, Millington emphasized the need to take action and advance financial decisions in the sustainability sector.

Planet Tracker manages and sorts available environmental data for corporations and companies so that they can work towards their sustainable goals.

Millington argued that companies are using the excuse that there is not enough data on environmental impacts to drive action. However, this is not the case. She stressed that there is a wealth of data available, but it is “not tied up in a neat bow” and companies are “waiting for perfection” rather than making the effort to contextualize and analyze the available data.

Planet Tracker is designed to help companies understand how climate change impacts the role of natural resources in their business. You can identify key environmental factors in your industry, what metrics you need to evaluate based on those factors, and how to consolidate those metrics.

Millington explained that Planet Tracker has made progress through the development of biodiversity bonds. They issued a natural reforestation bond aimed at restoring natural resources in South America and used by the Uruguayan government.

While there are major concerns about reducing carbon emissions and striving for net zero, which is critical, Millington pointed out that there are other climate system issues that have not been addressed to the same extent. The threats to wetlands, the ongoing water crises and the damage that climate change could cause to food systems are becoming increasingly urgent.

Using fish as an example, she explains that the fishing ecosystem is in danger as coastal areas warm up due to global warming and ocean temperatures reach the highest temperatures ever recorded. Fish is a staple protein for three billion people, and the loss of fish stocks will significantly impact many people’s livelihoods in terms of nutrition, jobs, economics, agriculture and finance.

Millington pointed out that an underestimated risk in the sustainability sector that is becoming more common is litigation. Companies are becoming increasingly liable for their actions, and increasing litigation poses a major risk as companies make false or unprovable sustainability claims. For these reasons, technology-enabled traceability should be implemented in logging natural resource data and pursuing sustainable development.

The theme of Sustainable Finance Live 2024 is Biodiversity and Natural Capital, with a focus on the natural resource transaction journey and the role of climate finance in the supply chain.

Millington stressed that more action needs to be taken in the area of ​​biodiversity, but pointed out that “biodiversity” may not be the best term:

“I don’t like the term ‘biodiversity’ because I think it has the old meaning of a breakdown into plant and animal species, and there are things in an ecosystem that are not species-based. Water for example or air. I like to use the word “nature.” ‘Nature’ is everything and nothing.”

To find out more about Sustainable Finance Live 2024, view the agenda and speakers here.