Restoring Nature: Reimagining Growth  

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A step-change is needed to reset our relationship with nature. This is a core leadership challenge for business, finance and governments. 

Our nature campaign activates leadership to reshape our economies and rebuild markets so they properly value, respect, protect and restore nature.    

A new approach is needed to achieve this – one that integrates nature into the fabric of our economic system and is driven by a shared vision of growth that values natural resources and the impact of our activities on them. 

Nature needs to be central to the story of how we build future prosperity for all. It needs to be integrated into strategies for competitiveness, security and social development.

CISL’s role is to support and empower the decision makers who will accelerate this transition, providing them with the evidence, insight, decision-support tools, capability, community and momentum they need to set us on an irreversible trajectory to a more harmonious relationship with the natural world.    

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Six actions we need to reshape our economies and rebuild markets so they value, respect, protect and restore nature. 

1.

New economic thinking, that integrates nature into strategies for growth and productivity, innovation, jobs and regional development, alongside new metrics that align competitiveness, resilience and sustainability

2.

New policy structures and frameworks that protect and restore nature, alongside reform of those structures and subsidies that are not serving us well and effective governance to address lobbying that defends the status quo 

3.

Innovative business models and technologies that can be deployed at scale, drive and enable systemic change, and allow us to live and work in a nature positive way

4.

A strategic and targeted focus on addressing the barriers to scaling, though building new markets and infrastructure to accelerate mainstream finance flows toward nature positive activities and out of nature negative activities, ending the reliance on voluntary offset markets, CSR, philanthropy and niche capital seeking impact.

5.

Inclusive and context-relevant decision making processes that encompass on local & indigenous knowledge and needs, as well as harnessing research big data, modelling and scenarios to help us navigate complex issues such as the global land crunch and mitigate the risk of dead end solutions or unintended consequences

6.

Building capacity at scale by upskilling leaders across business, finance and public sectors to navigate complex nature-related risks and impacts, and to shape strategies and structure to drive rapid change

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How we work with you

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We’re shifting the narrative to reset our relationship with nature – for over 35 years we've been working with business, policymakers and financial institutions, to develop the leadership we need to reshape our economies so they deliver for people, nature and climate. Here are our 6 actions for leaders on nature.

We’re helping organisations develop nature positive business models: Working with the private sector we build the insight and ambition for leading organisations to build nature into business models by design. Our new report Better business: Re-thinking business models for nature positive outcomes highlights the need for businesses to undergo a fundamental transition to nature positive aligned business models, rather than focusing solely on incremental environmental improvements.

We’re supporting corporate strategy and action: We work with major corporations and financial institutions via our strategic advisory services, leadership groups and executive education to develop and embed nature strategies into industry sectors, business strategy and operations. We find commercially compelling solutions to build nature considerations into their context, which drives transformation within their business and contributes to action across the markets they operate in. Nature is embedded throughout our programmes, with examples including developing the Crown Estate's nature policy, resource and land use in urban planning and development (Dubai Holding) and our work with Bakkafrost

We’re shifting the finance system to value nature and nature finance. Our new report Scaling Finance for Nature: Barrier Breakdown lays the foundation for how private commercial capital can be part of the solution towards a nature positive economy offering actionable insights for policymakers, bankers, insurers and investors, building on work from the Centre for Sustainable Finance, which convenes over 50 global financial institutions across banking, insurance and investment to build the insight and ambition for positive change.

We’re working with the Taskforce for Nature Related Disclosure to scale market capacity with training materials, courses and education opportunities  that will be available this year.

We're advocating for nature in policy: Our policy advocacy work supports a high ambition corporate voice into EU decision making on nature, with momentum from our EU Corporate Leaders Group leading the way to the EU Restoration Law.

We're fostering solutions: We identify, support and scale nature-positive-aligned business models. In 2025 we're launching a *Nature Positive Start-up Accelerator* in Canopy (CISL) and are seeking corporate partners for this - who are 'problem holders' 'enablers' and routes resource and scale

CISL’s Latest Insights for Leaders 

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Protecting nature requires more than 'feel-good' projects from businesses

Are businesses merely paying lip service while nature collapses around us? CISL’s interim CEO Lindsay Hooper weighs in and provides her learnings on developing strong biodiversity strategies for systemic change

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Scaling Finance for Nature

The Centre for Sustainable Finance, together with Capitals Coalition, UNEP-WCMC, IDEEA Group and Tecnalia, have released a new report highlighting the critical role of private capital in addressing nature’s decline

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Better business

New CISL report Better Business: Re-thinking Business Models for Nature Positive Outcomes highlights the need for businesses to undergo a fundamental transition to nature positive aligned business models

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COP16 Briefing

Read CISL's recommendations for leadership at COP16.

Leadership in practice – our programmes and services 

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Taskforce for Nature Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)

CISL is working in partnership with the TNFD to support its strategy to scale market capacity by adapting existing publications into white-label training materials as well as providing ‘train the trainer’ courses, and other education opportunities, in 2025.

Register your details to hear more about TNFD training and programmes

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Digital Programmes

With courses focused on land use, food production and value chain, as well as business sustainability and leadership, our online courses support those looking to embed nature concerns into their operational practices.

Find out more about our courses

University of Cambridge Accredited Programmes

Available as Postgraduate Certificates, Diplomas and Master’s programmes, our Postgraduate education supports mid-career professionals looking to deliver value for their organisation and wider society, while developing transferable and practical skills.

Find out more about 2025 entry

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Staff training

Develop a foundation of knowledge across teams that creates a common framework for your organisation to act with these 8-hour online courses. Subjects include Sustainable Business, Innovation, Energy Transitions and Finance.

Find out how you can train staff across 2025

Innovation partnerships

We help organisations, startups and investors to pursue sustainability-led innovation in products, processes and business models. We help them develop new solutions in sectors from technology, energy, built environment and mobility, to food, health and wellbeing.

Find out more about our innovation partnerships

Using our institutional voice and influence

We build relationships with key stakeholders' sharing institutional positions and evidence-based narratives to inform public policy debates at key international moments: 

COP16

COP29

New York Climate Week

Collaborations to drive systems changes 

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Corporate Leaders Groups

The Corporate Leaders Groups: global network of businesses committed to leading the transformation to competitive and sustainable economies

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Centre for Sustainable Finance

The Centre for Sustainable Finance: global network of financial institutions providing the insight and tools needed to help the finance sector transition

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Aviation Impact Accelerator

The Aviation Impact Accelerator: global group of academics and practitioners working to accelerate the journey to sustainable aviation